Thread: Help! Faded Teak cabinet door panel much darker once refinished. Is there a solution?

Why did you use lacquer? Is that what the unit was originally finished with? Are you able to strip the door back or is it a veneer? If you can strip it back, do so and use a Teak Oil to refinish the door. You may find that redoing the unit with Teak Oil solves your problem.

Thanks for your reply LGS.

The unit has a high gloss finish - like a varnish - as many 50s/60s pieces were.
Teak oil won't replicate the finish, and I'm ceratin would be the same colour, if not darker, as what I have achieved.

The main issue is that the rest of the unit has 50 odd years of (even) fading - I had not taken this into account.
The panel is veneer - carefully hand sanded back to the bare timber as to not "go through".

The new colour is the natural colour the cabinet would have originally been - no stain, just a single polyurethane coating.
(I didn't proceed after realising the colour difference)

The only solution I can imagine, is that a new, similar grained, yet lighter veneer is glued over the top of the panel, then colour matched.
This is out of my area of experience which is why I am trying to source a Melbourne craftsman / business that could assist.

It's a high-end mid-century piece and I could be in a load of strife if I can't fix this.

Thanks,
MG.

Sorry to hear of the problem Matt.
As someone who has done a lot of restoration I have to say that what has happened was inevitable.
To try and strip and refinish a door to a perfect match is nigh on an impossible task.Stripping and repolishing has instantly reversed 50 years of natural fading.

I would suggest that the only realistic solution is to strip and refinish all the doors the same way.Maybe the entire piece might need to be done.
This is probably not what you or your client would probably want to hear but maybe the only solution.

A highly skilled french polisher may be able to work some magic,but short of bleaching the door I don't think there is much that could be done.

Thanks for your input mark david.

Unfortunately my client doesn't look like accepting the panels being darker (as I have suggested) nor will extend to a full resto. ($$$$)

Aside from building furniture from scratch for a living, as a side-line for the last 15 years, I've been restoring on and off when the work arises.
I must have had a brain fade (I blame the Metho ) beacause of all the timbers I have seen fade, Teak (and Walnut for that matter) are up the top of the list.

Oxalic Acid / Hydrogen Peroxide to the rescue hopefully.

Cheers,

Matt.

I agree with MarkDavid. By sanding the surface you have taken off that layer of faded timber. Poly wasn't a wise choice, perhaps nitro would have been better.

I think after reflecting on this, that your only course of action is to advise the client that a full resto is needed, talk money, but be prepared to take it in the neck on price. I don't think you should do it for free, for this would have occurred regardless of restorer.

Thinking a bit more, if you have used poly, then the grain is sealed. There's no way you are going to get rid of it enough to affect the surface with bleach... Which sounds like a bad idea anyway.

Doing the other door seems like the only option, or at least doing a sand-fade-out on the rest to hide the transition.

I really don't think you can match that teak. What a nightmare. Ill be following this thread, would you be kind enough to put progress pictures and a final solution up?

I'll defer to others, but I don't think gluing a new sheet of veneer (over poly) will work.

If the client wants the sideboard to retain its faded but uniform colour, you might have to make 6 new doors or a whole new unit.

I suppose the crucial question is how do you rescue / recover / retain your reputation as a maker so the order book doesn't dry up.

I difinitely agree that re veneering the door is a no go area.
The piece loses its authenticity and as the doors appear to have been veneered using matching consecutive leaves of veneer,that plan is not going to work.
I would suggest trying to bleach the panel which probably won't work but failing that you may have to re polish the whole thing at your expense.

The client may not be happy about that but it might be the only solution to get you out of a serious bind.

My client has accepted that all raised panels & handles finished in the new (original) tone will look different, but will be ok to their eye.

Phew!

Thanks for your input / advice.

M