Advice about an old trunk - please pardon the crosspost!

I just joined this forum and posted this on the refinishing forum, after which i found the restoration forum and decided i probably put it in the wrong place, so please pardon the crosspost if that upsets you !

I found this huge old trunk clad in some kind of metal with Wood bands on the outside reinforcing it. The trunk appears to be well over 100 years old and the old leather straps are long gone. The wood is in pretty good shape and the metal covering, though quite rusty is still intact and the black paint is visible in places. I'd like to make an end table out of it, mounting a pieice of beveled glass on the top. Before i do the glass top part though, of course i want to at least seal the wood and metal parts. I don't mind the rusty look, so i won't be painting it. I've already treated the wood with Murphy's Oil soap and then linseed oil. I put linseed on the back side of the metal just to see how it would react and i like the result. Eventually i think i would like to seal the whole thing with some laquer or varnish. Anyone have any suggestions on how to treat the metal and wood before sealing and also WHAT can i use to seal the metal that will give it a nice warm and semi glossy look ? Thanks !

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Originally Posted by Chipsmith

I just joined this forum and posted this on the refinishing forum, after which i found the restoration forum and decided i probably put it in the wrong place, so please pardon the crosspost if that upsets you !

I found this huge old trunk clad in some kind of metal with Wood bands on the outside reinforcing it. The trunk appears to be well over 100 years old and the old leather straps are long gone. The wood is in pretty good shape and the metal covering, though quite rusty is still intact and the black paint is visible in places. I'd like to make an end table out of it, mounting a pieice of beveled glass on the top. Before i do the glass top part though, of course i want to at least seal the wood and metal parts. I don't mind the rusty look, so i won't be painting it. I've already treated the wood with Murphy's Oil soap and then linseed oil. I put linseed on the back side of the metal just to see how it would react and i like the result. Eventually i think i would like to seal the whole thing with some laquer or varnish. Anyone have any suggestions on how to treat the metal and wood before sealing and also WHAT can i use to seal the metal that will give it a nice warm and semi glossy look ? Thanks !

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Hi there Chip

I once found an old trunk buried under some stuff in our family barn. What a find! It even had faint gold initials on the leatherette. I just rubbed back the metal bits with fine steel wool, dusted them off and then gave them a fine coat of thin orange shellac using a mop brush. It came up a treat!

Hope that helps

Ian