Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[Tutti Frutti]

For Major (didn't want to continue hijacking Patsy's post!)

 

The whole top of the cabinet without flash:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jtHL4l9RM58/S19n2cIUzzI/AAAAAAAAAOU/k-AB-37e1xQ/s1600/CIMG3757%2Bsmall.jpg

 

zoomed in on the damage with flash - I'd forgotten how bad it is! Looks like there was a TV on the top? I used the flash to show you the grain and how the grey patches are where the stain/oil/polish/varnish (???) has come off...

 

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_jtHL4l9RM58/S19n4VNViNI/AAAAAAAAAOc/TKHCk5Xeg6I/s1600/CIMG3758%2Bsmall.JPG

 

Thank you so much!

Edited January 27, 2010 by Guest

[Old Speckled Hen]

Try covering the area with liquid furniture polish and leaving 12 hours. Rub off gently and if stain still remains leave another few hours; buff off.

[majorbloodnock]

Try covering the area with liquid furniture polish and leaving 12 hours. Rub off gently and if stain still remains leave another few hours; buff off.

 

Please don't think I'm being rude in contradicting, OSH, but if there's any bare wood then the furniture polish will soak in like any other finish. Unfortunately, the silicone in it will soak deeper than oil would, meaning it's a one-way street; the option of stripping back to bare wood and refinishing will no longer be available.

 

Of course, there are some polishes that don't contain silicone, and perhaps could be used here, but it's a bit of a lottery. All depends on the quality of the polish used.

 

I'll also admit that I'm not a professional here; it's just an interest of mine. If you're sure of your ground and can give an explanation, I'll happily retract what I've just said and defer.

 

@Tutti Frutti, I'm just pondering the images....

[xScrunchee]

Not sure if these tips will help-

 

Apply a generous layer of mayonnaise onto the mark and leave over night. In the morning, wipe with a thick cotton cloth such as a cloth diaper.

 

Polish the mark with toothpaste until it disappears. Be sure to use white toothpaste for this, not a gel.

 

If there's a smoker in the house, rub the mark with cigar or cigarette ashes until it disappears.

 

Rub a paste of baking soda and water into the stain. Leave overnight and wipe off in the morning with a cotton cloth.

 

 

Or could you use coffee mixed with water and wipe that over the light area to make it darker again being that the varnish has worn off and then polish with oil, beeswax or something similar?

 

Good luck

[Old Speckled Hen]

Try covering the area with liquid furniture polish and leaving 12 hours. Rub off gently and if stain still remains leave another few hours; buff off.

 

Please don't think I'm being rude in contradicting, OSH, but if there's any bare wood then the furniture polish will soak in like any other finish. Unfortunately, the silicone in it will soak deeper than oil would, meaning it's a one-way street; the option of stripping back to bare wood and refinishing will no longer be available.

 

Of course, there are some polishes that don't contain silicone, and perhaps could be used here, but it's a bit of a lottery. All depends on the quality of the polish used.

 

I'll also admit that I'm not a professional here; it's just an interest of mine. If you're sure of your ground and can give an explanation, I'll happily retract what I've just said and defer.

 

@Tutti Frutti, I'm just pondering the images....

 

Ah I thought it was a water mark ... not bare wood.

Indeed if it is down to the wood the major is right

Hubby restores old furniture and says this

http://www.lakeland.co.uk/F/product/20328_20783

is good.

[majorbloodnock]

Not sure if these tips will help-

 

Apply a generous layer of mayonnaise onto the mark and leave over night. In the morning, wipe with a thick cotton cloth such as a cloth diaper.

 

Polish the mark with toothpaste until it disappears. Be sure to use white toothpaste for this, not a gel.

 

If there's a smoker in the house, rub the mark with cigar or cigarette ashes until it disappears.

 

Rub a paste of baking soda and water into the stain. Leave overnight and wipe off in the morning with a cotton cloth.

 

Actually, these are all variations on a very traditional theme. The ashes, baking soda and toothpaste are all very fine abrasives which do a similar job to what T-Cut does on car paintwork; they gently take off the top layer and polish what's underneath. Mixing baking soda with mayonnaise adds a lubricant that then helps feed the wood as you're going. Excellent for when you've got surface scratches and the like.

