Many of the early oak finishes were done by using a very dark wood grain
filler prior to putting on the shellac or lacquer final coating. This made
the grain stand out more and is different from later techniques where a
clear filler is commonly used such as untinted shellac. The "fumed oak"
finish was, indeed, accomplished by exposing the wood to a vapor cloud of
ammonia for a period of time. This produced a uniformly dark finish on the
wood rather than just making the grain stand out dark. You probably want to
experiment with a dark filler. If the cabinet is from the teens or earlier,
the final finish was probably shellac, usually orange shellac which will
produce a golden oak finish. Cabinets in the late 1920s and later began
using lacquer rather than shellac.
Greg Bogantz
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Jordan" <[email protected]>
To: "'Tom Jordan'" <[email protected]>; "'Antique Phonograph List'"
<[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, February 23, 2010 4:29 PM
Subject: [Phono-L] Wood finishes
Let me start me saying that this is a bit off of topic (I apologize in
advance), but I need some advice from the experts.
I am rebuilding and refinishing the case on an old machine for a friend.
Some of the wood is dry rotted and can't be salvaged. It will be a mix of
original pieces and new replacements.
The old finish was done in a way where the striations in the oak are very
dark compared to the rest of the wood. I have heard that this was done by
tenting the wood with ammonia to obtain those results. That sounds a bit
out there to me, but wondered if any of you have heard of this or know of
a
safer and less dangerous method of obtaining those results?
Thanks,
Tom
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