How do I match that sort of muddy light brown Mid Century finish on a table...

[scottbr]

Hi all,

A friend has asked for help with a 50/60s table.

Looks like it has been in the sun and the finish has failed.

Just sanding and refinishing (I would normally use a hardwax oil) is not going to do the trick because the bare patches of timber will look different from those where that muddy Mid C finish has remained.

And she doesn't want the finish completely removed and it taken back to bare wood because it then won't match any of the other Mid C stuff she has.

Any idea how I recreate that look? I recall reading once that there are spray cans of toner or something? I'm a bit keen to get this right because I've been asked before to do it and I have always said 'yeah, nah'.

(Those photos were of course the right way up on my desktop.)


PXL_20240216_021341302.jpgPXL_20240216_021332775.jpg

[mic-d]

Really the finish has failed and needs to come off. But I would try scrubbing a small area with oxalic acid or 'timber reviver' and see what colour the wood comes back to. If it's close to the colour of the finished areas, that may convince the client that removal would be OK. You don't have to sand, you could use a stripper. Or perhaps you could wash the whole table with oxalic and give a light sand and put a finish on it, but the failing finish is likely to keep flaking so that is the worst idea.

[scottbr]

Uh oh, I'm heading down a rabbit hole, aren't I.
I can feel it coming.
1. I have some Feast Watson wood restorer that works pretty well. I'll try that first.
2. What stripper would you recommend?
3. Oxalic acid is something I have no experience with, but I guess the day will come.
That furniture would have originally been sprayed with a finish that had a colour in it?

[mic-d]

Uh oh, I'm heading down a rabbit hole, aren't I.
I can feel it coming.
1. I have some Feast Watson wood restorer that works pretty well. I'll try that first.
2. What stripper would you recommend?
3. Oxalic acid is something I have no experience with, but I guess the day will come.
That furniture would have originally been sprayed with a finish that had a colour in it?

Just try The FW stuff on a patch first and talk to your friend about the revealed colour then if they give the go ahead strip it first and then use the timber reviver after everything's removed. I use Poly paint stripper (the one with DCM/methylene chloride in it) but best done outside because of the VOC, being an old organic chemist, I am happy to use it, I usually lay over some glad wrap to preserve the volatile stripper. You may prefer something like Citristrip.
Oxalic acid is available at Bunnys as Diggers Rust and Stain Cleaner, just make up as recommended. It is toxic when ingested (metabolised to formaldehyde) so don't eat it, and follow the disposal instructions. Most of the timber revivers I've used have this as the active ingredient anyway.

I don't know if the finish would have been tinted, I'm guessing no, but your tests should reveal. Is it a veneer on top or only solid timber?

[scottbr]

Thanks again.
I assumed the top was veneer, but maybe not. It hasn't shown up here yet.
I have some Poly stripper. It has a skull and crossbones on it, so it must be the good stuff.
I'll get some of that Diggers cleaner when I'm next at Bunnings. And I'll be sure not confuse it for my coffee.
There will be photos.

[mic-d]

Thanks again.
I assumed the top was veneer, but maybe not. It hasn't shown up here yet.
I have some Poly stripper. It has a skull and crossbones on it, so it must be the good stuff.
I'll get some of that Diggers cleaner when I'm next at Bunnings. And I'll be sure not confuse it for my coffee.
There will be photos.

I think that might be a correct assumption. You need to consider if the glue is compatible with a stripper, you don't want to upset the veneer. I don't have any experience with what glue would have been used. Test an edge and see if it stays down?

[scottbr]

I think that might be a correct assumption. You need to consider if the glue is compatible with a stripper, you don't want to upset the veneer. I don't have any experience with what glue would have been used. Test an edge and see if it stays down?

Got that table here. Well, a leaf of it anyway.

Solid timber and does not look like it has been coloured in the initial spraying.

I'm going to do a test on the bottom and see how it turns out. Might use a card scraper and then do some sanding. I'll use stripper if I have to.

[markharrison]

It was probably just a commercially available varnish of some sort. As others have said, it has failed completely and should be written off.

I would strip the whole thing and refinish it all. My goto finish these days is Kunos. Hard to say from that photo and the flaking finish, but it may also need some grain filler to get the finish where you want it.

[scottbr]

Thanks Mark.
I haven't heard of Kunos, but I see there are some stores near me that sell it. Which of their products would you use for a table?
I've mostly used OSMO Hardwax Oil (and other hardwax oils)

[Chief Tiff]

Before breaking out the stripper or abrasives; try to rub the old finish off with metho, it may have been finished with shellac.

[scottbr]

Thanks Chief.
Not shellac, so I stripped the varnish off the bottom and gave a sand and a couple of coats (wiped on sparingly) of hardwax oil.
Came up really well.
She'll bring the rest of the table over soon and get started. I'll probably do the stripping, but she can do everything else under my watchful eye.

[mic-d]

A good outcome👍👍

[markharrison]

Thanks Mark.
I haven't heard of Kunos, but I see there are some stores near me that sell it. Which of their products would you use for a table?
I've mostly used OSMO Hardwax Oil (and other hardwax oils)

This is what I have been using: Kunos Natural Oil Sealer | Natural wood oil | Linseed oil - Livos Australia

I can't say I have any long term experience to tell you durable this is but it is sold as a finish for floors, the toughest possible use-case!

[EagerBeaver71]

I was just wondering, can you thin hard wax oil down, so you can apply it like you would shellac?.

[markharrison]

I was just wondering, can you thin hard wax oil down, so you can apply it like you would shellac?.

You can certainly thin it. Whether there is any advantage to that I could not tell you as I've never tried it. My usage has always been straight out of the tin with a cloth.

Livos sell an organic thinner for their products (SVALOS Thinner | Natural Fast Drying Thinner - Livos Australia). I imagine it would work as well with other HWO products but again, untried by me.