 

Or could you use coffee mixed with water and wipe that over the light area to make it darker again being that the varnish has worn off and then polish with oil, beeswax or something similar?

 

This will do exactly what's suggested. The only problem with that is that if you decide later to strip back to bare wood and refinish then you've got some small areas of darker stained wood to have to deal with. Personally, I'd prefer not going down the disguising route, but if that's the course taken then this is as good a method as any, and better than some.

[majorbloodnock]

OK, looking at the pictures doesn't give a huge clue, except to verify that it's definitely not a wax finish. It could be oiled, but the fact flakes can be taken off suggests it's more likely to be a varnish. On top of that, you can still see the slight pits that are part of the wood's grain, so it's certainly not something awkward like french polish. I hasten to add, though, what I said earlier that mine is only the eye of the enthusiastic amateur.

 

If it were mine, I suspect I'd end up taking a cabinet s"Ooops, word censored!"er to it, removing the finish and then oiling it with Danish or Tung oil. However, it's well worth trying something less invasive first. I think I'd start by giving the top a clean with a reviver. You can make that yourself by mixing equal parts of raw linseed oil, methylated spirits and distilled vinegar, then shake well and apply sparingly with a soft cloth for as long as produces results. For reference, an eggcupful of each of the three ingredients will produce enough reviver to clean the whole cabinet. If that doesn't produce the result you'd like, OSH's recommended product doesn't look like it'll do anything irreversible, so is a good bet. Again, the idea is simply being gentle with the piece.

 

If it doesn't work to expectations, then stripping it is probably the most sensible option. However, sheesham is a pretty expensive wood so, although I can't make it out on the photos, it's quite likely it's a veneer (which is what sheesham's most often used for). If that's the case, you'd need to take care when stripping the finish to ensure you don't either raise the veneer or wash dirt into the inevitable crevices. Nonetheless, the beauty of that wood will reward all your efforts, so it's well worth spending the time.

 

Hope that helps, but since we've got a thread to ourselves, feel free everyone to pile on the suggestions and questions.

[Daphne]

Can I ask a new wood furniture question?

 

We have a 10 years old large multi-drawer cabinet that is made of cheap pine. I bought it unwaxed, and may have used Briwax on it to start with (possibly with some sort of sealant to start with I can't remember) followed by the odd dollop of antiquewax stuff. However, its not had any TLC for past 5 years and now I notice it has water rings on it. What should I do please?

[Old Speckled Hen]

Do you mean dark rings?

I have a beautiful old (well not so old but full of family memories) pine table with similar damage.

It has my daughter's scribbles ...underneath though ...thoughtful child , the tooth/chew marks of three puppies, and DHs almost microscopic initials with a little heart scratched in one corner.

It's made without any metal so I love it for its wooden ness

The only thing that helped was sanding it down then waxing it again.

You can still see some bits of rings though.

[Tutti Frutti]

Hope that helps, but since we've got a thread to ourselves, feel free everyone to pile on the suggestions and questions.

 

Oooh the plot thickens!

 

Major, you mentioning a sheesham vaneer gave me an idea! I pulled out the drawer and it's definitely solid and DEFINITELY stained - the unstained wood is kind of grey (just like the colour of the top where it's peeled ) So I took some piccies. Please ignore the cobwebs But at least you can clearly see where the stain has spread onto unstained surfaces:

 

 

The fact that the top flaked - could it be varnish or lacquer? Is there a difference??!! Or just a semi-shiny stain??? Sorry - clueless

 

Glad to have you on board this thread Major and everyone else with furniture questions and especially all those offering advice! Thank you everyone, us chicken keepers have some amazing knowledge

Edited January 27, 2010 by Guest

[Daphne]

My pine chest thing is just plain pale wood with almost white water rings on it. No veneer, no woodstain, and not much polish either. Its been a bit neglected TBH but I want to make it look nice again.

[majorbloodnock]

My pine chest thing is just plain pale wood with almost white water rings on it. No veneer, no woodstain, and not much polish either. Its been a bit neglected TBH but I want to make it look nice again.

 

In that case, Daphne, since you're pretty sure they're water rings....

 

Get an uncoloured lint free cloth (not man-made fibres by preference) and fold it a few times. Then place over the ring, set your iron to medium heat and iron the cloth. Only iron for a few seconds each time (i.e. be gentle), lifting the cloth after each time to see what's going on, but keep repeating until you see an effect. The heat from the iron should gently soften the wax and draw out the remaining moisture, and will often completely remove the stain.

