Help with a partners Desk restoration project

[BrentonSpear]

Hi,

I recently picked this mahogany partners desk up on ebay.

Attachment 158110

The previous owner told me that it was used in a law firm in Sydney and he thinks it was made around 1905.

It has a felt top in poor condition that I want to replace with a tooled leather top. This is covered by a piece of glass that I probably wont include on the piece once it is finished.

The desk has a number 'character' marks on it which look great but there is also some damage where someone has taken to the drawers with a screwdriver to get them open.

Attachment 158113

Attachment 158114

I need to source 3 or 4 more lock mechanisms for the desk as it is missing some.

Attachment 158112

And I also need to source 2 more drawer handles like this as it has two that are different to the rest of the desk.

Attachment 158111

I have read on this forum about using steel wool and metho to strip the surface back.

I would like to get some advice from the group as to how I can fix the damage to the wood and also strip the desk and then finish it.

Any and all help is appreciated.

Brenton

[AlexS]

You can check out Graeme Brown Antiques or the Furniture History Society for the locks and brassware.
If the finish is shellac (good chance it is) it can be removed with 0000 steel wool and metholated spirits. Check on an inconspicuous part first. Mop with the steel wool and plenty of Metho, then clean up with paper towels or newspaper. Repeat if necessary.
To repair the damage on the front, I'd try to replicate the moulding in the same type of timber using a scratchstock, then remove the damaged area using a router and glue the new moulding on. It only needs to be a couple of mm thick, probably the thinner the better.
I'm no expert restorer, and someone from the Furniture History Society may be able to give you better advice.

[BrentonSpear]

Thanks Alex.

What do you mean by 'scratchstock'?

[auscab]

That is a nice looking desk Brenton, the advice Alex gave you is good,the finish on the desk looks to be a nice faded polish job covered by a later coulor job,one thing good to try if you like the light colour, is steel wool and metho like Alex said ,but to the metho add linseed oil and turps in a bottle,roughly 60 % turps 20 % oil 20 % metho .

shake before every application, use the 0000 wool and have a dry rag in the other hand and buff dry when it looks right ,try to remove the top coulor job so the original one can be re shined with a thin rubber of shellac or a wax,done this way you can get a good look .

Test it out on a lower drawer first, and see if you like it

If it gets rubbed back to raw wood it will be a much harder polish job.if you rub through the original finish it will go blotchy, I work at Graeme Brown Antiques, and we revive jobs that look like that ,just that way, we re french polish very lightly then wax , original looking sells ,only because it looks so good. The difference between a revive job compared to a strip and re polish if done right , and if you have done it fifty times before is ,16 hours for the revive and 50 hours for the total strip re polish with shellac, not including woodwork and hardware.

cheers Rob Brown

[BrentonSpear]

Thanks Rob.

I will be into it next weekend or earlier if I get the time.

Where would I source different grades of steel wool?

Brenton

[auscab]

Where to get the steel wool? Alex may have to answer that one,
I did look in the UB section here and they dont seem to stock it,
I cant go in to what GBA sell.cheers Rob

[AlexS]

Thanks for the tips, Rob. 0000 steel wool is available from GBA, p65 of their catalogue, or from specialist woodwork shops such as Carba-tec. If you google 'scratch stock' there are articles, pictures and videos on making and using.

Rob, I was in at GBA for the 1st time a couple of weeks ago while in Melbourne. Wow, Alladin's cave! Previously bought by mail.

[auscab]

Yep ,its a good collection of gear, I never worked in that part of it so much, but it's been great working close to it, I prefer working at the bench. I checked your website ,nice things , some of those boxes look tricky .Rob

[ravna]

Believe it or not Bunnies sell 0000 steel wool....or at least they do here in Maryborough.

[Avery]

Believe it or not Bunnies sell 0000 steel wool....or at least they do here in Maryborough.

My local Bunnings even carries a range of grades.

It's in the paint section alongside the sandpaper.

[BrentonSpear]

I will go and check bunnings out then

I was going to swing by GBA but they are closed to the 17th

[BrentonSpear]

I went to bunnings and got the necessary supplies.

What a difference some steel wool and oil can make!

Attachment 158311

Its not as cherry red in real life as the photo shows. More a dark maple colour.

I really couldn't see what I was doing that well as it was dark in the garage but I think it has come up pretty well. The top two drawers have had the treatment and the bottom one is as it was.

I think that the second colour that was put on the desk has actually protected the original colour quite well.

2 hours down, 14 (hopefully) to go

[auscab]

Looking good Brenton, are you going to shine it from there or leave it?
And did you use the Turps Oil Metho Mix ?

Rob

[BrentonSpear]

>> Looking good Brenton, are you going to shine it from there or leave it?

Thanks Rob.

I am not sure. It looks great as it is. Do you have pics of the difference between shined and not?

>> And did you use the Turps Oil Metho Mix ?

Yes. Using the mix and 0000 steel wool brought the second colour right off.

I think I will get the couple of drawers that are badly damaged professionally fixed as it is beyond my tool skillset.

I will tackle the replacement of the divider sections between the drawers though.

[auscab]

I dont have pics of shined vs not shined, or not that I can think of at the moment, all my work pics are at work, On holidays at the moment

A wax can get it half way there, and is easy .

The best way is a very light go over with a rubber and a thin polish, and dry , squeezed till you can't get another drop out, this is french polishing and is the finishing stage of a french polish job, If you have never french polished there would be a bit to learn,not a lot, jobs like this get wrecked from putting to much polish on and quickly end up with the toffee apple look

After the thin polish job , waxed

Rob