Pitch Pine Finish

[Mrs Thrifty]

I have bought two old arts and craft style pitch pine cabinets with glazed top cupboards and lower drawers. The finish presently on them is like a type of treacle vanish which is quite orangey-brown. They have one or two scrapes. I would like to strip them back and just seal the wood as I think the graining looks wonderful. What would be the best way to achieve this please.

 

[TRITON]

Scrape some of it off and see if it dissolves in meths, in which case it is probably shellac..
Easy to remove using fine grades of steel wool soaked in meths.
If you keep a secondary bowl of meths to dip the steel wool into it will clean some of the finish out of it and help prolong its life, but you're still going to use a shed load of it.

If not and depending on their age, you might find it's been finished in possibly a 2 pack spray lacquer, in which case you're only going to get that off using acetone.

The best way I found was to lay a towel** on the area you want to strip, soak that in acetone, then cover that with plastic sheeting so the acetone doesnt evaporate and actually get to work softening the lacquer.
Once softened its going to be a cabinet scraper or stanley blade job, but you're going to lose the patina.

** if you're married, you can find an entire cupboard full of ideal towels that your wife has thoughtfully put aside for just this type of job..

 

[Mrs Thrifty]

Scrape some of it off and see if it dissolves in meths, in which case it is probably shellac..
Easy to remove using fine grades of steel wool soaked in meths.
If you keep a secondary bowl of meths to dip the steel wool into it will clean some of the finish out of it and help prolong its life, but you're still going to use a shed load of it.

If not and depending on their age, you might find it's been finished in possibly a 2 pack spray lacquer, in which case you're only going to get that off using acetone.

The best way I found was to lay a towel** on the area you want to strip, soak that in acetone, then cover that with plastic sheeting so the acetone doesnt evaporate and actually get to work softening the lacquer.
Once softened its going to be a cabinet scraper or stanley blade job, but you're going to lose the patina.

** if you're married, you can find an entire cupboard full of ideal towels that your wife has thoughtfully put aside for just this type of job..

That's really helpful. I have done that years ago with a table using a blade out of an old planer and a piece of broken glass - I have stripped painted tongue and grooved wood lined ceilings in this way. I had a bad back and remarkedly it fixed it for a time.

But I shall try the meths and steel wool method as a starter. Re the towels - I have a pile of 'dog' towels which I shall utilise - always handy to have a rag bag too., being an old rag bag myself.

I think they are from the Late Victorian/Edwardian era - beautifully made with of-the- era handles and escutcheons but just too orangey brown with some loss of colour where they've been scraped on the sides. 8 foot tall.

They may have been varnished years ago but could be shellac - I don't know but will try the meths and steel wool for starters.

Many thanks.