 

Obviously, it'll be a good idea to give it a good coat of wax afterwards to freshen the piece up, and given you've already got some (intentional) stain in the wax that's already been used, you should be able to just use neutral beeswax this time.

[majorbloodnock]

Hope that helps, but since we've got a thread to ourselves, feel free everyone to pile on the suggestions and questions.

 

Oooh the plot thickens!

 

Major, you mentioning a sheesham vaneer gave me an idea! I pulled out the drawer and it's definitely solid and DEFINITELY stained - the unstained wood is kind of grey (just like the colour of the top where it's peeled ) So I took some piccies. Please ignore the cobwebs But at least you can clearly see where the stain has spread onto unstained surfaces:

 

The fact that the top flaked - could it be varnish or lacquer? Is there a difference??!! Or just a semi-shiny stain??? Sorry - clueless

 

Glad to have you on board this thread Major and everyone else with furniture questions and especially all those offering advice! Thank you everyone, us chicken keepers have some amazing knowledge

 

Difficult to say. Certainly the drawers are solid wood, but there's no reason to assume they're the same wood as the top - indeed traditionally, drawer sides and backs were made from cheaper wood since they weren't on show. the only way really to tell is if you can manage to get a squint at the underside of the top, and see if both the grain and the joins between the boards match up comparing topside and underside.

 

Mind you, the only benefit from that knowledge is that if it really is solid wood then you have more you can potentially shave off should it be necessary, and since it doesn't look as if there are any pits you need to get rid of, it shouldn't matter.

 

I'm still not sure about the finish, but am still tending towards thinking it's been varnished (although lacquer used to be a particular varnish made with beetle secretions, these days the distinction between varnish and lacquer is all but gone). The only thing that really stands out in my mind is that if you know bits can flake off then bits have flaked off, meaning bare wood needs to be covered again. Even if some of the remaining finish is stained, that'll have to come off since it's going to be almost impossible to invisibly refinish the bare bits without doing the whole top.

 

Nonetheless, stripping the top isn't all that big a job, and the fact the bare bits of wood on the top look similar in colour to the bare wood on the back of the drawer (even if they're not the same wood) implies that the wood under the finish hasn't been stained at all itself. This is good, since once you remove the finish from the top you don't have any awkward colour matching to do. Moreover, my guess is that, once the top is bare and prepared, the application of some Tung oil will bring out about the same colour as the rest of the piece anyway (although it'd be sensible to test it first on a bare bit that won't show, such as the underside of the top or the back of a drawer front).

[Daphne]

Thank you Major - and since I have my own bees and have started collecting the wax cappings, later this year I might even have enough to make my own!

[majorbloodnock]

Thank you Major - and since I have my own bees and have started collecting the wax cappings, later this year I might even have enough to make my own!

 

My pleasure. You might want to check out this document for a bit more information.

[Daphne]

Thanks once again - I like the sound of the recipe with equal quantities of beeswax, turps and linseed oil because I could make that sooner rather than later. My OH isn't going to believe the sight of me ironing the chest (the sight of me ironing is rare enough)!

[Alis girls]

Just a query on beeswax polish - I have some which is very sticky - I dont remember others I've used being like that and ifs very difficult to remove. It has linseed and turpentine in it. Thoughts please and recommendations if any Ta NCY

[Tutti Frutti]

Moreover, my guess is that, once the top is bare and prepared, the application of some Tung oil will bring out about the same colour as the rest of the piece anyway (although it'd be sensible to test it first on a bare bit that won't show, such as the underside of the top or the back of a drawer front).

 

Brilliant - THANK YOU!

[majorbloodnock]

Just a query on beeswax polish - I have some which is very sticky - I dont remember others I've used being like that and ifs very difficult to remove. It has linseed and turpentine in it. Thoughts please and recommendations if any Ta NCY

 

A few questions, I'm afraid.

 

• Do you want to remove it, or are you just talking about polishing off the excess?
  
• Is it a commercial product? If so, some details might be helpful.
  
• Also, could you clarify "sticky", please? Do you mean it's rather soft and glue-like in the tin or that once applied it's very tacky and difficult to polish?