1 out of 10...?

[Steve_P]

My first attempt at stripping down, i.e. removing the finish, from a cabinet. I used a Nirtomors spray, two coats and leave, then scraped the cabinet clean. Then did the cabinet in Meths to remove any residue and left to dry.

I hope to remove the rest of the darker polish with sandpaper and then polish the whole thing up. Pictures to laugh at are below...

Cheers,

Steve P.

[Mark R]

Steven
Well done old bean!
Now is some finish left on pic 2 left side?
Now get some very fine sand paper/wet and dry and some talc then sand with the grain (WITH THE GRAIN)! to create a smooth finish. The talc will help fill up any open pores in the grain. then it is just a matter of applying the finish.

which we shall approach when Col has had some input.

cheers Mark

[Michaelr]

Steve,

Keep up the good work, this is something I would love to perfect. Time and patience is the key for finishing quality I believe.

Incidentally I know it is not a Pye P75 as it has too many holes in the front but the cabinet looks very similar, what radio is it ?

Regards
Mike

[Tedzed1]

Well Done Young Man,

If you have any stubborn finish left on the cabinet, the thicker jelly like nitromors may help, applied with a paintbrush and worked into the stubborn area on the cabinet, (nowadays, i use wilkinsons own brand of stripper, much cheaper and just as strong)
then I usually go over the cabinet with fine grade wire wool and white spirit, then after it has dried, a fine grade of sandpaper,
wood stopper to fill any imperfections, before the final sanding.

this way I find brings the best results that I find the easiest for me,

[Steve_P]

I'm going to have a look at it now I'm out of the bath and see where we're up to, then go and buy some talcum powder. (Tinkerbell does not use it.) Then it's sand down and polish time.

It's a PYE 76F by the way, Micheal.

Cheers,

Steve P.

[Mark R]

Sir Sydney
If you are going down the staining route, I would suggest a beeswax polish of the neutral variety.
Remember to sand between each coat of stain WITH THE GRAIN after it has dried. You should be able too feel the finish. And wipe off the excess after each sanding before applying more stain.
If it all goes wrong it can always be removed.

Or if you are feeling venturous a laquor spray finish instead of wax.

cheers Mark

[Retired]

Hi,

Well done so far Steve you are really getting stuck into it.

Please be careful when using talcum powder. I've never used talc to flat a bare cabinet because I don't know how it would react as a grain filler; I believe it could possibly show up white in the grain once the finishing proper begins.

I would use something like 600 grit abrasive paper on the bare cabinet going with the grain but without talc to bring it ready for finishing.

Once I've applied the sealing/base coats of shellac using a brush then I use talc as a lubricant for flatting between coats as the talc prevents the abrasive paper from "loading".

You are doing well and I want you to succeed with this cabinet then you will soon get a production line going.

Kind regards, Col.

[Bushbaby]

Hi Steve,
Looking good so far. I agree with Col, just take your time and it'll come out a treat.

Best Regards

Rob

[Yorkie]

You look as though you've got a nice smooth finish to the veneer with just the scraper and stripper Steve.

I'd endorse Colin's comments, especially about not using sandpaper lower than 600 grit, because whatever grit you start with, you need to use progressively finer grits up the grades - you can't skip any. For example, suppose you started with 220 grit; you couldn't then go to say 600 then 1000, you'd need to go to 320, 400, 600, and so on. Obvious when you think about it - the grits make fine grooves - peaks and troughs, in the veneer and you have to remove the 'peaks' stage by stage. Mark has already mentioned to never sand across the grain, as you'll then have score marks which when varnish of any type is applied, will be highlighted. The reason for this is that a score mark acrioss the grain exposes the end grain. You'll know that if you apply any type of finish to a length of wood, the end grain is always darker than the side grain. The is because the cellular structre of wood is like a bunch of straws, which will readily 'suck up' anything applied to the end grain by capilliary attraction, but not so through the side grain.

Go very easy with sandpaper on rounded edges as the veneer is only 0.6mm and it's deparately easy to cut through the veneer to the base timber. When you sand, the aim is to smooth the layer of shellac or whatever finish you apply - not to cut right through it to the veneer, which defeats the object and puts you back to square one.

Best of luck with it Steve!

[Retired]

Hi,

What type of finish are you going for Steve? I hope it's shellac.

On a bare cabinet I tend to use either 400 grit or 600 grit abrasive paper for rubbing down but taking the precautions stated by David. A single stroke with abrasive paper across the grain will show up badly once the new finish is applied in fact it will jump out at you if you are applying stain and believe me it will annoy in the extreme because the marks will prove impossible to remove without a great deal of hassle.

I'm used to this work now and get away with courser grits during the rubbing down of bare panels; I feel that by doing so it gives the new finish a "key" to adhere to. I would like to echo David's warning about cutting through veneer especially around openings and edges and would strongly advise against using any power sander to speed up the job as this would prove a disaster.

A few years ago whilst doing my first French polishing on cabinets I was encouraging a friend to also have a go. My friend told me he was going to use his power sander (detail sander with the small triangular pads) to remove the original finish from the cabinet and this was a desirable radio. These sanders are supposed to be mild in action but I advised against this. On my next visit the cabinet was a mess; all the corners showed up as white lines where the sander had cut right through the face veneer.

I didn't offer to help and on my next visit my friend had attempted to French polish the cabinet using the traditional polishing rubber and had finally given up in failure.

I brought the cabinet home and used chemical stripper to remove all the original finish left by the power sander together with masses of tramlines left by the rubber. It was a very difficult job touching in all the white lines; I then applied stain and followed by French polishing. When I returned the cabinet weeks later having spent a great deal of time and effort working on it; my friend looked at it casually and said "That's fine".

So Steve; please take your time and be careful of cutting through the veneer; you are too old to cry and swearing won't help either.

Cabinets tend to look very rough at this stage making you wonder if it will ever look nice again but the fun part is bringing it back to life little by little.

If you are in doubt please just ask as we are all here to help.

Kind regards, Col.