Australian Cedar Cupboard

Its not a case of there "may have been some fine colonial joinery", the fact is that there is a significant body of superb Australian made colonial furniture. I know for I have seen countless examples of it down here in Tasmania, in National Trust properties, at the Museum in Hobart, let alone at major antique auctions and specialist antique dealers around the State etc.

We down here in Tassie have had some of the very best of colonial furniture, let alone domestic architectural features, given that Tasmania was the second colony in the country, with a significant colonial landed gentry. They wanted the very best and usually could afford it.

I have to agree with the comments that rustynail makes. It simply makes sense.

Are you able to tell me the nae of the products you used? I am a novice at this and do not want to damae the frames.
I have two narrow cedar mirror frames from a wardrobe. I have carefully removed the paint, but now need help in restoring the timber. Your wax sounds ideal. I am not interested in Shellac.

And this is my first post. Am not sure if this is all I need to do.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by spg

Are you able to tell me the nae of the products you used? I am a novice at this and do not want to damae the frames.
I have two narrow cedar mirror frames from a wardrobe. I have carefully removed the paint, but now need help in restoring the timber. Your wax sounds ideal. I am not interested in Shellac.

And this is my first post. Am not sure if this is all I need to do.

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Welcome to the forum!
I happen to have used a Howard product. I hastily point out that there are other suitable products available on the market.
The products of one of this forum's sponsors spring to mind ;-)

Yvan for sure is correct regarding both Howards and of course Ubeauts products. In respect of bees wax polish I use, its called McDonalds antique wax. I get it from a local specialised paint shop here in Hobart. It comes in both clear and cedar. I have tried both extensively over the years and really can't say getting the cedar stained polish makes any significant difference from the clear polish. It easy to apply and buffs off superbly.

One question, though SPG, you say you don't want to use shellac. Is there a reasoning behind this. I only ask, as to apply a wax polish over stripped cedar, really isn't going to work very well. To get the full effect and to protect your cedar frames, IMHO, you actually do need to apply shellac, and lightly sand back between coats, and on the final sanding use 0000 grade steel wool before applying the wax. That way you will get the cedar to properly shine, and be fully protected.

But it is up to you. Using shellac is really straight forward.

Dave

I agree with Horsecroft88. Shellac is a really easy product to use. In fact, UBeaut even sells some shellac solutions already made up in bottles so you can just dilute with some metho and use a fine brush to apply (I have read there is also an American shellac that comes in liquid form -- Zinsser or similar name -- that Masters Hardware were selling). Brush application is OK if you are simply sealing the timber and as long as you rub back the surface with fine wet and dry paper (600 grit and finer) after every 3-4 coats. As a sealer you only need about 4 coats of diluted shellac or fewer with less dilute (but thends to leave brush marks).

As we head into winter one of the great advantages of shellac is that its solvent is alcohol, and that evaporates quickly so you can put more coats on quickly than if you use a slower drying product. If you want to just seal the surface and depend on the wax for a finish then UBeaut's sanding sealer (a very dilute shellac solution) would be perfect. Paint on two or three coats and let dry then apply a good wax.

I prefer one of the good antique furniture waxes (e.g Liberon Black Bison but many more brands just as good) with a high Carnauba wax content - you will get it from antiques stores. Carnauba is a hard wax that gives a very long-lasting finish.

I have also found that applying wax with 0000 steel wool before a final application of wax with a soft cloth seems to improve the depth of the overall finish as if the use of the steel wool helps keying in the last wax coating. Just an impression mind you, no solid evidence to support the practice.

Thank you to ou both. I am now in the process of finding a reliable source of information about the sequence of applying shellac. Have found some good comments on this forum about different ways of application. I wonder if either of you can steer me in the right direction.