Restoration - Old Silky Oak Desk

Hi Everyone,
My first post on the forum. My name is Stephen, I live on the Sunshine Coast in QLD and have just began some projects restoring old furniture. I have done some work in the past with guitars and timber boats but this is my first projects with furniture.

My current project is an old desk. I bought it in Brisbane and my guess is that it's around 60-80 years old. (photos below).

It was in pretty bad condition when I got it, with stickers (football and racing car plastic all over the place). I've removed all of those. It had several different gloss finishes on top of each other and several stain colours.

I've stripped, sanded and cleaned with mentholated spirits, and have got down to some nice timber. It's still got the chips, scratches and bruises of the years.

The cabinet infill panels (sides and back) had some water damage and after some cleaning and sanding, I've treated them with a darkish stain. I would like to keep the framing as natural timber.

I still have a clean up to do on the top--originally 5 planks fixed into one piece--which has come apart into 2 pieces.

My quandary is, when its ready, what to finish it with?

I like the idea of a traditional finish that would work with its age. And I would like to use the desk for my work so the top and drawer-fronts needs to be durable enough for that.

I would be really grateful for your comments and ideas on this. I like old furniture and it also needs to be able to be used as intended. What are the ways to finish old furniture so that it's functional and also retains its vintage connection?

Here's some photos. One cabinet is advanced and the other, original condition with the stickers removed.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/44181313/Sil...k/IMG_1520.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/44181313/Sil...k/IMG_1521.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/44181313/Sil...k/IMG_1522.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/44181313/Sil...k/IMG_1523.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/44181313/Sil...k/IMG_1524.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/44181313/Sil...k/IMG_1525.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/44181313/Sil...k/IMG_1526.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/44181313/Sil...k/IMG_1527.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/44181313/Sil...k/IMG_1528.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/44181313/Sil...k/IMG_1529.JPG

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/44181313/Sil...k/IMG_1530.JPG

Hi.

I often use blonde dewaxed shellac on Silky Oak, it keeps the colour of the Silky Oak, regular orange polish, turns it...orange. :p
Ummm, I don't actually see any Silky Oak in your photos, but anyways. I would still probably use blonde shellac on this project. It's easy to use and is a fairly strong finish, IMHO. Buy a good brush if you don't already one. And good luck. Post some pix when you're done, would love to see the finished article.

Cheers,
FF.

Thanks for your comments and the info.

Ha! Maybe it's not Silky Oak after all? The infill panels are plywood.

Was able to do some repairs on the drawer sliders this weekend.

Will check out the shellac. Thanks again.