Vintage bedside tables upgrade

[MissionIsta]

Hi All, 

I pulled these off the kerb in Melbourne and just love how they came out. Merely stripped the top and restained, and cleaned up the rest. 

Who else has done a project like this?

[Jason]

They look great, congrats @MissionIsta and a very warm welcome to the Workshop community. We're really pleased to have you join us and trust that you'll find plenty of like-minded furniture restorers in the community. Feel free to post whenever you need a hand or have something to share. It looks like you have some great knowledge and skills to share with the community so we're looking forward to seeing lots more posts soon. 

Jason

[APEX_Restore]

Nice one!

I do loads of antique and vintage timber resto's so if you ever need advice before you proceed, feel free to ask the forum and I'll answer as soon as I see it. 👍

[rkbake]

Hi hoping you might have some advice. I have an old vintage singer sewing machine in a wooden cabinet. I think it’s the original cabinet and I’d like to fix up the wood finish and varnish it as it’s got quite a lot of surface damage, some marks and wear. The varnish has started flaking, but i’m not  sure where to start and I don’t want to damage the machine itself! Any tips?  Thanks!

 

 

 

 

[APEX_Restore]

@rkbake 

Hi, sorry about the slow reply on this one.

These old Singer's are such wonderfully decorative things & well and truly antiques now too.

With that in mind, it's important with any antique restoration, you weigh up the benefits of the restoration vs the potential loss of value you might be causing by removing "original patina" etc.

With something like this, I think you're pretty safe to go ahead and restore the cabinet safely without risking losing value.

- First thing to do is unbolt all the metal off the timber cabinet (except for the hinges) so you're basically left with a simple timber cabinet.

- Next, wash down the cabinet with a product like pledge floor cleaner & warm water to remove any old furniture wax/oil, grease and grime. Using as little water as possible and drying it off as you go.

- Judging by the photos, the damage is primarily to the finish, not to the timber itself, with that in mind; I would be looking at restoring just the finish, leaving the timber alone.

Using 00's steel wool (basically very fine sand paper) I would remove the remaining varnish. Wipe down with metho to remove all remaining dust etc.

Then it's just a matter of re-varnising with a product of your choice but I would suggest premixed french polish (AKA shellac) applied using just a paint brush and about 4-5 coats.

Then reassemble!

[Jason]

Great to have you back on the Bunnings Workshop site sharing your knowledge and experience @APEX_Restore. Thanks for contributing further to this discussion.

Jason