OT - Wood Restoration

[oic0]

My grandfather had this cypress table in his office at his house when I was a kid. It was pretty if a bit gaudy. Anyhow, my aunt got it when he moved to a smaller house and she left it outside. Now the finish is all cracked and it needs some serious TLC to get it back to what it used to be.
Ok... what on earth do I do lol. I don't know how to get the plasticy stuff off and I dont know what to do once I have it off to get it to look how it used to. All I can think to do is oil it or polyurethane it but I have no idea how to strip all those grooves.

[Guncase]

Sandblasting maybe? One of the machine shops I have worked in had a large planer mill that would machine the top easily, but it would probably take a couple of hours to handle it, set it up, and machine it. Shop rate in a place that has this kind of equipment is probably around $100 an hour.

[Ji in Hawaii]

I'm guessing it's a polyester resin. The best way I know of to get off is using a random orbit sander and start grinding making sure to wear a decent respirator. Start rough 36 grit and work the surface with finer grit afterwards. I would finish with Tru-oil or boiled linseed letting each coat penetrate in deep. That is a nice piece of burl, and worth the effort especially for for sentimental reasons as a family heirloom.

[soon 2 retire]

I've got no idea except rent one of those beastly big hardwood floor sanders; control would be an issue though. With all that resin some kind of respirator would be a must.




Bob in NE Indiana

[stretch]

There are various chemical strippers - I think Midway even markets
one designed for those pesky epoxy finishes that Remington used
for a bit on their stocks. You might try something like that on a small
area and see how it goes.

Unfortunately, I think the other boys are right on this one - you're
gonna have to mechanically strip the beast. In doing so - PLEASE
dont' skimp on the respirator! It's not such a big deal if you're only
doing a small piece or area, but you're going to inhale A LOT of that
dust without good breathing equipment. Do most of it outside, and
cover it with a tarp between sessions so the sun/rain won't make it
worse.

A million or so coats (give or take! ) of tung oil will make it beautiful
once it's sanded down to 400 grit or so.

It'll be a lot of work, but it oughta be gorgeous when it's done.
Good Luck!

-Stretch

[kimwcook]

I agree a sander would probably be best at removing the old finish.

[Sixgun]

"If" that was mine, (which it isn't ) I would find the dead center of the top and install a small screw. Then I would attach a string & pencil and go out as far as possible and make a perfect circle and chop off the overhanging "gaud". From there, I would sand/grind/plane about 1/4" to 1/2" off the top. Then use the finish coat of your choice. This would make a fine round table as I see all of that "hanging stuff" catching on clothes with the occasional kidney stab.-----------Sixgun

[stretch]

Sixgun, while I enjoy your posts, and you are from
Southeastern Pennsylvania, I gotta strongly, though
respectfully, disagree with your aesthetics on this one.

The gnarly, misshapen, amorphous shape against a flat mirror
finish on the top is what makes this table cool. Making the top
into a circle, would, in my opinion, ruin it completely.

Besides - the occasional kidey jab keeps ya on yer toes.......

-Stretch

[oic0]

If I oil the thing after stripping it, can resin or polyurethane go on top of oil to seal it?

[J Miller]

oic0,

From the pics it looks like the polyurethane is badly cracked and all but coming off on it's own. I'd try this first; Go to a auto parts store and buy a heavy gasket scraper. They look like a screwdriver with a 1" or so flat blade on it. Work that under the chunks of plastic and lift up. It just might pop off.

At any rate it's worth a try.

Please keep us up to date on this project.

Joe

[stretch]

oic0, I'm thinkin' you've got a choice of oil OR resin.
If I remember correctly, there was a factory near my parents'
which finished these sorts of things. I think they used a
2-pack resin finish.

Linseed or tung oil takes awhile to polymerize (turn into a plastic-like
substance) without dryers (chemical additives to speed the process).
So, putting a resin on over an oil finish is probably going to result in
the resin not adhering well, unless the oil has cured for a LONG time -
we're talking months or years.

I'd choose - the oil finish won't be as thick, and will require the occasional
recoat. The recoat is pretty quick and easy, though. Oil will be easier
to apply on job of that size. You'll have to do lots of coats (dozen or so?),
but they go on quickly - especially the first few that mostly get absorbed
into the wood.

The resin will be much thicker, but if damaged, it'll require lots of sanding
and recoating - which is a big job. 2-part resin will be a little bit more
difficult than oil to apply because of the size of the piece you've got there.

I kinda like oil, but a lot of that comes down to personal preference.
A good finish is directly proportional to the amount of time and effort
expended. There are no shortcuts. Most of a good finish is preparation
of the surface. Once it's level, scratch-free, and free of the old finish
you can decide on oil or resin.

-Stretch

[oic0]

Workin takin some of the big loose chunks off to see whats underneath. This is going to take a while and not sure what im going to do about the indentations when I have it all off somehow.

Its got these things made to look like geodes in sunken parts of the wood.

Got one open, its glass with the resin poured over it.

[damienph]

Workin takin some of the big loose chunks off to see whats underneath. This is going to take a while and not sure what im going to do about the indentations when I have it all off somehow.

Now that you have pieces of it broken off, try using Joe Miller's suggestion of a gasket scraper. Use your hammer to tap the edge of the scraper under the remaining finish and see if you can lift pieces off. Joe's scraper method might cause less damage than the hammer to the wood surface; that you will then have to sand or plane smooth again.

[kimwcook]

oic0, I'd be careful smacking the table with a hammer. As you stated, identations. And, they would be a pain to work out.

[Sixgun]

I just got to thinkin', (and that ain't easy) and it sure would be somethin' that, after smashing up the top with your hammer, if you found out that this table was in George Washington's war room ---Sixgun

Stretch---I just don't care, the thing is ugly (nothin' personal oic4) Looks like somethin' that came out of the "Munster's house.