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Old 16th Jul 2020, 9:04 pm   #1
greg_simons
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Default Restoring a teak finish cabinet.

Finally got a better cabinet for the thorn 2000 today, much better condition but not without problems, top cab surface quite scratched and one or two edge depressions, might at worst have to just sand it all off but, does anyone here have any more gentle treatments that work.
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Old 17th Jul 2020, 10:38 am   #2
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Default Re: Restoring a teak finish cabinet.

No suggestions Greg, but delighted you were able to source a cabinet. Mind you a cardboard box would have been a better bet than the cabinet you had from me!
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Old 17th Jul 2020, 1:37 pm   #3
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Default Re: Restoring a teak finish cabinet.

I suspect the cabinet will be veneered, if so it may be only 0.5 mm thick a little sanding would soon reveal the base material. Best way to remove little dings around the edges in my opinion would to use damp cloth under an electric iron, to steam the wood fibres to near original state.

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Old 17th Jul 2020, 1:49 pm   #4
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Default Re: Restoring a teak finish cabinet.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Welsh Anorak View Post
No suggestions Greg, but delighted you were able to source a cabinet. Mind you a cardboard box would have been a better bet than the cabinet you had from me!
Hi glyn,
Yes indeed, a much better cabinet, almost presentable!, i did try very hard with the old one but the quotes were hopelessly unrealistic, lucky find though, must be the only one on the planet!, also came with a spare power regulator and convergence board, I'll explain how i got another time.
Cheers john, yes, that's the plan, watched a few y/t tutorials on the process.
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Old 19th Jul 2020, 9:52 pm   #5
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Default Re: Restoring a teak finish cabinet.

No more contributers?, ok mods, looks like I'm on my own!, you can close this down.
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Old 21st Jul 2020, 3:42 pm   #6
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Default Re: Restoring a teak finish cabinet.

There are probably no more contributors, Greg, since John pretty much nailed it. It will certainly be a veneered surface (solid teak is VERY expensive) and it will be perhaps as little as 1/64" thick.

John's suggestion of a damp cloth and iron will mitigate dents to a degree, but less so on veneered chipboard/plywood than on solid wood. If your scratches are in fact linear indentations, it may help. However, if they are true scratches in that the fibres of the veneer have been cut, then you're pretty limited.

Trying to stain them to match the rest won't work, since the stain pigments will accumulate in the scratches and make them stick out as dark lines even worse. Using a darker coloured-varnish all over the piece will, of course, hide them to a great extent, but at the cost of having a much darker piece, with much of the wood grain obscured.

If the scratches aren't very deep, then very light hand sanding with very fine sandpaper (180 grit or even less), working with the grain of the veneer, might help. Power tools and coarse paper are out, here - you'll go through the veneer in seconds. Don't use a sander block here either, just your fingertips and patience. Wetting the paper sometimes helps it from clagging up.

If the scratches are too deep for this, then you'll either have to live with it, or re-veneer the surface (not actually so hard with modern paper-backed ready-glued iron-on veneer, and if the surface is completely flat). You'll then be faced with having to finish the new veneer to match the colour and texture of the rest of the piece. Again, this isn't so hard if you have a library of stains and finishes to hand to experiment on scraps of veneer with, but it could become expensive buying different tins of stain etc to find that elusive match.

You could, of course, take it along to a furniture restorer who will have all that stuff, and the experience to use it.

Good luck with it!

Cheers,

Frank

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Old 22nd Jul 2020, 1:59 pm   #7
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Default Re: Restoring a teak finish cabinet.

Cheers frank
Yes, it's just the top surface that's bad, I'm going to very gently sand and clean it, to a large extent I'm not very critical and some 'patina' is acceptable,, the important thing is the electronics and just to have it as tidy as can be made, i did try very hard with the original cabinet and got a estimate from a local artisan cabinet maker, you don't want to know the size of the quote!!.
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Old 22nd Jul 2020, 3:15 pm   #8
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Default Re: Restoring a teak finish cabinet.

No photos for reference so I can't be specific, but I've done a lot of cabinet refurbs and depending on the job I use:

* Topps scratch cover polish for basic scratches.
* Wax melted over the dings then shaved off using a very sharp chisel. You can buy wax sticks it in a wide variety of wood shades.
* Plastic wood for even bigger dings, but it's not so easy to use as wax.

Before any filling, clean the area using IPA on a small paint brush to help adhesion.

The photos show a teak corner piece off a vintage Pioneer hifi receiver. I wax filled the dings, shaved off the excess and then applied a coat of medium scratch cover polish.
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Old 25th Jul 2020, 7:58 pm   #9
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Default Re: Restoring a teak finish cabinet.

I second the gentle sanding and wax (possibly some linseed oil too, to give the wood a beneficial soaking), but I'd also support leaving the 'patina'. These things aren't new, and my vote would be to retain the damage if removing it would require serious renovation. That Japanese concept of Kintsugi, where pottery is repaired with golden shellac to draw attention to the repairs has always appealed to me. I understand that a vase repaired in this way costs more than a pristine one, as it demonstrates it's had a history and represents the eventfulness of life.

It certainly makes it easier to live with scratches!
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Old 26th Jul 2020, 5:16 pm   #10
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Default Re: Restoring a teak finish cabinet.

Thanks uncle Bulgaria, that's the plan, clean off the grime of fifty odd years and get some good oil into it, i agree, the scratches can become a sort of badge of honour and testament to its survival!.
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Old 26th Jul 2020, 10:31 pm   #11
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Default Re: Restoring a teak finish cabinet.

I hope you don’t mind me butting in a little Greg but I also have a restoration question that would sit well in this thread.
Is there a suggestion for water damage on a teak veneered case? A rain leak in the shed has caused a light coloured patch where the water has dropped down on it.
Thanks,
Peter
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Old 28th Jul 2020, 2:36 pm   #12
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Default Re: Restoring a teak finish cabinet.

Hi peter
Don't mind in the slightest, sounds like the same as me, a little gentle sanding and linseed oil, i did have a look at a few y/t tutorials on replacing teak veneer but chickened out citing discretion is the better part of valour.
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Old 31st Jul 2020, 1:01 am   #13
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Default Re: Restoring a teak finish cabinet.

Quote:
Originally Posted by greg_simons View Post
Hi peter
Don't mind in the slightest, sounds like the same as me, a little gentle sanding and linseed oil, i did have a look at a few y/t tutorials on replacing teak veneer but chickened out citing discretion is the better part of valour.
Greg.
Sounds good Greg, that matches what I intended to do anyway but always good to hear some confirmation!

Restoration of wood finishes sounds like an ideal night school subject that I would love to attend. Whilst it is easy to experiment it would be nice to have the skill to immediately identify the problem and deal with it correctly. I suppose the best way is to find a selection of unimportant “damaged” finishes to practice on and then just have a go.

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