Restoring interior timber panelling

Hi, I've just moved into a fabulous 1940's house that has its original interior dark timber panelling. I have no idea what type of timber - I'm an absolute novice! Most of the panelling is in really lovely condition but one west-facing room it is faded and looks "dry".

A friend said that a mixture of linseed oil - metho - and "something else" - wiped on would help.

Any suggestions on what the "something else" might be? I've been Googling away and think it might be vinegar?????

I don't want to cause any damage - so would really appreciate some guidance.

Cheers

Lisa

hello lisa,

we are also restoring a weatherboard house in the inner west in sydney and the timber lining boards are kauri pine but ours had 6 layers of paint over the top so the heat gun has been in constant use. ours has the bottom 1 mtr of boards stained dark and nothing easy about shifting the finish back to the colour of the pine above it. look forward to finding out if you come up with some more details.
regards, jb.

I reckon you might be spot on with the vinegar! Sounds totally correct!

Another (possibly better) option could be a staining wax. You can buy it in whatever shade you want. It has all the above in it, plus nourishing wax. It is specially made for what you want to do.

In the UK it is available from Mylands although I don't know about availability elsewhere in the world. Couldn't recommend it highly enough though (and no, I'm not on commission!)

Good luck. Let us know how it goes!

Anselm

Thanks for the advice re the Staining Wax - I think, given I have such large areas to cover that the linseed/metho/vingear might work best.

Thanks for the thought! :)

Now I just need to find the ratio of the three ingredients!

Cheers

Lisa :

An interesting question regarding the restoration of your interior wall panelling Lisa, given it being a 1940s house. I am assuming you are in Australia, and therefore would have thought that the timber is most likely to be either oak (ie, eucalypt, aka Tassie Oak) or perhaps blackwood. The old dark stain/finish they used to apply probably was a combination of products but may have even been shellac or dark varnishes.

To restore the dryness, an oil based finish will feed the timber and so is to my mind preferable. The use of stained wax polishes are fine but probably better suited to smaller areas. The mix suggested sounds like a reasonable option.

I too am going through this process but in my case, like jungle boy it is a case of paint stripping (heat gun and paint stripper) to remove old paint off baltic pine lining boards, some blackwood ones, cedar doors, architraves and a Huon pine door reveal. After cleaning back the cedar has been finished with shellac and I will most likely be doing similar for the other timbers. The alternative I may consider is coating with Tung oil.

Thanks Horsecroft - yes, I'm in Australian, Glen Innes actually. Shellac has been used extensively in the house, especially around the windows where it is deteriorating quite badly - another project!!!!!

I think I'll have a play with the linseed combo and try it out on an inconspicuous place.

I'll let the Forum know how it works.

Cheers

Lisa

Often the best solution with old finishes is a light rubdown with the correct solvent.
Start with Metho and a cloth pad. If that doesn't make much impression try lacquer thinners or failing that acetone. All of these products are available at bunings. The idea is to use just enough even out the marks of time without taking off a whole layer. And never let it run down a vertical surface.