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Old 16th Jan 2005, 9:55 am   #1
Trev757
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Default Basic cabinet restoration

Hi

Can anyone point in the direction of a good source of BASIC information regarding the process of cabinet restoration. Either a book, website, part time training in the Bristol area etc.

I have found several articles, but they seem to cover the subject from the point of view of someone who has some experience. I am looking for a source to answer the really fundamental dumb questions that I have; e.g, How do you get the colour of a cabinet, is it the colour of the veneer that has clear varnish over it, or do you stain ordinary veneer? Whats the difference between getting a shiny finish with clear varnish or polishing? Can I get the materials I need easily at B&Q or do I need so many different things that I will need to send off to all sorts of different places? How do you get basic grime etc off a cabinet - I've seen elaborate mixtures of things suggested, but is there something ready made in a bottle that will do the trick? If you inlay a piece of broken veneer with a new piece or use filler, how do you prevent the join being seen? How do you deal with inlays of different coulours?

Hope you get the jist of what I'm after. I am not after restoring cabinets so that you would think they have just come out of the shop. I just want to do a good job which has an overall reasonable and acceptable appearance.

Any guidance gratefully received - of course, if anyone would like to give me step by step training as I restore a cabinet by e-mail .........!

Many thanks

Trevor
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Old 16th Jan 2005, 10:28 am   #2
ukcol
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Default Re: Basic cabinet restoration

Hi Trevor

Have you looked at Paul Stenning's site?

http://www.vintage-radio.com/repair-...-cabinet.shtml
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Old 16th Jan 2005, 10:43 am   #3
Paul Stenning
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Default Re: Basic cabinet restoration

There is some excellent information on this in Tony Thompson's "Vintage Radios" book, reviewed here: http://www.vintage-radio.com/reviews...ios-book.shtml
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Old 20th Jan 2005, 7:16 pm   #4
skodajag
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Arrow Re: Basic cabinet restoration

I too can vouch for the usefulness of Tony Thompson's books - both of them, but for cabinet restoration I'd start with his "Vintage Radios: Collecting, Servicing, Restoring"). At the moment I use danish oil to refinish: it's easy to apply, looks good and, if you or anyone else wants to go for a more professional or original finish later on (eg French polish) it's easy to remove.
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Old 21st Jan 2005, 9:11 am   #5
Trev757
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Default Re: Basic cabinet restoration

I have obtained Tony's books and they are very comprehensive. However, there are still a few gap, for instance; what are the basic layers taht manke up a finish from bare wood to the final coat of somethinhg or other? Also, after experimented with an old cabinet and putting stripper on, I removed all the dark wood colour and was just left the normal light timber colour that you get when you buy new wood. How, therefore, do you replace the colour? Is it by adding this veneer stuff that he talks about or wood stain or Danish Oil or French polish? All still very confusing. I think I need to find an evening class at college somewhere!

Thanks for the replies so far.

Trevor
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Old 21st Jan 2005, 12:05 pm   #6
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Default Re: Basic cabinet restoration

Hi Trevor,
The fact that the paint stripper removed most of the original colour from the old cabinet probably means that it had originally been sprayed with a coloured varnish or stain. You can buy coloured stains but I do not use them because it is difficult to get an even coating using a brush and it will probably turn out blotchy.
The easiest approach and one that I have used several times is to first treat the bare wood with one of the coloron wood dyes. Apply it with a cloth and wipe off the surplus after a few minutes. If you are working on a dark wood you will probably not need any dye and you can use the natural colour of the wood. Allow to dry in a warm room and repeat if necessary to get the colour you want. Finally allow to dry thoroughly and apply one or more coats of danish Oil. This will give a semi matt finish which looks quite natural. If you want it a bit shinier, apply further coats. Hope this may be of some help. Try it on an old cabinet or piece of wood first to see how you get on.
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Old 21st Jan 2005, 12:35 pm   #7
Trev757
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Default Re: Basic cabinet restoration

John

Thanks for your reply, which has helped a lot. Paul has recommended the use of Colron products, so I will go and see what they are all about. I assume that as they are called "Dyes" there will be a range to choose from depending on the colour you want, such as walnut, mahogany etc. Is this correct? I also gather that they do the same job as "stain" but are easier to use and give a better finish? Additionally, I thought I read in Tony's book that once you stain wood, you can't subsequently remove it?

