Refinishing Ercol dining set

[mightyox]

Hi, I have a drop leaf Ercol dining table and chairs which need refinishing. They are the dark finished variety like the table in the attached picture , and from what i understand they are finished with shellac which has taken a lot of wear and some nasty mug rings over the years. What I'd like to know is what the most hardwearing and attractive finish would be when I restore them. I'm not worried about achieving the same colour as they are but want to show of the quality of the wood and get a nice even finish. I intend to strip them with Nitromors and wire wool, then a 2 or 3 stage sanding process (is that even correct?).
Thanks for your time.

 

[Woodfinish Man]

One of the most durable finishes you could use is a 2 Part Acid Catalyst Lacquer. It offers excellent resistance against abrasion, heat and alcohol. It's very popular amongst furniture manufacturers as being a solvent finish it brings our the natural appearance of the timber unlike it's waterbased counterparts.

It is primarily spray applied but can be brushed on if AC brushing thinners are added (20% is recommended). The product comes in five different sheen levels.

Hope this is of some assistance

Regards,
Ian

 

[mightyox]

Thanks, Woodfinish man. That sounds like just what I'm after. I don't suppose you happen to know what wood my table might be made of and what sort of colour I'd be left with after I've prepped it? Also can I use a wood dyte before an AC lacquer if I wanted to? Thanks again.

 

[Woodfinish Man]

It looks like walnut. The easiest way to find out roughly what colour you'll end up with (after it's been stripped and sanded) is to wipe the surface with a damp cloth of water, this will display it's natural colour.

You can use either water stains or solvent based NGR stains such as the 300 range if required.

 

[mightyox]

Good tip!

 

[Leif]

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 samples I have stripped - 60's and 70's items - had a thick brittle layer of lacquer. Nitromors does work but the current post EU regs stuff is not brilliant. I find these people supply good strippers:

http://www.stripperspaintremovers.com/products.htm

If you do buy Nitromors, then ebay is a good source.

The later equivalent table without the cross braces had an elm top and beech frame and I think that is what yours uses. Generally Ercol used elm for the top, and either elm or beech for the legs. Bent wood chairs are usually elm for the seat and beech elsewhere since elm does not steam well. They have also used pine, and currently ash is used for some items, but I don't think they used either for your table. As far as I can tell Ercol spray on a stain (rather than a dye) which gives an even colour, but tends to hide grain. They then apply lacquer which these days is acrylic. Once you have stripped the table, you may find stain still in the wood, and you can use oxalic acid if you want to get closer to the natural wood.

I used Danish Oil on some items as it is easy to apply. I used hardwax oil on a chest, which is a tough finish, but it is much harder to apply, and I'm not sure I recommend it.

 

[Leif]

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 mixed with UHU glue (I am no expert though), the end result looked more like a wood defect than the alternatives.