Restoration project

I bought an Ercol sideboard on Ebay the other day.  I knew, from the photographs, that it needed a little TLC, and today was the day I embarked upon loving it.

The wood is a lovely warm tone, but, as you can see, it has water damage and a circular dark stain which will present me with a challenge.  But we all thrive on challenge, don't we?

So I got together my tools, well, not much, really, a can of Nitomors, some rubber gloves, an old washing up brush, an old plastic card and a tub to put the used gunk in.

I obeyed the instructions, and opened the windows for ventilation.  Then I dabbed on the Nitromors with the brush, waited 5 miutes, then applied more and worked it in.

After about 20 minutes, I took my plastic card and carefully scraped the now brown gunk away.

Pretty revolting, I think you'll agree!  But the sideboard top was looking paler, so I applied a second coat.

Then it was time to repeat the rubbing in and waiting.  After I stripped off the next layer, the result was far more dramatic!

I wiped it down carefully with white spirit, and stood back and felt as warm a glow as the sideboard was giving me.

This gives an indication of what it would look like if I varnished it now.  BUT, I need to try to erase the dark circular mark before I do that.  I shall try lemon juice, then perhaps hydrogen peroxide, rather than going in with domestic bleach.

Watch this space, I'll show you the results, good or bad!  If you've undertaken something like this, what did you use?

DIY project, renovating a huge old school cupboard

Over the years I have bought a few items of old school furniture from the 1950s.  Solid, wooden cupboards designed to withstand the heavy use in a school environment, disposed of by the schools as being out-dated, to be replaced with MDF or chipboard furniture which just doesn't stand the test of time.

This large specimen has been used as an overflow larder in the guest room, in fact my daughter used to refer to sleeping in the pantry when she came to stay!  It stands 7' tall, is 5' wide and 18" deep - like I said, it's large!  It was covered in several coats of paint, which all needed to be removed to reveal the wood beneath in order to transform it into an object of beauty, rather than simply a functional item.

The renovation project is now underway.  It's taking a long time to do, burning off paint, then using chemicals to remove that paint stuck in the fiddly places.  David has removed the cornices and other trim where necessary to clean away paint that had built up in the joints, hence the apparent crenellations on the top!



 The bright blue is particularly fetching, don't you think?  this is at the base of the unit.

 I took the doors outside on a sunny day to burn off the vibrant yellow - isn't the wood a glorious sight, unseen for decades!

This is part of the side of the unit having been sanded, by hand.  Still more work to do though - watch this space!