Restoring Old Thai Cupboards

[cmsally]

Being the proud new owner of 3 Thai cupboards I now need to know how to clean them up, without losing their old look.

Trouble is they have been in my friends warehouse for years and the wood is rather dirty.

By old Thai cupboards I mean the ones that have glass panelled doors and often now you seem them cleaned up and for sale.

Any carpenters out there?

I don't want to coat them with varnish or paint or anything as that would spoil the look. But I need something to bring out the colour of the wood a bit, maybe some type of wax.

[Cuban]

Water and soap is great at removing dirt, a soft nylon brush and a tooth brush will help free dirt from the cracks etc.

If you can dismantle the cupboards this task will be easier.

Water on bare wood raises the grain so when clean allow the wood to dry then sand down with fine sandpaper - assuming the surface finish on the cupboards allows this. Always use the sand paper along the grain of the wood - not too much pressure - taking the doors off etc. makes this easier. Do you know what a sanding block is? Do not use powered sanding tools. Consider these points if you 'contract' the work out to a Thai worker.

Dust down the wood when totally dry then experiment on a normally hidden part with either wax (beeswax springs to mind) or an oil; linseed etc. Either will make the wood darker but protect the grain from future staining.

I am not suggesting doing a French Polish but the link might be of interest.

[technocracy]

It all depends on what the existing finish is on the cupboards. Not knowing what they look like or what the wood they are made from makes it difficult to assist.

In general most furniture over this side of the world ends up with some kind of a lacquer on it.

However since Shellac is produced in Thailand it's possible it has been given a spit coat - then lacquered as a final finish basically a short cut to give a french polish style finish. I'd be very surprised if they have a full french polish - but you can test this by get some Methyl Alcohol from the local hardware shop dampening a cloth and rubbing a none visible place. If the shine is removed to bare wood then you have a true french polished cupboard - if not then it's lacquer.

If this is the case then sponge down with warm water then use pledge spray to clean the lacquer. I wouldn't take sandpaper to any lacquer finished unless you are intended to strip it and re-lacquer it since the sandpaper will scratch the lacquer.

[technocracy]

Oh I forgot too add in regards to keeping them looking old; basically unless they have have a true french polish then this is impossible. Since you would need to strip the cabinets back to bare wood to truly clean them up and if lacquered regardless of how you do it you will end up having to sand the wood itself.

If french polished you don't have any issues it can be clean and repolished without affecting the wood. A professional restorer could easily match clean back any damaged parts of the shellac and apply a new matching polish. But like I say I very much doubt that it's fully french polished and I somehow doubt that your local somchai will fully appreciate the subtlties or has the patience or skill to apply a full french polishing!

[cmsally]

So far so good , cleaned them with a wax that I bought that dilutes with water. Did that a couple of times and already look better. The varnish has either peeled off over time or somebody else stripped it because only small amount left mostly in cracks. Going to try next with wax and see how they turn out.

At least I know they aren't fake - found a 50yr old bus ticket in one of them , Chiang Mai to Khon Kaen !

[Milo]

If you're really stuck know a good guy here in Udorn. Shipped all my furniture over from England, few antiques including French Rennaisance dining suite. Toe rags here broke a couple of legs, this guy here was recommended to me. Needless to say I was very worried indeed he'd do half a job, finishing it with wood filler and varnish but no, can't even see the repairs and now four years on. Craftsmen obviously DO exist here, contrary to popular belief!

[rockyysdt]

Being the proud new owner of 3 Thai cupboards I now need to know how to clean them up, without losing their old look.

Trouble is they have been in my friends warehouse for years and the wood is rather dirty.

By old Thai cupboards I mean the ones that have glass panelled doors and often now you seem them cleaned up and for sale.

Any carpenters out there?

I don't want to coat them with varnish or paint or anything as that would spoil the look. But I need something to bring out the colour of the wood a bit, maybe some type of wax.

cmsally

It depends on what the cupboards are currently finished with.

If they're antique looking and you want to restore them without losing their patination and aged look I would follow these steps.

• Carefully remove any current paint or varnish using paint stripper and 000 steel wool.
  
• Clean with a cloth rag soaked in mineral turpentine until dye or color no longer washes off.
  
• Repeat using methylated spirits.
  
• Brush on three thin coats of tung oil, gently rubbing the first two coats with 000 steel wool after 24 hours.
  
• Seal with bees wax which should be buffed to a shiny finish.
  

The bees wax will seal in the brilliant warm finish provided by the tung oil and provide protection.

***Never sand aged furniture as you will destroy patination developed over time.

Patination gives antiques their character and adds to their charm.

Patination is the difference between new furniture and aged antique pieces.

Although french polish was popular for a limited period in history, I would seldom use it on a working piece of furniture.

French polish is very time consuming to properly apply and is not durable, easily staining with water spills and hot objects.

Tung oil on the other hand is easily applied and obsorbs into the timber providing nourishment and protection.

There's no build up on the timber compared to varnish and french polish and is easily rejuvented over time by rebuffing with beeswax.

[technocracy]

Tung oil on the other hand is easily applied and obsorbs into the timber providing nourishment and protection.

There's no build up on the timber compared to varnish and french polish and is easily rejuvented over time by rebuffing with beeswax.

I agree Tung Oil or Linseed Oil would be the best and simplest finish - however is there any suppliers in Thailand?

I'd like get some Polymerized Tung Oil - however I've never seen any in any of large stores (maybe I've missed it) and the small shops wouldn't have a clue. They stock plenty of Shellac however.

So my question is do you know where I can buy Polymerized Tung Oil in Thailand or are you talking about what's available in the West?

It'd be most appreciated if you could let me know where I could buy some!