Atnique Table Restoration

Once again, thank you all for your very constructive replies and advice. Rssr thank you also for your tip re A Polishers Handbook, I will follow up on that too.

The chest of drawers are magnificent. I know that as my table was brought out here from the UK, it is most likely not Aust cedar so I hope I won't find any white gunk or pitfalls when I come to work on the top.

I like the advice about antique dealers & car salesmen. I'll spare the table & give the bone to my dog.

This arvo I checked out the paint stripper & shuddered to see the old brand from the 70's is still being made. I am interested in a stripping gel, supposed to be mild & it's called Citristrip & its companion is called Paint Remover Wash. If I go for this brand, is it necessary to use the paint remover wash or would water (??), metho/steel wool be sufficient?

Kind regards,
Mem

'Fraid I don't know anything about Paint Remover wash Mem.

Under the poly you're going to find shellac and this will have soaked well into the wood. The stripper may well not remove it all but first you need either a chemical or mechanical means of dealing with the poly. Then you might resort to Meths and steel wool to deal with the shellac or else start sanding; but first see what's left after the stripper.

G'day Mem

I don't know how much help I'll be but I'll add a few thoughts.

It may be worth trying OOOO steel wool and metho on the polyurathane - if it has any effect you'll be able to strip it without changing the shape of the wood.

Sanding is for removing scratches and replacing them with smaller scratches working throught the grits until the scratches are too small to see. Most people create a very uneven dished out surface when they try to sand something back.

As the top has existing sanding marks and is probably not flat I would probably hand plane the top and get as many blemishes as possible out with a scraper and then start sanding with the highest grit capable of removing any visible marks - i.e. I would prefer to start with 240 grit rather than 80. I have a fairly finely tuned hand plane and a fair bit of training in this area which you may not have. If you're feeling really dedicated you could find someone running a plane fettling course and go along with an old Stanley No.6. The difference between a tuned up plane and an off the shelf one is the same as the difference between trying to do joinery with an axe compared to a drop saw.

I think a half sheet orbital sander - the big oblong one is probably the most fool proof for a beginner for maintaining flatness.

Once you've got the thing flat by planing sand like a machine doing the same thing over the whole top in systematic full length strokes - don't do a little bit here, a litle bit there. Imagine a big automated machine in a factory taking a series of cuts - get the idea of sanding away for hours ("oh yes, it's starting to come now") out of your head.

Keep the sandpaper clean either with compressed air or a brush and change the paper often. One sheet will not do the whole table top. Once the sandpaper has stopped cutting and is only burnishing you're wasting time, also its amazing how rubbing away with worn out sandpaper destroys the flatness of the surface.

Read everything you can find about sanding and finishing in general. You'll find a lot of information on these forums and also links to good articles.

The reason people say don't sand antiques is that doing so removes part of the original maker's work. You are effectively making a new piece with the original becoming recyled material for a new piece made by you.

I hope this is of some help.

Regards

Gerard

Hi there Gerard,

Thank you so much for your advice Gerard, it is very much appreciated. I have received some great advice that has given me the confidence to undertake this project. I went ahead and bought a very mild stripper and used it on one of the legs but I found mild as it might be, it still opened up the grain a tiny bit. I then used the stripper remover wash which was good but I also resorted to good old water. I then used meths and steel wool to remove as much of the shellac as I could and as the shellac seems to have soaked well into the wood, I am a bit loathe to continue using the meth because I think it really drying out the wood too. So, after reading your advice re the sandpaper, I agree with you and perhaps it is the lesser of the two evils. I will buy both the steel wool and sand paper that you have recommended and use it to finish off the leg I am working on. I think at the end of the day, I can finish the leg off really well and still get a very nice final finish when I decide what I will use on the table. It certainly will not be polyurethene.

As far as the top is concerned, I am leaving that until the very last and will work on it with my husband who has the planing experience :U. I certainly will need planing because when I run my hand over the top you can feel the unevenness, so thank you for your advice too.

Regardless opinion on antique restoration, I think it is much kinder to the table to have it looking at least 90% of its original condition than the poor sad excuse for a nice table it is today.

I am going really slow, there is no pressure to finish the job and I will just do one leg at a time and to reiterate I have found all the advice, yours included, so helpful and very much appreciated.

Kind regards,
Mem

Here's a source of sanding sponges Mem, for doing moulded sections:

Sanding Sponges | The Sandpaper Man

Mem, looks like there is a lot of good practical advice out there, and Thumbthumpers's resto of his cedar chest certainly shows what can be achieved.

I have been restoring antiques and antique joinery for "pleasure" and occasionally for friends or for sale for the past 18 years. From my extensive experience in restoring such timbers (whether cedar, huon, baltic, kauri, oregan, and even Tassie oak) you really don't need to be afraid of using paint strippers. With my wife, we are currently restoring our 1824 farmhouse, which has cedar architraves, reveals, 6 panel doors, huon pine skirtings etc etc, which have all been coated with multiple coats of paint over the original shellac finish.

I heat gun the paint off and clean off the crud with multiple applications of paint stripper and coarse steel wool. Then once clean and dry, I further clean off with metho and allow to dry. I do sand all the timbers I am working with using 150 grade, passing up to 180 and finishing off with 320. Given I am talking about antique timbers with heaps of patina, the key is knowing how far to sand, since it is all too easy to loose the bumps, scratches, stains etc. I only use shellac finish on my antiques and joinery. I would rarely ever use machine sanding on an antique, but rather do all the sanding by hand as it is a lot kinder to the surface and easier to gauge how far to go.

The method is to apply shellac firstly in a slightly more concentrated formulation (3-4 coats), lightly sand off and then re-apply shellac finish though more diluted with metho (3-4 coats) and then resand and re-apply shellac finish further more diluted. Finally cut back with the finest steel wool and apply bees wax polish. Always follow the direction of the grain and if you are unhappy with the shine after the first bees waxing, give it a second waxing.

You can always add a little cedar stain to the shellac but if doing so, be careful as it can bleed as you apply.

I always use a combination of a paint brush and rubbing pad for the application of shellac (the pad being used in a figure of 8 on large flat surfaces).

Basically if you follow this approach you really shouldn't go wrong. I was tought this method by a retired TAFE furniture restoration teacher when I first started out.

I have just finished restoring a Huon Pine dresser top which when purchased was covered in cruddy pink flaking paint and muck below, off Gordon Brown (Collectors fame !), and as usual it has come out far better than most antiques you see in many shops. The key is persistance, patience and lots of hard work. The results though are worth it. :D

FWIW I learned to start with a dilute shellac wash or two and then go to stronger ones.

I wood use a paint stripper and a bar top polish. make sure too wash the job down with meths or thinners if you use paint stripper.

Hi Mem. Did you get a quote from Geoff Backman in Tindale St? I haven't spoken to him for a while. he may have finally retired. He is a genuine old school french polisher who wouldn't rip you off.
I would recommend stripper washed off with plenty of meths and fine steel wool. You should be very careful not to mark or remove the original timber surface by scraping or coarse sanding.
If you don't like the smell of stripper try Citristrip It smells like oranges and is very effective. They have their own remover /wash but meths works ok. Follow directions on the can and don't forget good rubber gloves.
I would be happy to come and see it and give you a hand if you like.
best wishes
steve :)