My New Project - Refinishing my Antique Singer Cabinets
 

hi all,

this is what keeping me busy lately. trying to refinish my antique singer cabinets. i will update this forum on my progress. recently just removed the paint using Citristip on my 16-188 and 201-2 cabinets. Citristrip is a great product and it's environmentally friendly and safe for indoor use. my 201-2 cabinet took me 2 times of paint stripper. next is to use a denatured alcohol to clean it. and maybe a bit of sanding. anything i need to know? any advise? thanks a lot.

Sorry guys for the mis-orientation. i have no idea why my Mac is doing this. i made sure that it is correctly oriented and yet this is what i got. This new MAC IOS is driving me nuts. let me see if i can orient it correctly but my apologies.

I'd suggest taking the cabinet apart - you will get much better results in the end by doing that. Otherwise you'll end up with bits of old finish peaking through the cracks. This does not happen if you have a cabinet that was origiinally finished assembled - but that is not the case with this one.

BTW - you have a lot of cleanup to do before you even consider sanding - otherwise you'll end up with a very uneven surface and possibly sand right through the veneer.

This is the older style of your cabinet (this one is from early 1920's) - yours will come apart about the same.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...g/IMGP3575.jpg


Here is a neat way of dealing with having a lot of pieces - get some different height disposable cups, and you can layer your pieces for drying. This is my quilt frame.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...e/IMGP3633.jpg

Canning jar lids make excellent woodworking "cookies" That is what I use for the bottom layer supports.

I’ll be watching with interest. I’ve got a Singer 31-15 top that I need to refinish, including some veneer reattachment. Either that, or veneer replacement. Mine has white paint overspray on it.

CD in Oklahoma

I look at the yellow "antique" finish on the walnut cabinet housing my 66-16 but I hate stripping old paint badly enough I'm willing to live with it.
Rodney

I've got to get back to the one I started early summer. It's all stripped and ready for repair work before final sanding, staining and a new hand rubbed finish applied (I won't use poly on old furniture).

Since it turned cold, I brought all the pieces in from the shed - now they are down in the basement. I guess I've been playing with my attachments too much!

Awesome!!!!

i hear you. i was about to give up and just do a makeover black paint as the old varnish/stain was so bad and there are burned and water marks all over the wood but decided to do it on as a first diy refurnishing. a learning process as they say.

wouldn't poly help protect the wood ? any reason why staining it is better? that was my thought also. i went back and forth at home depot deciding on whether to get Minwax stain or Minwax Polyshades (with poly). advise ?

yes. i plan on taking them apart. i tried to do the short cut thingy but not working out. it will be much harder getting into those grooves and bending and everything. thanks for the advise.

I never said I would not apply a finish - I just won't use Poly (short for polyurethane) on them. I have a very strong dislike for Polyshades - but I know some like it. To me it's the lazy man's way, and it does an OK job at staining and finishing, but not a good job of either. It looks pretty good in pictures over the internet . . .

For old stuff, I really like Minwax's Antique Oil - and I hand apply at least 4 coats. 6-7 is often better. Gives a deep luster without the "plastic" look of polyurethane. I've used Antique Oil on most of the wood stained trim in my house, but its' 130 years old and I wanted an older look to the finishes. It's held up very well, and you can easily apply another coat to freshen it up as it will soften and blend with the existing finish. For a harder surface, I'll use General Finishes Salad Bowl. I used that on my baking center countertops and table, and loved the way it turned out - and it's very durable.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...e/IMGP3255.jpg

Polyurethane layers do not combine - each layer is separate - just sand through from one to the lower and see what kind of rings you can get! I find Poly rather unforgiving and a pain to work with - except you can get a durable finish with only one or two coats.

I have to do my cabinet so I will pay close attention to the responses....Thanks..

you sure knows your antique cabinets. they're all nicely refinished. just a question - would it be OK for my cabinet to just stained it and no poly or lacquer protection on top ? if i do multiple coats of minwax stain, will the cabinet hold to the elements (banging, scratching, weather)? can i do without adding a top protection? thanks.

no, plain stain will do nothing to seal the wood, just changes color. Having said that, you can get products that are stain/sealer or perservative for things like decks and exterior surfaces. You can also seal it with products such as tung or mineral oil

With a bit more work on your part, you can end up with a beautiful cabinet.

The antique oil is more durable and easy enough to apply, about the easiest of anything I've used. It just take several coats. You spread it on with a cloth, let it sit five minutes and then buff it until it's not tacky anymore. Let dry 24 hours and apply again - each coat will deepen the luster as you are creating a smooth finish.

I've only gotten around to three sewing cabinet so far. And I've got one in pieces down in the basement. Most of my experience comes from doing all the woodwork and cabinetry in our house -though we have painted cabinets in the master bath and kitchen, and unfinished cedar in the second bath.

The best advantage I have is a shop full of higher end woodworking tools. I have a great Festool finish sander - it is the one that comes with a vacuum unit so I can use it in the house.

Here is the one I started this spring and haven't gotten back to yet - other than to bring it inside now that it's too cold to work in the shed.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psed7cde99.jpg

I've got some veneer repair to do -and I know that is what's holding me up right now. I have all the tools so no reason to not get to it

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ps0050aa71.jpg

This is has some beautiful wood grain - should be very nice when complete

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...pscbaa6d64.jpg

Maybe following along with your progress will get me motivated.


This cabinet is sealed with Antique Oil, it gives it a deep, soft glow.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ps8a65886f.jpg

These two I put GF Salad Bowl finish on. It's a much more forgiving product to use than polyurethane, but also takes about 4 coats to get a decent sheen.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...psee349c77.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c3...ps80cd1b45.jpg

I think you'll be much happier with your results if you take the time up front to do a nice job. For me, putting on the finish is enough work that it is silly to do only a half job getting to that point. It's a lot harder to make things look nicer after you've stained and applied the finish.

I also understand fully how sometimes your "give a darn" just isn't where it should be LOL!!

an update: i think i am done stripping varnish and paint on my 16-188 and 201-2 cabinets and really to embark on the staining/painting process. on the first picture, that's my 16-188 that i orbit sanded the sides and paint stripped the varnish. it's now all clean and white. on my 201-2, i tried and checked if i could disassemble the cabinets but it looks like too much work and i might end up with the same result if i let is un-disassembled and just paint.