Pye Black Box Cabinet Re-polish

[Microslide]

I have enjoyed this project from the electronic & mechanical aspect but before building back up I would like to bring the cabinet up to pristine condition.
The finish to the top is now crazed with age and surface scratches are rife! I suspect it will be a cellulose lacquer and I was wondering if I should strip and re-polish the entire cabinet. Fools rush in - so any advice or suggestions on removing the old lacquer without the veneer and good filler for any small marks together with any suggestions for a polish/finish method would also be very helpful. The walnut veneer is a little faded with age, coat of stain when stripped may be an option but I am concerned it may become darker than original.
Time is not an issue with this and I do not mind elbow grease to obtain the best finish. Some great help so far, thanks to all.

[Nickthedentist]

I have had a lot of success recently (mainly on 1930s mass-produced clocks) with Danish Oil, without stripping the original finish. One I did looked like it definitely needed stripping and starting from scratch, but the Danish Oil has made it look perfect but without the brashness of a new finish.

Make sure everything is really clean and grease-free; I used foam cleaner and plenty of elbow grease.

Then let it dry thoroughly and apply the Danish Oil with a soft cloth, in the direction of the grain. Let it dry overnight and do it again. And again. Then polish with a dry rag.

Maybe try it on the back or a side first of all, in case the results are not as good as hoped.

Nick.

[MichaelR]

Hi Mike,

I too faced this problem with my unit. I decided not to have a go myself as I was totally innocent to cabinet restoration.

I can tell you this that I took my cabinet to a pro restorer locally and he did a great job, I had to wait about 2 months but I can tell you what he let me know was involved.

On the lid edges it looked to me as though the veneer had been broken away the reality was that after a few weeks of fine sanding and stripping the restorer was pleased to say that the veneer thickness was incredibly thick and no veneer patching was needed.

Once stripped he then spent the rest of the time applying coat after coat over a period of about 6 weeks. It cost me over £150 which will probably invoke a big "you must be mad " reaction but I have a fully restored black box in pristine condition that looks as good as it sounds, what really is amazing is that the finish is so subtle that apart from no blemishes whatsover on the box, observers would not guess that it has been restored but believe it is the original pristine finish.The colouring is excellent and very subtle and does not have an obvious orange bloom that I have noticed with other cabinets that have been restored.

That is just my thoughts on the matter


Regards
Mike

[MichaelR]

Mike,

I just noticed that you mention walnut veneer,my unit was not walnut but definitely a mahogany type , Indian sepia I think was metioned.

Mike

[Aerodyne]

I've not seen the finish of these boxes at close enough range to know, but if the wood grain doesn't show, the finish may be 'piano black' which is available, I think, as a spray cellulose or similar lacquer. If the grain shows but through heavy toning, then you'd need something like dark oak spray toner (aerosol).
First off though, be sure you need to strip the original finish. Can you live with it as it is? If you can't, then Nitromors paint stripper should remove it effectively. You shouldn't need grain filler but perhaps dark oak two-art wood filler will come in handy for filling deeper marks. This should hide under toning.
All in all, something of a skilled job, relacquering but if you go wrong all you lose is time and money. Strip and relacquer. It is for that reason alone that I do not recommend the use of penetrating wood stain. This stuff darkens timber rather unevenly but worse, once on (or should I say, in) the grain it is permanent.
Try to avoid sanding as much as possible and use fine i.e. 400 grade abrasive paper only lightly on the stripped wood.
-Tony

[Nickthedentist]

Originally Posted by MichaelR

It cost me over £150 which will probably invoke a big "you must be mad " reaction...

Not from me, Mike.

When you consider the time and skill involved, this is money well spent so long as you get a superb end result. May well be more than the unit's worth, from an accountant's point of view, but that applies to virtually everything we touch.

Nick.

[dseymo1]

The BBs I've worked on have all had a heavy, clear lacquer finish over veneer, bringing out the natural colour of the timber. Whatever this finish is, it does seem very fragile. I've had successful results from smoothing out any chips, then applying several coats of acrylic lacquer, which seems to 'fill in' any crazing etc, and reproduce the original high-gloss finish, but in a more durable form.
YMMV, of course, especially as there seems to be an almost infinite variety of Black Box variants!

[Microslide]

Thanks once again for all the suggestions, I have some ideas but now she who must be obeyed has directed my spare time to some built in wardrobes so this will allow some thinking time.

[Microslide]

Thanks again,
In the end it was time to learn the skill of French Polishing, this sounds a big undertaking but with time and patience it is not so bad! and I can recommend as the result is fantastic. Full strip down to bare veneer! Just as well, another 3 to do.