Veneer and finish damage to old wardrobe

[mikm]

Hi all,
Looking for advice regarding restoration of this wardrobe/cupboard (not actually sure what it would be classified as. It has shirt hanging space on one side and drawers on the other) that was passed down from my grandmother. Probably of dubious monetary value, but it does have significant sentimental appeal.

The door veneer has cracked with raised edges (the light horizontal lines) and the finish has crazed as well. There is also damage to the top that should be addressed. I removed the handles while my kids are are toddlers, but they will go back on in future.

The middle picture, doors.jpg shows the damage I'm most concerned about.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.
Cheers,
Mick

[toolbagsPLUS]

Hi Mick,

It's a Lowboy I would guess in the 1930's, I reckon you are going to be stuck with some of those marks still being visible after restoring. But you can improve on it greatly. Remove old shellac with Metho and #2 steel wool. Very lightly sand (240, 320, 400 ,600 wet and dry) the whole area to bring the buckled veneer down, keep in mind you only have just over 1/2mm to play with.
If veneer has lifted then spread some glue under lifted area, I use hide glue but there are several schools of thought on that. Finish with shellac, Varnish or French Polish which ever you fancy. Apply a good quality furniture cream or wax.
Fair amount of work, but will look wonderful if done well.

Cheers

Steve

[mikm]

Ah HA!
A lowboy, eh? Thanks for that.

Keeping in mind I have no experience in the area Steve, your suggestions are pertty much what I was thinking:
*Remove old finish
*Impregnate the lifted edges of the cracks with adhesive (hide glue, preferably).
*Use heat? and pressure? to flatten surface.
*Finish with shellac

Even if the above is a reasonable solution, I have no real idea of the specifics required to make step 3 happen,

I must admit that I'm very wary of any sort of sanding - the cracking will just open up much wider and permanently before I even approximate a flat surface, I think.

Thanks for you help so far.
Mick

[toolbagsPLUS]

Hi Mick,

Sometime a hot iron over a wet tea towel will shrink, flatten and re-glue areas.

Do it bit by bit keep checking to see how the results are proceeding.

Wet tea-towel wring it out then cover the area and press with iron set on cotton for about 3 - 4 seconds..maybe longer (moving the iron around a little) but you will find out the best time after a few goes.

Cheers

Steve

[mikm]

Thanks for that Steve, I'll give it a go and see what happens.