Refinishing cedar grandfather clock

[Scottwc]

Hi all,

I'm pretty new here, but it seems there's some awesome advice floating around and I would love some to help me on my project of fixing up a grandfather clock.

To to give you the short story, the clock I am working on is the 4th grandfather clock that my Pa had made, sadly he didn't get to finish it, so that's where I come in! The clock was finished by him, using varnish that I have had to strip. The clock needed stripping as, due to his poor eyesight at the time, the finish had runs and uneven patches.

Here are links to some photos

http://i.imgur.com/0GKcNNq.jpg
one of his earlier clocks that I'm hoping mine will end up like

http://i.imgur.com/puYtu99.jpg
WIP. Middle section has had a light sanding. At this stage I'm beginning to think that some areas were stained darker to provide contrast in the finish.

http://i.imgur.com/mRa1X10.jpg

At at the moment, sanding is where I need some advice. As you can see in photo 3, some of the grain of the timber is full of white stuff (I'm assuming it is varnish). What I'm wondering about, is how much the timber needs to be sanded. Are these white marks in the grain going to change how the finish will look? The 2nd point about sanding is essentially how far back it needs to be sanded. I'm sanding my hand and have started with 80grit and will work my way up. Is there an easy way to tell when all traces of the varnish is removed and I'm back to bare timber that will come up nicely when finished?

I look forward to your ideas and advice, any comments would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
Scott.

[daryl@kit-chens]

Hi Scott,
The white stuff you are talking about is Plaster of Paris and was widely used by the old French Polisher's in furniture as a grain filler. The idea was to provide an extremely smooth finish prior to applying the shellac. Don't try and sand until there is no more showing or you'll be there forever. By starting out with 80-grit then 120 - 180 - 240 and if you think you need finish on 320. But it can become boring and slow so don't be too worried about stopping on the 240-grit especially given how well Cedar accepts sanding.

Once you stain the timber and start re-finishing, normally if there is any Plaster of Paris showing, it starts to darken and becomes relatively unnoticeable. However, even though the clock is made from Queensland Red Cedar, if you were to wipe the timber with a cedar stain, the stain will enritchen the natural grain of the wood and look sensational.

If you want you could use a grain filler yourself and many of these are pre-stained. Be careful though as many of these are bloody hard work, so check your suppliers instructions. I used to get mine from Mirotone but there's was hard work. Try talking to a local French Polisher for ideas.

I'd be interested in knowing how you were planning to finish your clock. Shellac, Laquers or 2-pack? Another method that is easy to apply and looks great is to apply 2 or 3 coats of Shellac sanding back with 240 grit between coats. Then grab a can of Cabots Danish Oil. Read and follow the directions to the letter and you should finish up with a great result.

Best of Luck...Daz10

[Scottwc]

Hi Daz,

Thanks for your reply. So really I just need to sand enough that all traces of the previous finish are off, then sand with some finer grit paper and it will be good to go?

i haven't thought too much about finishes yet, as I said I'd like it to end up looking similar to the one in the photo in the previous post. The clock I'm working on was originally done to a high gloss, not too sure what with, but I'm thinking I'd like to highlight the grain and different colours in the timber whilst having a bit of a shine, but not too glossy.

Which brings me to another question I've had whilst sanding. Does the colour of cedar vary largely? I've attached a photo of one section, is this natural coloration or do the darker areas need more sanding?

The original finish
http://i.imgur.com/3tLn8QK.jpg

The back, which has been sanded
http://i.imgur.com/4ijMUkR.jpg

Cheers,
Scott

[ubeaut]

Original finish looks like shellac.

Those plaster of paris sections will most likely go pink when you stain as it doesn't like to accept colour when its old and hard. The darker colour of the original will be in partly, the wet colour of the cedar (wet it down to see the true colour) plus the honey colour of the shellac finish.

Oiling old cedar may make it go a very unpleasant dark colour so try it on an inconspicuous spot before jumping in boots and all.

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers - Neil

[LGS]

Hi Scott,

I'm in agreement with Neil, Shellac is possibly the best finish for Cedar, particularly old cedar. Oiling Cedar is problematic at best, so I would steer away from this. Several coats of Shellac applied according to Maker's instructions will give a great and pleasing finish.

Regards,

Rob

[Scottwc]

Hi all,

I'm about to get back to working on this project as I've been overseas for the last few months. I'm in the process of sanding with 80 grit paper, doing it all by hand and there's a few things I'd appreciate some pointers on.

The first is how to sand right into corners, like in this photo here. Using paper I haven't been able to get right in the corner, is there a certain tool or technique I could use?
http://i.imgur.com/0GuR0Bb.jpg

The second is how to sand in and around the details, I've attached a few photos of the detailing that will need to be sanded. Any tips would be most appreciated.
http://i.imgur.com/ZS8E060.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/xKz8uFO.jpg

Thanks in advance
Scott

[ian]

How far have you sanded already?

If your father originally used shellac, the the finish can be rejuvenated using metho.
It's probable you can achieve the finish you want by rejuvenating the original finish and the applying more coats of shellac.
Essentially you want to fill the grain pores with shellac

[Scottwc]

So far all surfaces have been stripped of the original finish and have been hand sanded using 80 grit paper, except for those corners and detailed areas mentioned above.

[Christos]

I am going to suggest using a scraper as that is what I would do for the corners and details. It might take a while but would get there in the end.