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Oil won’t stop fading, I have oiled black walnut bookcases that are going mahogany. Ercol made pebble tables in black walnut, early ones were finished in clear lacquer, later ones had a dark stain and clear lacquer, quite nice albeit not authentic, so to speak.

I did an Elm table in Danish oil, very nice. However, I did an elm chest of drawers in Danish oil, and areas of end grain have gone very dark over the years. Not nice. My favourite finish is hard wax oil. My choice is Fiddes semi gloss, 4 to 5 thin coats applied with a white cotton rag, denib...

I know this is an old thread. However … Up to ~2000 Ercol used nitrocellulose lacquer. The quickest and cleanest way to remove it is with a cabinet scraper, followed by a light sanding. Stripper is messy and costly. Currently Ercol use a water based acrylic lacquer, which is rather tough. It...

There are various kinds of stripper. These people sell a range: http://www.stripperspaintremovers.com I've tried three formulations for various surfaces. They sell one which smells of ripe bananas, I forget the active ingredient, ethyl acetate I think. It worked well on acrylic furniture...

There are quite a few parcels of land selling near me. The latest is 2.5 acres for 70 grand. No planning permission. Seems an expensive gamble to me, since at that price it is not for farming.

Alternatively try hardwax oil, two coats, then wax.

Yes the new stuff has some figuring and grain, and the hardwax oil brings it out nicely. But there is no depth to the wood, no shimmer, it is very flat. This is a similar but later chest of drawers that someone else has refinished: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Retro ... true&rt=nc You...

Interesting point. The cabinet could be a different species or variety. They now use wood from America and Europe.

I assume the nicer items are pre Dutch elm, the chest is pre 1964. I think you are right, the cabinet wood seemed softer, less dense. It was definitely imported wood. Come to think of it, Nordic spruce is denser than English spruce because it grows more slowly. Perhaps imported elm is from...

I've restored 4 items of furniture made wholly or partially from elm, stripping the original finish, and applying an oil based one and wax. I'm surprised at the huge variation in the wood. A chest of drawers finished with hardwax oil and wax is superb. The grain shows through, and the wood...

Mineral oil is an ingredient of dried currents.

I did my skirting, architraves and window boards in acrylic primer followed by 2 coats of Sikkens oil based paint. I've also used Zinsser 123 which feels very like acrylic primer. For a toolbox it'll be fine. Given a choice I'd use oil based primer as it goes on smoother and thinner, acrylic...

Thanks all. Just in case anyone is interested, having completely stripped the chest (but not the drawers) for a second time, I applied the hardwax oil using the manufacturers instructions and as described above i.e. with a brush, and a supply of small clean cloths. I thinned the oil with 5-10%...

Thanks all. Yes, they do say to paint on, then wipe off. It is almost as if you have to keep a wet edge. I tested on a 60cm square piece of elm (a shelf from a cupboard) and the result was lovely, very impressive. I think I will email them and see what they say. This must be user error, but I'm...

I applied Fiddes hardwax oil to an elm chest of drawers which I had spent ages stripping back to the bare wood. The draws came out beautifully, including the wooden handles which were inset into the draw fronts. However, the frame is not good. I applied the finish with a rag, rubbing it in as...

Oh, and you will find dings on the legs, and maybe on the top although that lacquer may well be thick! I hope I am not stating the obvious, but dings can often by completely removed by repeated wetting, so that the wood expands, and then you sand flush. I found the best filler was wood dust...

The cross braces between the legs indicate that your table is one of the older models, probably from the 50's or 60's. You can find some old Ercol catalogues online here: http://www.ercol.com/archive Before ~2000 they used nitrocellulose lacquer on some if not all of their furniture. The...

No problem: http://www.stripperspaintremovers.com/ I have no connection with them except as a customer. I've used the poultice stripper to get paint off plaster, and it works well, and another one to strip architraves, works well too. I used Solvistrip yesterday. Cheaper than B&Q stripper...

Searching online, the solvent might be ethyl acetate. Has anyone made their own stripper using solvent, water and starch (cornflour?) ?

I will look for a scraper his weekend. In the meantime I tested: Acetone: little effect as too volatile. Isopropyl alcohol: slight effect, too volatile. Meths: softens the acrylic, making scraping easier. I also tried a sample of a stripper from an online company, smells of pears, looks...