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UK diy (uk.d-i-y) For the discussion of all topics related to diy (do-it-yourself) in the UK. All levels of experience and proficency are welcome to join in to ask questions or offer solutions. |
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restoring stained oak
I've got an oak table that was made around 1925, it's stained very dark
and in places where it gets worn, the wood is a more natural oak colour. As the table is of sentimental value, I'd like to restore it to something like it's original look. How do I best do that ? I'm not sure how the wood was finished after having been stained. The finish isn't glossy enough to make me think that it's French polished. What else would have been used in those days. It was built by an individual craftsman rather than in a factory. |
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What's a "stain" here ? A dark coating applied to oak in 1925 is quite
possibly a deliberate attempt to darken it, to comply with the then fashionable "stockbroker jacobean" and a mistaken idea that furniture of the period had always been near black. Yes, when I referred to stained oak, I meant that the stain was an intentional finish and it your description and opinion seems spot-on. But however mistaken the cabinet maker's intentions were, I'd like to return it to that finish as it matches other items made by the same person at the same time. At the moment, most of the surface is stained in that Jacobean colour, but areas that get worn have acquired a more natural medium oak colour. If you're after a darker (but not black) finish that evens up pale areas of wear, consider ammonia fuming it. Is that the sort of thing that an amateur can do with some expectation of succeeding ? |
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#6
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wrote:
wrote: Yes, when I referred to stained oak, I meant that the stain was an intentional finish Strictly speaking this is probably a "glaze", not a stain. Stains soak in, glazes sit on the surface. Obviously glazes can then wear off in the future, leaving lighter-coloured bare wood behind. Staining (or especially glazing) oak is a heathen practice and I'm not going to talk about it. But restoration in this case means going back to the c1920 cabinet maker's intention, not current fashion, nor a reinterpretation of what the maker should have done to copy 'original' oak four centuries, but what was originate last century. -- David Clark $message_body_include ="PLES RING IF AN RNSR IS REQIRD" |
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On Fri, 02 Sep 2005 10:19:27 GMT, Stuart Noble
wrote: Ammonia fuming is not really a practical proposition It's dead easy ! unless you can construct some kind of airtight tent and place a bowl of it in there overnight. Exactly. This is UK DIY - we have binliners and gaffer tape. Even ordinary household ammonia will blow your head off Ammonia is one of the few workshop chemicals I have any sort of averse reaction to. So _usually_, I wear a full face mask. But I'm only using 26% ammonia, not .880, and if I'm in a hurry to refill the box, I just hold my breath. brushing it on. Don't brush it on - use the _vapour_, not the liquid. Any liquid splashes will have a total ebonising effect, not just the attractive darkening. A mild solution of caustic soda or washing soda achieves pretty much the same thing. Nothing like the same effect. On oak you'll achieve a completely different colour. Washing soda is a reasonable way to age pine, but it's not the stuff to use on oak, unles you merely want it to look manky. -- Cats have nine lives, which is why they rarely post to Usenet. |
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Andy Dingley wrote:
On Fri, 02 Sep 2005 10:19:27 GMT, Stuart Noble wrote: Ammonia fuming is not really a practical proposition It's dead easy ! unless you can construct some kind of airtight tent and place a bowl of it in there overnight. Exactly. This is UK DIY - we have binliners and gaffer tape. Even ordinary household ammonia will blow your head off Ammonia is one of the few workshop chemicals I have any sort of averse reaction to. So _usually_, I wear a full face mask. But I'm only using 26% ammonia, not .880, and if I'm in a hurry to refill the box, I just hold my breath. brushing it on. Don't brush it on - use the _vapour_, not the liquid. Any liquid splashes will have a total ebonising effect, not just the attractive darkening. A mild solution of caustic soda or washing soda achieves pretty much the same thing. Nothing like the same effect. On oak you'll achieve a completely different colour. Washing soda is a reasonable way to age pine, but it's not the stuff to use on oak, unles you merely want it to look manky. IME all alkalis have a similar effect on hardwoods, controllable by the strength of solution. I guess the advantage with ammonia is that it does its job and leaves no residue behind. |
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