sash

I will be getting my grandmother's singer/cabinet next month. My brother is bringing it to me. I use to sew on
it when I would visit my grandparents. At some point, my grandfather decided to paint the cabinet a brown and I would like to restore it to it's original finish. Is this possible and how do I do it? Thanks for any info. Here's a picture of it.(maybe).

Rodney

I take it that isn't the actual machine? You're pretty much stuck with using a chemical stripper on the paint. The original finish would be shellac. With luck it will be intact under the paint and would have kept the paint from soaking into the pores. After the paint is stripped off it becomes a matter of repairing any damaged veneer and re-applying the shellac.
It's all very doable, it just takes time.
Make sure you post some pics of it when you get it and keep us informed of your progress. Knowing others are watching will help keep you motivated to finish it and you'll be glad you did when it's done.
Rodney

xxxxxxxxxx

I would take the cabinet completely apart, it's no hard to do, it held together with screws even the part that holds the machine has screws

what I do to get away the cost of chemicals , the using those, and if it real bad or painted.

I use a knife blade and scrape of wood bare, Don't laugh this is the way rough wood was finished was back when before sand paper, I made my blades. There about the same as a old time butcher knife blade, these are just a blade, so a sharp straight piece of steel is what they look like. some are shape on fit the edges.

It sounds hard to do. it's not. normally once you get an area to the wood the old finish begins coming off every quickly, it is hard on the hands, because of the pressure it takes, but is way faster than sanding,, this scraping with a sharp blade leaves the raw wood very smooth, often has a shine to it, Then finish by sanding

I'm lazy and stay away from days of sanding.

anything that the blade can't get into, it's acetone and a stiff brush even those small wire brushs. but that a flat face cabinet you won't need this stuff.

sash

Well. it's the machine that's always been in it. I will probably just leave it brown. lol.

J Miller

sash,

Here's a thread, actually three, I did about a damaged Singer treadle cabinet I repaired a couple years ago. So far it's my crowning achievement.
{ http://www.quiltingboard.com/vintage...n-t218398.html } If you'll follow the links inside the post you'll see the befores and afters of this project.

As Rodney said, it takes time. As xxxxxxxxxxx said, I took the cabinet completely apart. Reglued everything that was coming unglued. This took the most time. Then repaired and sanded the rest of the top. Restained it trying to get an older color match, then shellacked it with both clear and amber shellac to give it an aged appearance.

Take your time and don't get impatient. Glues, stains, shellac all take time to dry. One step at a time. You can do it.

Joe

Rodney

10x raises a good point. Taking the cabinet apart first is a very good idea. It makes a huge difference in how easy it is to do the finishing work especially in the edges. Scraping and the acetone are also good tips. I've used single edge razors to remove paint splatters with very good results but haven't tried scraping an entire surface. Look up wood scrapers in wood working for more info.
The table surfaces are covered with veneer. Be very careful not to sand through it.
Either lacquer thinner or alcohol will both dissolve old shellac. Both will leave a clean surface ready for new finish and are easier than sanding. I haven't tried acetone. Use fine steel wool to rub the old finish off and wipe with clean rags. Work in a very well ventilated area, outdoors is best.
I would stay with traditional shellac (original finish), lacquer or a good varnish. All are easily repaired if needed. Polyurethane finishes are more difficult if repairs to the finish are needed in the future.
Rodney

J Miller

One caution:

Vapors from lacquer thinner, alcohol, acetone and other solvents such as this are extremely flammable. Be very careful to NOT use them anywhere near a hot water heater or other flame source.

Joe

HelenAnn

I often use blades to scrape, instead of strippers. Twine is a nice way to polish spindles and I think I may try it on some irons . I can't think of the term I want to use but I would wrap it around twice and then use a sawing motion. Some smo on the twine.

MadCow333

It's not hard to strip paint. I would use paint stripper (the ones wit methylene chloride are still my favoiretes but all of this stuff has health hazards associated with it. There is NO respirator that can filter out methylene chloride for more than a very short time. You work outside, and keep the paint stripper downwind.) They I'd use 50/50 denatured alcohol + lacquer thinner and 000 steel wool and perhaps some kind of brushes, wire or otherwise, to clean out the last of the paint. They I'd wipe off any residues, let it dry, then steel wool with the 000 again. Then apply wood stain as needed or to desired color. They shellac over it with either clear or amber shellac. Amber over oak gives pretty ,uch the original color, I am guessing.

The problem with paint on oak is that oak has big open hollows in the grain and paint will go in there and you'll have top clean out the grain. (Why I said a brush.) The plus side of this is you have shellac on the machine with paint over top, most likely. And shellac has no chemical resistance whatsoever, so most of that paint will pop right off there when the shellac lets go. But depending where you are, you might be into fall weather and spring and summer are better times to refinish furniture if you are working outdoors or in unheated / un-dehumidified shop or garage.

MadCow333

That ^ plus avoid heat from a car, or a spark from a light switch or other electrical equipment. Or a hot lawn mower or a cigarette. Work out in the open air and avoid confined spaces and/or heat/flame/spark and there is little to worry about. I leave my rags air dry outside before tossing them. I do the same with oil stain rags, too. Then when I toss them, they go into an old fashioned metal garbage can until trash pickup day. Don't forget about the oily rag hazards, in other words.