19-02-2013, 09:44 AM
Hi,
I've been undecided regarding how to finish this cabinet whether to give it a hand rubbed matt or high gloss finish. Yesterday I went into the workshop with the intention of adding more shellac but as I looked at the cabinet I thought why not try the hand rubbed finish because if it didn't look right I could always bring it back to a high gloss?
To do the best job the shellac really needed leaving well alone for about a week to fully harden; until hard it was highly likely rubbing with the finest grade wire wool (0000) would impart deep scratches which would be extremely difficult to remove. I've successfully brought shellac to a matt finish previously using wire wool lubricated with liquid paraffin but after all the hassles this cabinet has thrown at me I just knew it would be a mistake to take the risk.
As I'm treating this cabinet as an experiment I thought I would attempt flatting using 1200g abrasive paper lubricated with talcum powder; 1200g is very fine so wouldn't cause too much damage if it failed so I set to. It took a good hour to flat the shellac leaving me with aching arms but at least the shellac was now dead smooth with only a few tiny shiny spots the abrasive paper hadn't touched but it was acceptable. Now I had another problem; I really needed to see if flatting like this was successful and I would only know by applying liquid paraffin to check if this brought the expected glow and restored the colour but I also now needed to apply masking in order to spray the foot and mouldings; would masking tape adhere to a surface treated with liquid paraffin also there was a great risk liquid paraffin would contaminate the areas to be sprayed? At this point the cabinet looked very dull indeed.
I decided to mask so I took my time to make a good job of the masking then I sprayed on two good coats of gloss black auto lacquer from an aerosol. Once this had flashed off I applied two good coats of satin black auto lacquer from an aerosol. The paint was left for half an hour then the masking was very carefully removed taking care not to damage the shellac. I was short of black paint only having a drop left in the aerosols so the gloss was used as an undercoat and it worked out OK; I must remember to buy more paint.
Now for the final touch; I started to wipe on liquid paraffin using a soft cloth but what is happening? The shellac now showed rough patches and on close examination these were marks left by the masking tape; drat it the cabinet is still giving me grief won't it ever let up? Nothing for it but once again I was using 1200g abrasive paper this time to remove the tape marks. I had tried wiping with white spirit but this was unsuccessful. What a thing to happen at this late stage and I was now worried about cutting through to bare veneer so this flatting took a while. At last I wiped on the liquid paraffin rubbing it well in then the cabinet was given a vigorous buffing with a clean soft cloth to reveal its beauty.
Looking at the cabinet I thought I had made the correct choice in the matt finish; the cabinet looks like its been lovingly cared for over the last half century rather than it looking like it's just come out of the factory all shiny and brand new. By now I had lost decent light so ended up carrying the cabinet into the hall to take pictures.
Final assembly needed to finish the job off.
The job isn't quite finished yet because it needs the "works" installing and I'll add pictures shortly completing this project.
This project has been a difficult one for me and the cabinet hasn't been at all friendly in fact at times its been most hostile causing lots of problems driving home the message that I still have a great deal to learn but however bad things became I was able to go back a step to retrieve the job. Using hot hide glue allows mistakes to be rectified; shellac is also very forgiving and I just knew if I stuck with it the project would eventually come together as expected. I've experimented with this cabinet and gathered more skill and experience; I don't have all the answers and possibly never will but what I do have is confidence because using these old techniques its hard to completely fail. I hope my story encourages others to have a go at this fascinating branch of woodworking; I've had many happy hours of enjoyment for little monetary outlay and now have a nice radio to show for my efforts. The hardest part is making a start.
Kind regards, Col.
I've been undecided regarding how to finish this cabinet whether to give it a hand rubbed matt or high gloss finish. Yesterday I went into the workshop with the intention of adding more shellac but as I looked at the cabinet I thought why not try the hand rubbed finish because if it didn't look right I could always bring it back to a high gloss?
To do the best job the shellac really needed leaving well alone for about a week to fully harden; until hard it was highly likely rubbing with the finest grade wire wool (0000) would impart deep scratches which would be extremely difficult to remove. I've successfully brought shellac to a matt finish previously using wire wool lubricated with liquid paraffin but after all the hassles this cabinet has thrown at me I just knew it would be a mistake to take the risk.
As I'm treating this cabinet as an experiment I thought I would attempt flatting using 1200g abrasive paper lubricated with talcum powder; 1200g is very fine so wouldn't cause too much damage if it failed so I set to. It took a good hour to flat the shellac leaving me with aching arms but at least the shellac was now dead smooth with only a few tiny shiny spots the abrasive paper hadn't touched but it was acceptable. Now I had another problem; I really needed to see if flatting like this was successful and I would only know by applying liquid paraffin to check if this brought the expected glow and restored the colour but I also now needed to apply masking in order to spray the foot and mouldings; would masking tape adhere to a surface treated with liquid paraffin also there was a great risk liquid paraffin would contaminate the areas to be sprayed? At this point the cabinet looked very dull indeed.
I decided to mask so I took my time to make a good job of the masking then I sprayed on two good coats of gloss black auto lacquer from an aerosol. Once this had flashed off I applied two good coats of satin black auto lacquer from an aerosol. The paint was left for half an hour then the masking was very carefully removed taking care not to damage the shellac. I was short of black paint only having a drop left in the aerosols so the gloss was used as an undercoat and it worked out OK; I must remember to buy more paint.
Now for the final touch; I started to wipe on liquid paraffin using a soft cloth but what is happening? The shellac now showed rough patches and on close examination these were marks left by the masking tape; drat it the cabinet is still giving me grief won't it ever let up? Nothing for it but once again I was using 1200g abrasive paper this time to remove the tape marks. I had tried wiping with white spirit but this was unsuccessful. What a thing to happen at this late stage and I was now worried about cutting through to bare veneer so this flatting took a while. At last I wiped on the liquid paraffin rubbing it well in then the cabinet was given a vigorous buffing with a clean soft cloth to reveal its beauty.
Looking at the cabinet I thought I had made the correct choice in the matt finish; the cabinet looks like its been lovingly cared for over the last half century rather than it looking like it's just come out of the factory all shiny and brand new. By now I had lost decent light so ended up carrying the cabinet into the hall to take pictures.
Final assembly needed to finish the job off.
The job isn't quite finished yet because it needs the "works" installing and I'll add pictures shortly completing this project.
This project has been a difficult one for me and the cabinet hasn't been at all friendly in fact at times its been most hostile causing lots of problems driving home the message that I still have a great deal to learn but however bad things became I was able to go back a step to retrieve the job. Using hot hide glue allows mistakes to be rectified; shellac is also very forgiving and I just knew if I stuck with it the project would eventually come together as expected. I've experimented with this cabinet and gathered more skill and experience; I don't have all the answers and possibly never will but what I do have is confidence because using these old techniques its hard to completely fail. I hope my story encourages others to have a go at this fascinating branch of woodworking; I've had many happy hours of enjoyment for little monetary outlay and now have a nice radio to show for my efforts. The hardest part is making a start.
Kind regards, Col.
Happiness is a wreck of a cabinet to restore.
