Piano Stool Finish Advice..

[Johnhunt]

Hi, this is my first post here, I need advice!

I am restoring an antique piano stool, the rectangular type with turned handles at the side and a hinged seat for storage.

Somebody decided to paint and recover it years ago so I am taking it right back to the wood with hopes to recover and finish it for possible sale somewhere.

I think the wood is mahogany but I am unsure. It seems that a lot of these types of stools are from my research.

What would be a good finishing process and good (cheap) products to use to get a nice natural looking finish that would suit both little and frequent use.

Any advice would be great

Thanks

John.

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

Hi John. these stools were made rom a variety of timber, mahogany, walnut, oak, birch and beech. Many are made from birch and stained heavily to make them look like mahogany. As for finishing, they are usually French polished, but you could oil or varnish it too, it all depends on your skill level. The quickest and easiest way to get a good finish is to use danish oil, four coats, allow to dry in a warm room for 24hrs then wire wool and wax.

 

[Johnhunt]

Thanks for the reply

I have done a fair bit of varnishing in the past, but have never used any oil finishes. I would say my skill level is pretty low at the moment when it comes to finishing but find that if there are instructions online I can generally pick things up pretty quickly. I am hoping to make a little profit on the stool to enable me to buy more supplies for future projects. What would you say the cheapest acceptable finish would be for one of these stools taking into account that I would like to respect that fact that it is an antique, rather than just put a coat of cheap white gloss on it like the last owner? Would the danish oil work out a cheap but acceptable finish?

Thanks