Thread: Cheap Grandfather Clock, Darken Wood & Wooden Veneer

Most finish manufacturers have a range of oil based stains.

This is Cabot’s, not that I’m recommending them over others, it’s just an example of the range of colours available.

Cabots Interior Stain Oil Based

Originally Posted by Lappa

Most finish manufacturers have a range of oil based stains.

This is Cabot’s, not that I’m recommending them over others, it’s just an example of the range of colours available.

Cabots Interior Stain Oil Based

Just oil?, not stain and varnish stuff?.

Can you tint this with the Feast Watson stain?:
Cabot's 250ml Tint Base Interior Stain | Bunnings Warehouse

Regarding tinting that product with prooftint dyes, I have no idea. You would be better to ring
Cabots and ask them.
Going by their website, Feast Watson do not mention tinting their Stain and Varnish with Prooftint to alter the colour but there is a section on doing it with their Clear Varnish so once again, I’m unsure.

Normally I would use a Stain and Varnish combo when I have chosen a set colour from a chart, but that’s just me. One advantage is you can mostly remove it with lacquer thinners if you don’t like it but there is always a bit of colour remaining.

The key is to either get the colour you want first up or end up lighter and colour up to the colour you want. You can make a shellac dye/pigment mix and lay it ontop of the Stain Varnish Finish. I have been told that if you want to go over the shellac with a different finish like poly etc, make sure the shellac is dewaxed.

As I said earlier, I’m new to this having only done a few antiques so I can only speak from my own experiences.

I would by some different products and practise on some timber first before attacking the clock.

At at the moment I’m on holidays so I’m playing with different finishes on different timbers and I’m going to pick up some wrecked old furniture to practise repairs and colour matching.

Originally Posted by Lappa

At at the moment I’m on holidays so I’m playing with different finishes on different timbers and I’m going to pick up some wrecked old furniture to practise repairs and colour matching.

How do you normally finish the wood?, wirewool beeswax the varnish?

The Friesan Tail Clock was Ubeaut’s Traditional wax applied with a rag then buffed off by hand as was the small Dutch cupboard. The Clock was a mess - total rebuild and refinish and the cupboard had a very tied finish and split top so repairs, clean, refinish then wax.

The Ladies Writing desk was Howard’s Feed-N-Wax applied with a rag and buffed off by hand as was the wall mounted bric-a-brac cupboard. The writing desk needed repairs plus refinish on one side and a good clean and wax. The cupboard needed some new trim plus a clean and wax.

All are from my wife’s family. Her grandparents who brought them over from Holland. They were all finished with shellac.

I’m really liking the Howard product and I noticed Tom uses it

Originally Posted by Lappa

The Clock was a mess - total rebuild and refinish and the cupboard had a very tied finish and split top so repairs, clean, refinish then wax.

The Ladies Writing desk was Howard’s Feed-N-Wax applied with a rag and buffed off by hand as was the wall mounted bric-a-brac cupboard. The writing desk needed repairs plus refinish on one side and a good clean and wax. The cupboard needed some new trim plus a clean and wax.

All are from my wife’s family. Her grandparents who brought them over from Holland. They were all finished with shellac.

I’m really liking the Howard product and I noticed Tom uses it

Do you buy this online or can you get it at Bunnings or other hardware store?. What is your refinishing process?. Some nice Dutch/German furniture out there.

Buy online

Wax Furniture Polish, Beeswax, Australian Wood Care Products | Howard Products

I just followed their instructions.

Merry Xmas everyone. Just a quick question, is it better to apply the stain with a brush when doing all the beading and intricate corners etc?

I have come to the conclusion I'm not worried about matching any particular colour. All I want is to give the clock an antique look. So I'm not after an exact colour match of anything in particular just something that looks dated.

I had a rummage through the garage and found all these stains: Wattyl Contemporary Maple, Feast Watson Range - Walnut, Mahogany, Teak Brown, Old Baltic, Elm, Oak. Anyone got any suggestions/mixtures to try?.

I like the wood colour in this photo and would like to aim at doing something similar, doesn't have to be exact.

