Please help me!

[adelaidegirl]

Hello there Woodwork Forum people, I am new to this forum and after reading lots of the links believe that I may be fortunate enough to get some help with my project. Having grown up in Tassie I was at a auction here in Adelaide last week and could not help but bid and win this wardrobe. It was stated as edwardian huon pine and having only briefly cast my eyes on it I took a punt. To possibly own a huon pine wardrobe!
The old shellac is horrible so I have cleaned it off the bottom drawer with metho. This wardrobe has lots of dings and probably needs a sand anyway, but I digress. One the bottom of the drawer it has stamped James Marshall & Co Adelaide - who were furniture makers and importers around 1910. The wood inside of the wardrobe is very pale and untreated. It smells old and musty and of shellac but the wood looks beautiful. I cant smell the Huon pine smell but I haven't sanded it.
So, can anyone tell me
Is it in the realms of possibility that it is Huon pine?
Should I continue with the metho to remove the shellac?
What should I then use on it - I really don't like shellac and would prefer a wax/oil if at all possible.
Does Huon Pine lose it's smell after 100yrs?
Please don't hesitate to burst my balloon of happiness as I paid under $300 for this and I think it is worth it regardless of what wood it is.
Thank you very much for reading this and I would appreciate any comments.
adelaidegirl

[nine fingers]

I could be wrong but it looks very much like Queensland Kauri. I used some Qld kauri that was over a 100 year old a few years ago , looks very similar.
( my kitchen cupboards and furniture ) regards John.

[adelaidegirl]

Thank you John for responding.
If it is QLD Kauri what would be the best method for restoring it? It does have some scratches and general wear and tear. I would like to keep it as light as possible and as I have already said I would like to use an oil/beeswax type of finish. Though if this is not recommended I would certainly heed any advice.
Regards
Rebecca

[Horsecroft88]

I could be wrong but it looks very much like Queensland Kauri. I used some Qld kauri that was over a 100 year old a few years ago , looks very similar.
( my kitchen cupboards and furniture ) regards John.

Hi there, I actually think from looking at the overall photo of the wardrobe, that at the very least the front panels are infact Huon. I say that as some of the visible grain and knots etc are very similar to that of Huon, and most unlike Kauri, from my experience, be it Aussie or NZ Kauri.

Being a Tassie born guy and working with a range of timbers including quite a lot of old Kauri,huon, Baltic let alone Cedar, on account of being into both antique restoration and old house restoration, I have had a bit to do with Huey over the years.

Regardless, two things, yes old huon pine, unless freshly cut can and will loose its' distinctive odour. I know this from experience. The other thing is that, and in truth a piece of this would have been French Polished (shellac finish) and that actually would be technically the correct finish to use on a magnificant piece like this. Finishing off with Bees wax polish. Cleaning the piece up, removing the old finish should get rid of all mustiness from the piece.

However, I also hear you that you don't like shellac (though am puzzled why), but regardless, yes you could try other finishes such as Oils, probably something akin to an organoil (but not the burnishing oil), and a wax finish.

In terms of stripping it, yes by all means best to continue with metho and steel wool, if this is working fine. The only other way I would suggest is to use a paint stripper. If you didn't want to use a caustic based one, one of the citrus based paint strippers could be a reasonable alternative.

If you need to sand, my advice would be to do this carefully and always follow the grain. Also don't use coarse grade papers, no coarser than say around 240-280, with a finish off with around 400 or finer. Too hard a sanding will result in loosing the patina (history) of the wardrobe.

Keep us all up to date with progress on this.