restoring an antique desktop

[lukeuk]

Dear all,

I've rescued a nice old desktop from being thrown away. I wold like to restore it and use it in my office. I've never done such a thing before so I would like to ask for your advice. Please find my questions below:

1. Should I take off the old stain with a sand paper?
2. What stains / lacquer should I use to repaint it?
3. The desktop's top is covered with leather. This is the biggest puzzle for me. What should I do with it?

You can find photos here: http://imgur.com/a/zURwC

Thank you,
Luke

 

[dickm]

Difficult questions - it all depends how you want it all to look.
If you want to keep it looking its age, then don't let sandpaper anywhere near it! First see if you can find out what is the surface finish - in a less obvious place, rub a little meths on the surface and if it dissolves the finish, it's almost certainly French polish. Which can be revived using more FP. If nothing happens with the meths, then it's either an oil finish (doesn't look like it in the pics) or a varnish. If it's oil, just add more thin coats of Danish or similar oil. If it's varnish, then just clean the surface with white spirit and apply very thin coats of varnish.
For the leather, probably best just to clean with saddle soap or other proprietory leather cleaner and then polish with clear shoe polish.

On the other hand, if you want to spoil it and lose all the signs of age, take someone else's advice - I love what the trade calls old brown furniture.

 

[AndyT]

I'm no antique expert and it's hard to tell from photos but I think this might be a modern 'repro' piece.
But my answers are the same either way.

1 No. Sanding off old finish is not the best way, especially on veneer.
2 None. Just use some reviver mix (linseed oil, meths, turps, vinegar)
3 Keep the leather! If it's too damaged replace with new - but it looks fine to me.

 

[Scoffy]

It looks very much like a modern 'repro' to me also, which means it will almost certainly be a cellulose laquer finish. The problem with modern pieces the colour is in the laquer, not the wood. Depending how you want it to look, you could mask the leather with blue tape and strip the wood with a chemical stripper and re-finnish with whatever you like, I would use brushing laquer with colour added, or button polish, or garnet polish if you want it darker.

 

[Matt@]

as above, the desk is a repro almost certainly with a spray finish. Have you got the pedestals or just the top? Again dont let abrasive anywhere near it! If you strip it, you'll have to strip the pedestals as well to match. The lacquar will be incredibly hard work to get off especially with the retail bought strippers you will have access to. Leather looks reasonably good nick and better to save it. I'd be just cleaning the whole thing up and waxing it. PS if you mask the leather lining you'll probably rip the colour off when you remove the tape.

 

[lukeuk]

Ok.. I tried to wipe the dust and dirt with a kitchen towel and wood cleaner. After first minute it become very obvious that the surface is lacquered. I guess that proves Matt's point that it's a repo.

My questions are:

- what is the best way to clean a white ring after (presumably) hot coffee/tea of the lacquered surface? Would the iron and towel trick be appropriate?
- the same as above but form the leather
- there are many scratches / pain chips - can I paint it with something or it's better to leave it as it is?

 

[Cheshirechappie]

The leather top looks to be in basically good condition, so cleaning it may be a better approach than replacing it. There are companies offering specialist products for leather cleaning, such as http://www.furnitureclinic.co.uk/ , though there are others, and sources such as Amazon and Ebay may yield leather cleaning products, too. Once it's cleaned, a finish with wax polish or a specialist leather balm should help to protect it a bit.

If you do have to replace the top (don't think it's necessary with this one - it's not cracked and peeling off at the edges) then a search for 'skiver leather' will reveal several specialist suppliers in the UK. You supply the dimensions, they make up the skiver usually from sheep's leather with whatever dyed finish and tooling you specify. You then remove the old leather, and stick down the new one with wallpaper paste or thinned PVA, finally trimming the edges whilst in situ. Quite a bit of work, and skivers that size are not cheap.

(PS - Does anybody know why they're called 'skiver leathers'?)

 

[KevM]

(PS - Does anybody know why they're called 'skiver leathers'?)

No, but I do now!

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/defin ... er#skive-2

VERB Pare (the edge of a piece of leather or other material) so as to reduce its thickness: to join two ends of a strap, the ends are skived
Origin early 19th century: from Old Norse skífa; related to shive.

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/defin ... lish/shive
Origin Middle English: related to sheave2. The original sense was 'slice (of bread'), later 'piece of split wood'; the current sense dates from the mid 19th century.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Blimey - that was a quick answer!

Thanks, Kev!

 

[lukeuk]

Few more photos after an initial clean http://imgur.com/a/42csb

The most annoying part are those big white marks which goes away if I make them wet (and come back after the wood/leather dry out). There is also one corner where lots of paint is missing and lacquer is completely gone. And finally on the central drawer there are pen marks (it looks like somebody was testing pen on it).

// ok I read that I can treat wood with: wax, oxalic acid and shellac. Still not sure what to do about the leather.

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

Hi Luke.
Your desk is a reproduction probably made in the 1980's or 90's. It will probably have been sprayed with a pre-cat lacquer and the skiver would have been sprayed with the same although some were hand finished with French polish.
To take out the blooms on both the wood and leather you could make a reviver like Andy said, or you can try anti-bloom spray which you can get from Konig or Morrells.
To colour the scratched timber you will need to use a cellulose stain of a medium mahogany shade, you could use this on the leather too but you would want to thin it down a bit. I would use a spirit stain on the leather and finish it with micro crystalline wax.
Pen marks will come out with an application of oxalic acid ( Liberon wood bleach )
To re-finish the desk you have a few choices and it depends on how smart you want it to look and how much you are willing to pay.
You can buy cans of lacquer from morrells and spray it. You will probably need 4-6 cans at a cost of about £12 each
With a good quality brush you could brush on a couple of coats of cellulose sanding sealer, let it harden then wire wool and wax.
Just give it a wax with a bit of colour in it like the liberon Black Bison range.
Hope this helps.