794580_n.jpg

Also, in regard to sealing the stain, on the Feast Watson website it says: "Once thoroughly dry, seal with Feast Watson Floorseal Oil, Clear Varnish, Weatherproof Pro, or Scandinavian Oil. The clear topcoat ensures lasting protection and fully develops the final colour."

Would Clear Varnish do the same job at sealing the stain or should I still use sanding sealer?.

With the stains , the names on the tin don’t mean much . What they look like on your wood is what matters . And if they can be used together. You could get some of the same wood to test polish on . Or something similar. Yours looks like Beech and it’s available. Or try it on a part of your woodwork out of the way .

When I’m polishing using shellac then I know it sticks to my thinned oil based sanding sealer . And I know it’s never stuck to oil based Matt Satin or gloss top coats . So in my book , if I were sealing with those you mention , I’d have to stay with that till the end . I wouldn’t do it . If I wanted to know if it looked good and worked well and finished off easy Id try it out .

Originally Posted by auscab

With the stains , the names on the tin don’t mean much . What they look like on your wood is what matters . And if they can be used together. You could get some of the same wood to test polish on . Or something similar. Yours looks like Beech and it’s available. Or try it on a part of your woodwork out of the way .

I've done some extensive testing on scrap hardboard, pine & finally on the inside of case out of sight as suggested. You are spot on Rob, the colours are totally different in reality to what their samples are, in fact some are way off!. Also I found Feast Watson tints are very concentrated in pigment and need thinning down alot with metho.

Originally Posted by auscab

When I’m polishing using shellac then I know it sticks to my thinned oil based sanding sealer . And I know it’s never stuck to oil based Matt Satin or gloss top coats . So in my book , if I were sealing with those you mention , I’d have to stay with that till the end . I wouldn’t do it . If I wanted to know if it looked good and worked well and finished off easy Id try it out .

I have some sanding sealer by Feast Watson, as I remember from using it before it makes the surface quite rough, do I sand it after applying?. How much do I thin it?. Here's a link to what I have:

Sanding Sealer | Sealer For Open Grain Timber

In other news. I found a lovely English Oak Drop Leaf Table with twist legs, the top needs a re-finish and I'm looking forward to opening a new thread on my adventures with that one. I noticed while browsing the forums alot of posters don't do follow ups with pictures of their final results. In the interest of others learning from my mistakes and for my own reference I will take pictures at every stage including the final result - no matter how bad it looks!haha!.

Originally Posted by SadSam71

I have some sanding sealer by Feast Watson, as I remember from using it before it makes the surface quite rough, do I sand it after applying?. How much do I thin it?. Here's a link to what I have:

Sanding Sealer | Sealer For Open Grain Timber

Yes its sanded . Cut back .

Thinning . 30% turps added to 70% SS is pretty good.

Two coats with a light cut back after the first and a hard cut back after the second.

As it comes its too thick. Thinned it can be brushed or sprayed .

A good job comes from applying and knowing how hard to cut it back . Its got to be cut back HARD for a good job . Test to the point of taking off stain and work out a way of only going 80% that hard.

Cutting back wet with water is good .

Originally Posted by auscab

What gives a good look is at the start, staining lighter than you may actually want at the end, and adding colours and effects on the way up within the layers to end up where you want with an un noticeable distinctive variation in the finish on the way through . One great way of getting this is trying your best then stripping it back by rubbing off the lot with Metho . leave some there and start again .

Not happy with the colour, I used Walnut in the Feast Watson Prooftint range. That stuff needs seriously thinning down, I ended up mixing 300mls Metho with 100ml of tint and it was still too dark when applied!. Anyway I found the Walnut didn't have enough warmth to it so I need to find a stain that's warmer. The Mahogany Feast Watson make is horrible and looks nothing like mahogany like Auscab said.

Auscab, I've washed most of the stain off with metho as suggested, should I give it a light sanding with 400 before I start again?.

Originally Posted by SadSam71

Auscab, I've washed most of the stain off with metho as suggested, should I give it a light sanding with 400 before I start again?.

Yeah give it a light sand if it needs it .