Thread: Restoring 17th century oak panels

Welcome hughmer!

I'm afraid you've probably done irepairable harm to your panelling, not least of all by the use of wire brushes! In case any of it is redeemable, I would recommend you contact Walcot Reclaimation in Bath, or Stuart Interiors at Barrington Court.

Hard to tell without a piccy of 'before & after' and how you are finishing it (someone could possibly pick what to finish it with straight away), but...

Oak from that age was finished at times with tar and/or wax, else you could try playing around with iron solutions.

You could also give something ammonia based a go (horse p*ss is great if you have a one in your 1630's stable), but that is in a more brownish direction.

The problem being irrespective of the age of timber when you remove the years of finishes that have been applied to wood you will actually get back to the more natural colour of the wood. I don't think this would differ between 16thC oak to 19th pine or whatever.

The key here being that if you want to restore the panels, to something back to what they might have originally looked like, a combination of an appropriate dark stain, shellac finish and beeswax polish from my experience would be the best option to get to where you want to with the oak pannelling. I don't know if it is possible or not but my recommendation would be to experiment a little with some aged oak if you have any spare or something similar so that you can match it in with the rest of the remaining unpainted panelling.

The patina of timber is not just related to the colour but also all the marks, bumps, scratches, dents, splits or whatever, and re-fininshing with appropriate materials will bring this all back to life. That is the beauty in restoring aged timbers.

There's a wealth of information, albeit ancient, in "Wood Finishing", by Paul N. Hasluck, Cassell & Co, Deals with Brit. timbers,including oak.

Originally Posted by Scorp

There's a wealth of information, albeit ancient, in "Wood Finishing", by Paul N. Hasluck, Cassell & Co, Deals with Brit. timbers,including oak.

You can find it as a free download on the net somewhere.
Cheers,
Jim

You might also consider contacting English Heritage - they have a range of staff who have expertise in these matters and who can provide you with a number of solutions. I agree with Horsecroft, btw, just because you are accustomed to seeing 17th century oak as a black material, the fact this has been covered with all those layers may have prevented it achieving the aged appearance you are accustomed to, so get some good, professional advice free from EH and then, if necessary, move onto a commercial outfit who are capable of providing an appropriate treatment (assuming EH has not been able to recommend a special recipe). I used to work with EH and can assure you their profressional staff are dedicated to providing sound advice in these matters.

Thanks for all the input. I regret to say Walcot Reclamation went bust and were resurrected last year. They are now trading mostly in floorboards and old roof tiles. Stuart Interiors came to see me and graciously confirmed that irreparable harm had not been done to the paneling by my use of wire brushes so that was a relief. The brushes were a bit like you'd use on suede shoes, so the surface of the wood does not show deep scarification.

I realise now that my use of the word Patina was incorrect. What I was referring to was simply colour and a dull shine.

Stuart proposed a magic potion of linseed oil, meths, white spirit & vinegar, and we tried this on an area that I hadn't Klendoo'd and brushed, - just scraped, - but it made the wood go a lot darker than before.

On a similar area we tried a shellac polish, and after drying applied beeswax, but it was far too shiny from the start

I've downloaded the Paul Hasluck book from
Wood finishing, comprising staining, varnishing, and polishing, with engravings and diagrams; : Hasluck, Paul N. (Paul Nooncree), 1854-1931 : Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive

But it has only a small paragraph on finishing oak and suggests a simple mix of linseed oil and turps, rather similar to Stuart Int's recipe. Most of Mr Hasluck's advice is in the dying of inferior wood to match oak, and while it is truly fascinating, it was not a lot of use in resolving my question.

However Mr Hasluck's book includes a section on fumigating oak with ammonia and I think this provides the key to the overall dark colour that I would like to regain. I visited the museum at No 1 Royal Crescent yesterday. EH had a lot to do with the restoration of this grand house that had, in 1969, become a run down tenement.

The guide explained that prior to the introduction of the water closet, it would have been common for folk to use a chamber pot "for the relief of nature" in all rooms, so I guess over a century or so before the oak was first painted, the natural "aromes" of urine performed the colouration.

You must excuse me now, I'm off to commence the process of re-colouration. Where's that bucket?

If you have old paint in the pores of Oak, here's something you can try: shellac and stripper. FIrst get off all you can, then shellac the piece. Let that dry well then strip it again. With luck, the shellac will grip the old paint in the pores and pull it out.

Good luck

Paul

Originally Posted by hughmer

The guide explained that prior to the introduction of the water closet, it would have been common for folk to use a chamber pot "for the relief of nature" in all rooms, so I guess over a century or so before the oak was first painted, the natural "aromes" of urine performed the colouration.

You must excuse me now, I'm off to commence the process of re-colouration. Where's that bucket?

Sounds like a life long project at least.