Side table restoration

**philster751** · 22nd July 2013, 06:30 PM

Thought i would post some pics of the side table that I am currently refinishing, any advice, help or even identification of time period, exact timber etc would be appreciated. More photo's coming soon once I have finished removing the existing finish, which I assume is shellac. I am under the impression this is a 40's or 50's Silky Oak dresser that is covered in extensive flake ray patterns. Not sure if this is a good thing? At present I am using steel wool and metho to take back the previous finish, then was thinking about a very light sand, then a shellac and wax. Any other idea's would be much appreciated, especially in light of the fact that I would prefer a darker finish, given the light nature of the timber and how it often turns a kind of 'orange' under shellac. More pics soon.

(it may seems like I am trying to restore this in the middle of my girlfriends living room however I just took a little back for the sake of the photo's. Also the photo's make the wood look a LOT darker than it is, it in fact is far more orange)

Phil

**Horsecroft88** · 22nd July 2013, 08:23 PM

Hi, it is a little out of my league in terms of design, given my preference for pre 1900 antiques, however, given the design, cabriole legs, bow front, shield doors, etc I too would hazard a guess as it being perhaps 1930s-40s, possibly 50s, but I think less likely ??. I doubt it would be from the '20s but you never know.

As to the timber, wow I have no idea, but again you might be correct re silky oak. The one thing I will say is that the grain is sensational and once restored this should look fabulous. In a sense it reminds me of fiddleback, as you sometimes get with blackwood, tas oak and I have even seen it in cedar, albeit somewhat slightly different. In terms of approach in stripping off the old finish, if from the '30s and/or even '40s and in using metho and steel wool it is coming off, I would agree shellac is likely to be correct.

Ok, so given those factors, I am with you, I too would give shellac a go with a wax finish afterwards. To me, this should give you a lovely finish. The only other suggestions I would have could be an oil finish ( hard burnishing organoil) but with a wax afterwards.

Look forward to seeing this one restored.

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