1900s homemade cabinet - touching up the finish

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This is where I'm still experimenting. MY favourite for silky oak is lantern oil. I makes it visually more attractive to me by making the lighter colours pop compared to the darker colours. The bees wax experiment just hasn't been great for me so far but I might be doing it wrong. Maybe when I move to Melbourne I will find opportunity to be trained by expert. I have yet to try wipe on poly

[Lappa]

Multiple coats of shellac and sanding then shellac and sanding etc and it's finished. Will let it stand for a week before using. There is no finish over the shellac.

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I buttoned the top down instead of glueing on the glue blocks, but the buttons and slotted rails are removeable with no change to the cabinet if I decide to glue in the future.

Thanks to those who followed and helped with this restoration.

Cheers

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I would consider a small area underneath to apply lantern oil to see the results. I was very hesitant to do this the first time but experienced members on this forum advised me to try and I loved the results.

Nice end. Same style of hinge plates as the wardrobe I recently finished using Danish oil.

Just spent the last day cleaning another wardrobe using mentholated spirits to remove the wax so that I can apply additional shellac to blend the scratches and knocks in.

[Lappa]

The interesting thing is they aren't hinges. They are decorations only - hand made and each top unit has VIII stamped in it.

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The hinges themselves are made with each side doubled over the hinge pin which is removeable.

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When you say "a small area underneath", are you talking about the inside base of the cabinet?
Also, what is lantern oil?

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Mine are ornamental as well. Seem to be a mixture of brass and copper (no expert here).

Hmmm ... couldn't find lantern oil anymore but I think the modern version is parafin oil.

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Oops, yes somewhere not so noticeable if you don't like it then you wouldn't continue using it. With the silky oak it really bad the colours pop.

[Xanthorrhoeas]

Hi, sorry I'm a bit intermittent here - I have too many things to do and am trying hard to find time to make a "mid-century-modern- style' sideboard for my daughter's birthday.

Yes, those are the shellac buttons, though I purchase mine from Shines Shellac.

You should always finish with a good coat of high-carnauba-content wax. Shellac finishes can be very hard wearing BUT they require a long time to completely dry out and 'set' before they are. You really should not place any objects on a new shellac finish for a couple of months. If the samovar is hot you will need something under it - like a piece of marble - to prevent the heat damaging the finish (Aldi often have good pieces of marble at reasonable prices).

I believe the Feast Watson recommendation for floorseal is bad.

The recommendation for using turps is for old surfaces that have a wax build-up, not in the process of doing a new shellac or French Polish finish.

[Lappa]

Thanks for the info.
I buy a bit off "bookworks" so it's good to know he has the buttons.
How long should I leave it before I apply the wax? I have Gilly Stephensons Carnauba Polish - is that suitable (also contains bees wax)
The samovar is purely ornamental.
I wasn't happy with the suggestion of floorseal either
I understood that the use of turps was for old surfaces with wax build up, not new surfaces.

Cheers and good luck with the build.

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Finally completed the clean up and treatment with Danish oil. The 2nd photo shows the fake hinge plate it came with.
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[Xanthorrhoeas]

Yes that shop/supplier is very useful.

Once the shellac has dried for about 3-4 days it should be safe to wax. That wax should be fine - they almost all contain some beeswax because, being a soft wax, it helps to spread and carry the harder waxes, but then you remove it when you buff well afterwards. My issue is just with pure beeswax as it stays sticky and attracts dirt. Many people support it because it is 'natural'. But certainly not natural to Australia (honeybees are imported) and Carnauba wax is natural too and much better. (The 'natural' thing is one of my bete noirs, Oleander sap is natural but if you get it in your eyes or ingest it it can blind/kill you!).

Another way to remove any wax build up is to use white spirit/drycleaning fluid (well ventilated area) as, unlike turps it doesn't leave any residue (that I know of).

[Xanthorrhoeas]

The carving and the hinge plates are nice Art Nouveau features. That period of furniture design produced many elegant items.

[Lappa]

Thanks for the info Xanthorrhoeas. Much appreciated.

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1920's ?

If I don't relocate for a while then I will post some pictures of cabinets, kitchen dressers, sideboards and chairs I need to refurbish and I want to do them right (no more practice.) The cabinet is black and I guess to stay authentic I will have to gentle clean and protect.

One day I hope to find a bookcase or two and they will be my real challenges