When you discuss working on a dark wood, do you mean one that is a natural piece of hardwood rather than some piece of ply etc that has been covered in something to simulate real wood? If this is the case, I guess I just remove any varnish or polish that has been applied till I get to the basic wood, then keep sanding it down to get out any holes, scratches etc and then do the Danish oil treatment. Again, have I interpreted this correctly?

Thanks for taking the time to guide me in words of one syllable. You have probably gathered that I have zero experience with anything related to converting trees into furniture!

Trevor
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Old 21st Jan 2005, 2:59 pm   #8
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Default Re: Basic cabinet restoration

Hi Trevor,
Glad to be of help. Yes, by darker woods I was thinking of something like teak which is used in the Hacker Mayflower 2 cabinet. Some polished or dark coloured cabinets are made from plywood which has a very thin layer (veneer) of some more expensive wood such as mahogany glued to it to give the impression of more expensive natural hardwood. These are often highly polished. Sometimes you can see surface damage where the veneer has come away from the plywood backing, exposing an area of bare plywood. You need to be careful when sanding down veneered cabinets that you don't go too deep and expose the plywood.
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Old 21st Jan 2005, 6:11 pm   #9
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Default Re: Basic cabinet restoration

Hi all

I felt I had to get a word in here. Thanks to everyone who said nice things about my books, by the way! As for cabinet restoration, I prefer not to use wood stain (dye) as it soaks in and is impossible to remove if you make a hash of it. I do recommend the use of toning sprays and the process was described in one of a series of articles I wrote on cabinet refinishing, published by Radio Bygones (issue 87, Feb/March 2004 covers wooden cabinets). The process is straightforward: after suitably stripping and preparing a cabinet, apply a couple of coats of clear lacquer. I use an HVLP spray gun system but aerosols work perfectly well. Rub down lightly with 400-600 wet/dry paper or finer if you prefer, used wetted with turps sub. I do not use water as it might reach bare wood and cause the grain to roughen. Dry thoroughly (turps MUST be completely removed or it will blister the subsequent coats) then apply toning lacquer by aerosol. Several coats will bring a sufficient depth of tone and mask variations on veneer colour. Rub down as before, BUT VERY LIGHTLY as you must not cut through the colour or the whole job will have to be started again. Apply two or three clear gloss finishing coats. Rub down carefully with Rottenstone powder abrasive or T-Cut. You should have a brilliantly smooth ad glowing finish, not too hard a gloss - just right.
Hope this helps a little.
Next: how to build your own spacecraft in three paragraphs
-Tony
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Old 21st Jan 2005, 7:30 pm   #10
radiogammon
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Default Re: Basic cabinet restoration

Tony,
Where can you obtain aerosol toning lacquers? They are a new one on me.
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Old 21st Jan 2005, 8:29 pm   #11
Aerodyne
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Default Re: Basic cabinet restoration

Toner aerosols are available from

Restoration Materials
Barnside
194 Wellington Road
Bury
Lancashire
BL9 9AH
Tel 0161 764 2741

Telephone for prices and availability of colours.
Needless to say I have no connection with this company except as a satisfied customer.
There's no 'proper' web site, before anyone asks! So you either write or 'Phone.

-Tony
p.s. They have a useful catalogue with lots of restoration bits and pieces, majoring on clocks and furniture but very useful none the less.
p.p.s. Before using on a prepared cabinet, practice on scrap... work in GOOD light... allow each thinly applied coat to dry for a few minutes before applying the next... shake very thoroughly for the full recommended time (the can that is, not yourself)
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