Popular Mechanics (South Africa)
Trunk rehab
I FOUND this cedar-lined trunk at an antique shop, priced at a steep discount. The finish had chipped off the top in places, and it was scratched clear down to the wood. But the underlying build quality seemed excellent. When I showed it to senior home editor Roy Berendsohn, he agreed: ‘ They don’t make ’em like this anymore.’ (The trunk contained a warranty card from April 1938.) He also helped me figure out how to restore the top. Here’s what we did. – Kevin Dupzyk
1/ Identify the finish
Based on the age and warm, antiqued look, Roy suspected shellac. To confirm: In an inconspicuous place, rub in a little denatured alcohol. If it’s shellac, the finish will immediately start to dissolve.
2/ Remove the finish
Strip the shellac from the trunk by rubbing in denatured alcohol with grade 0000 steel wool. I was only dealing with the top, and it still took a while – even with two other people helping. If you’ve got a big piece of furniture, I recommend ordering pizza and throwing a shellacking party.
3/ Sand
To smooth out the scratches, we started with an orbital sander, then used a sanding block on particularly damaged areas. Things best avoided: removing so much wood that the top itself becomes compromised; overzealously attacking scratches and leaving depressions that will allow shellac to pool. In some cases, it’s not worth trying to remove a scratch completely – let it suffice that it’s significantly lightened.
4/ Clean sawdust
Run a tack cloth over the entire sanded area. Then do it again. All sawdust has to be off before you apply a new coat of shellac.
5/ Shellac
Roy recommended a highquality China-bristle brush – a good brush goes a long way towards getting shellac to apply smoothly. Take long, continuous strokes at a consistent speed. Pausing will allow the shellac to pool, which is very noticeable when dry. Luckily, you can fix that when sanding between coats. The process: Let shellac dry; give it a quick pass with high-grit sandpaper, such as 800 or 1 000; hit it with a tack cloth; next coat. For a trunk people will occasionally be sitting on, we figured three coats would be enough.