Re-finishing Hammond C3 and Leslie cabinet...HELP!!

[kevin dwyer]

hi kev, was thinking, whilst working away in the garage, if you really want it black then use some car spray paint. you'd have to mask everything up with tape and paper, wear a mask and it might be messy, say four coats and ease it down after 2 with a pad from morells. You could also paint it with black paint, two coats, ease down and then two coats of water based clear varnish.

Back to the preparation, don't worry about it too much since you're just starting out at this, plenty of time to become an erpert later ! Try and go for an eveness to the prepped finish, all sanded smooth and nice to the touch. I tend go by touch, spend to much time looking at fine detail and you won't get anywhere.

For a standard cosy looking antique finish try what I've suggested, I use the vandyke crystals as they are super cheap and make loads of stain. Sanding sealer has a higher concentrate of actual polish in it so it works out cheaper than the button polish etc. and is a good price from Morrells. Aim for a medium oak / medium brown finish if you're goin to use this method. kev.

 

[tonewheelkev]

Hi Kev
....thanks for those comments....that was the kind of thing I was thinking of :wink: ...how you might go about doin' the job - Much appreciated :

Think I'm going to experiment with different types of filler...perhaps go for something containing wood fibres, and try to match to the cabinets. The Morrells Easystain (Dark) cures to a light grey....and doesn't accept stain very well.

Have used Plastic Wood....and such-like in the past...will take another look!!

Haven't used water based poly...in fact have generally steered clear. Is it possible to get a classy finish.... :?:

 

[kevin dwyer]

I have a huge pot of light filler and I just add some morrells stain if I want it darker, if you only have dark it can be a bit of a pain so maybe buy a light one and you can mix them. what you've put in looks ok, coloured varnish will cover that. you can always mix some sawdust / wood into the dark filler.

wood that's been stripped back, filled and sanded usually looks very nice when it's painted. maybe use a primer. water based varnish is just easy.