aysce

I recently bought a dining room suite at a flea market. I believe it is from the early 1900's and its English burl walnut. The top of the table has places where the shellac has flaked off and a few places where it has cracked. I know its shellac because I used denatured alcohol to test it. How do I go about repairing the table top?

JW_in_Indy

Well, I'm not an expert by any means, but shellac is one of the easiest finishes to work with. You could literally remove the existing shellac with the denatured alcohol and re-apply new. Or, actually, depending on how bad the damaged areas are, simply apply new shellac over just the damaged area and when it dries, another coat or two over the entire surface.

With that being said, shellac isn't a very durable top coat. Especially for a table top. Once you've done your repair with the shellac, I would then top coat with a high quality varnish or a thinned down oil based poly. Probably about 70/30 poly to mineral spirits on the first finish coat, then another two or three thinned down 50/50. A lot of work, but a strong durable finish that would be very moisture resistant, durable and very easy to clean.

Of course, IMHO, YMMV, FWIW and just my $0.02 and all that.

aysce

Thanks for your suggestions. Are there certain types of shellac that I need to use? I read that your not supposed to use shellac that is older than 3 months. Also do you have a prefered method for applying shellac? Do you just brush it on like poly?

JW_in_Indy

Well, my personal opinion is the best shellac is made fresh from flakes and denatured alcohol. I like the white flakes.... it gives the clearest finish with no coloration. Although, at times I've used amber when I wanted to tint the wood a bit after staining. If you mix your own from scratch, you never really need to worry about it "getting old," you just mix up what you need in batches. If you buy a store brand off the shelf, I would recommend going to a Rockler wood working shop (or similar) where you have a better chance of getting fresher inventory. Once open, if you cover the top of the can with food wrap prior to pounding the lid back on, it will keep longer.

As for applying the shellac, there are several ways to do it. You can use a brush (but make sure it's a china bristle brush NOT synthetic) but personally, I like to "feel" it more. So, I use an old cotton tube sock (one with no holes preferably ), pour the shellac into the tube sock and tie it off. I then wrap the sock several times in muslin (or cheesecloth will work) bunching the muslin up as my "handle." you then squeeze it until the sock oozes the shellac and I rub it on keeping a steady pressure. It works like a charm although a bit messy until you get used to it.

Shellac dries VERY quickly so you need to keep a wet edge and work fast. However, if you end up with a dry edge or marks, the next coat of shellac will soften that up and blend in with the next coat. So you can fix any mistakes easily.

Shellac is either quite easy or a nightmare to work with depending on how quickly you are able to work. But for adding a wonderful sanding sealer prior to top coat finish or to custom tint stained wood prior to final finish coat, it's an excellent medium to use IMHO.

Rob Brown

I just completed repair on a walnut buffet with a shellac finish. I had to strip the top because of the excessive damage to the original finish. After bleaching the wood with Oxalic acid to remove black discoloration from the water damage, I restained it with a transparent oil stain. then I used dewaxed shellac as a sealer ( 2 coats ) and finished with a gloss oil urethane. Three coats with a light sanding between. Be aware that regular shellac has a wax in it and not every finish will stick to it. Good luck.

GeorgeC

You are aware are you not that refinishing an antique will often reduce its value?

G

aysce

I'm glad you responded because I was aware of that. The only thing I want to do to the table is repair the shellac on the top of it. My understanding is that each time you put a layer of shellac on, the subsequent layers "melt" into the top one. I don't want to strip the table at all. If I do try and reapair the shellac or put a whole knew top layer of shellac on the table will I ruin its value?

One more question. As far as I can tell the chairs have the original upholstery on them. If I were to leave that upholstery on and just put a different fabric on top of the old stappling the new to the bottem of the seat would that reduce the value?

I got this table and chairs at a flea market for only $950.00. I don't really think it has much value but now that the Roads Show is so popular there is always a slight hope. :)

JW_in_Indy

I would say that depends on what you want to do with it. If you bought it for your personal use and not some kind of investment, then I would personally do whatever necessary to protect it. If that "de-valued" it in some way, then so be it. But, that's just my opinion of course.

Rob Brown

the walnut buffet that I recently repaired was a family piece that was in my in-laws basement recreational area and had been water damaged, both on the top and around the base. The antique value was not part of the equation. It was just a piece that nobody wanted to keep or get rid of or do the work necessary to make it functional again. I have it back in service and looking good. Everybody is happy. It probably cost a hundred bucks for materials and replacement handles. You certainly couldn't buy a piece like it for that amount.

GeorgeC

My understand is (this is only from watching the Antique Road show and NOT an expert opinion) is that anything that is done to the finish on an antique reduces it's value. I would guess that has to be somewhat tempered depending upon the original condition.

If possible and I was in doubt, I would try to get a local expert to eyeball the table and chairs and see what they had to say.

George