Please help! Lovely old red cedar unit in very un-knowledgable hands! (mine)

[LisaZ]

Hi there,

I found this gorgeous little cabinet out on the street the other day, and thinking it was probably pine or perhaps oak under the thick stain, i took to it with a paint stripper (a gentle one, smells of citrus and is supposed to contain no nasties).

Anyway when the colour came off I got a shock - I think the unit's actually a very old red cedar piece. It has this exquisite art deco inlay that was completely hidden by the shellac or whatever it was.

As soon as I realised that (halfway through), i switched to a soft flannel and methylated spirits to remove the rest of the stripper.

But I'm worried about two things:

Will I have damaged the cedar by using stripper on it at all?
What should I finish it with now, especially to preserve the inlay? I have beeswax and Restor-A-Finish, but ideally i'd like something harder, to protect it. I read somewhere that I should avoid normal varnish - is that right?

Any advice will be much appreciated - I really don't want to ruin this piece by making beginners' mistakes, but I AM a beginner!

Thank you heaps in advance

[jmk89]

I doubt that the stripper would have damaged the timber very much.

As for strengthening the surface I would start with a couple of coats of shellac and work from there.


Screwing up in new ways every day

[rustynail]

If the stripper has been washed down properly it wont worry the timber. I dont think it is red cedar though. Looks more like maple to me.

[fletty]

That's a lovely piece Lisa. Of the 2 pics which is closer to the real colour?

fletty

[Woodwould]

It's not any well known furniture timber. As was the fashion after the war, this type of furniture was coated with dark stained varnish so the factories could use virtually pallet wood... the wood was never meant to be seen.

It's probably some sort of Asian hardwood, but short of sampling/microscopy, you'll likely never determine what the timber is. It's irrelevant anyway. It's coarse and rather unattractive wood, so I would be inclined to replace the dark varnish, or better still, stain it a dark colour first and then oil- or spirit varnish it.

[LisaZ]

Thanks everyone for being so helpful and putting my mind at ease

Fletty - the left photo - where it's very red - is the real colour, the flash washed out the close-up shot of the inlay. The better-preserved parts are the most exquisite red-gold with fine grain when slightly dampened with meths.

I have a restoration beeswax mix with some orange oil - would that be a good way to start? And could I then shellac after that? Sorry I'm so clueless!

[Woodwould]

Your beeswax and orange oil mixture would possibly have some merit as a maintenance dressing for a well sealed surface, or would be an excellent dressing for a workbench top, but I wouldn't put it on the stripped, raw surface of your cupboard as it will soak in without providing any short term gain, will reject other finishes and will look dull.

I would reiterate my previous course of action, or at the very least, just seal it with shellac. After sealing it, you have several options: Leave it as is, build up the shellac, or wax it. Be aware though, the shinier you make a rough bit of wood, the rougher it will look.

[LisaZ]

Thanks very much, Woodwould - that's what I'll do then


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