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Thread: Hall Table Restoration
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19th May 2009, 09:59 PM #1Intermediate Member
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Hall Table Restoration
Hi all,
Recently spent some time restoring this hall table. When i got it it was covered in a cedar coloured paint. Must have been used to fill the grain. The paint was so badly engrained, all attempts to use steel wool, metho etc failed and I was forced sacrifice the patina and sand the whole thing back to a fresh layer of grain.
The rails and beading i had to replace altogether (using cedar lengths) but the legs are original. It also had some nail holes at the very back of the top, I suspect it may have originally had a backing board fixed to it. Technically not a proper restoration but was good experience all the same.
Used hard shellac to fill the grain and finish the top - a very lengthy process but worth every minute/week/month. White shellac on the rest of it. Buffed using EEE and 6000 grit festool cut and polish combined with a ROS. 2 coats of traditional wax followed.
I was told it was Cedar, but, when sanding the top it seemed to lack the 'rich' smell of cedar, and while soft, it didn't seem as soft as other old cedar pieces I've worked with. Also seem a smidge darker. The old man thought it may be Mahogany, or something else, hence the cedar coloured paint covering the real timber? Thoughts anyone?
Cheers,
Damen
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19th May 2009 09:59 PM # ADSGoogle Adsense Advertisement
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20th May 2009, 12:29 AM #2
Not sure about the timber but you have done a fine job.
- Wood Borer
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20th May 2009, 08:35 AM #3SENIOR MEMBER
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Nice work Ribbet, how did you apply the shellac and how many coats did that top take?
Thanks
Joez
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20th May 2009, 08:43 AM #4
Hi Ribbit,
Australian Cedar my guess 2nd half of the 1800's.
Job well done. Congratulations. One of the favorite in the 50's and 60's was to nail a sheet of lino over the top of them to make them look more modern. How this have changed.
Cheers
SteveDiscover your Passion and Patience follows.
www.fineboxes.com.au
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20th May 2009, 08:51 AM #5Awaiting Email Confirmation
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20th May 2009, 09:06 PM #6Senior Member
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Yep I agree, I think it looks more like Cedar than Mahogany. However, a superb finish achieved. Your should be proud of your efforts.
Cedar is a funny sort of timber as it does seem to absorb paint, I know from much experience. However, at the same time you have to wonder what on earth they were thinking in painting it. We currently are stripping by hand all the paint of the cedar joinery in our 1824 country house. Definitely a labour of love but damned hard work. So I know what you have been through.
The other thing I have found over the years is the difference in colour of cedar once stripped, from light browns to deep dark red. The one thing I believe in restoring cedar is not to use stains but simply rely on the shellac to bring out the natural colour and the grain. Obviously the more shellac applied and finely cut back the deeper the finish. Dave
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21st May 2009, 09:50 AM #7Intermediate Member
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Thaanks Joez. I filled the top with 1:1 ratio of HS. I painted on each coat and left to dry for a couple of days. Then used 320grit, a block and Pure gum Turps to sand back. I sanded as methodically as possible to keep the surface as flat as possible. In the past I've used a ROS for this initial stage then but found the surface wouldn't stay flat enough, so went back to good old elbow grease and long, even sanding strokes. It took about 5 or 6 coats of 1:1 before the grain had filled. After this stage I french polished it with a rubber and about a 1:4 ratio of HS and sanding at 600grit after every 6th coat. After about 12 or 18 coats I was happy with the result and buffed with the ROS.
I'm still learning to french polish but I'm finding that sanding between coats is a vital key. Also having the surface planed and flat from the beginning saves hours of time during the polishing stages.
Cheers,
Damen
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21st May 2009, 10:01 AM #8Intermediate Member
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Thanks Dave. Wow sounds like a challenge with all that cedar joinery! I'd imagine it will look glorious once complete.
I picked up some Victorian cedar corbels at a garage sale last year that were covered in thick paint. It turns out there was about 4 layers of paint on them, and it took weeks of stripping using some paint on gel stripper to gradually get it all off. Agreed, what were they thinking! Thought they were a bargain for $20 at the time, but if only i knew the hours of labour to follow!
Also agreed, shellac is brilliant stuff, it was the first finish i was introduced to and now everything else just doesn't seem to compete with it.
Cheers,
Damen
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21st May 2009, 11:41 AM #9SENIOR MEMBER
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The reason cedar was stained a lot is because no 2 cedar trees are same colour, some are very dark chocolatley brown others are golden red. A light staining helps even out the differences.
.
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21st May 2009, 11:54 AM #10GOLD MEMBER
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Job well done . Do you have any photos before you put the finish on.
Bob
"If a man is after money, he's money mad; if he keeps it, he's a capitalist; if he spends it, he's a playboy; if he doesn't get it, he's a never-do-well; if he doesn't try to get it, he lacks ambition. If he gets it without working for it; he's a parasite; and if he accumulates it after a life time of hard work, people call him a fool who never got anything out of life."
- Vic Oliver
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22nd May 2009, 09:42 AM #11Intermediate Member
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