Re-Finishing Water-Damaged Furniture

Vintage furniture is increasingly popular but often has surface-level damage. Amber Bailey explains how to repair a cellulose lacquer finish

Twentieth-century design is currently in demand – even the post-war ‘utility’ furniture, which wasn’t even popular the first time around! My grandfather’s house was full of this type of midcentury furniture, although I didn’t find my love of this particular style until many years later.

A little while ago I inherited a G Plan chest of drawers from my grandfather, along with a secretaire that my aunt had bought to match it. Both pieces were looking a little worn around the edges, pieces chipped and damaged from the occasional knock and dreaded water marks that always keep restorers in business. By the 1950s, cellulose lacquer became the universal choice for surface finish, taking fewer coats to build up and it could be applied with a brush or sprayed on.

A surface like this cannot be reworked; in the most damaged areas on the chests the entire surface finish needed to be removed back to the original grain. I’ll explain the process in this article.

The G-Plan story

Genuine pieces of E Gomme furniture are stamped with the company logo, usually found on the inside of a door or drawer. G-Plan was a highly successful furniture range manufactured during the 1950s by E Gomme Ltd of High Wycombe.

When the wartime Utility Furniture Scheme ended in 1952, Donald Gomme, the third generation of the family to join the firm, chose to produce a range of modern furniture for the entire house with the intention of designs running for several years so consumers were in the position to collect the pieces slowly to make allowances for the financial problems caused during the postwar years. The name ‘G-Plan’ was coined by Doris Gundry of J. Walter Thompson Advertising Agency as advertising was to be a key part of the range’s success.

The chest of drawers I inherited was designed by Victor Bramwell Wilkins; it was called model No.B821a, was made from oak and had the option of coming with a mirror and lights. Two other models were available with the amendment of a secretaire fitment as ‘B821b’ or a makeup drawer as ‘B821c’. The piece was advertised mainly for use in the bedroom or lounge for storing games, gloves, galoshes, etc. The wholesale price in April 1953 was marked as £10 15s 0d.

The secretaire also formed part of the Brandon range, made in oak with a mahogany interior. The top drawer flips down to reveal the writing desk.

Health & Safety

As with any work on surface finishes, a number of chemicals come into play – this project uses paint stripper and cellulose thinners, so it is important to work in a well-ventilated area with safety glasses and gloves. In contact with skin, paint stripper will cause irritation. If you begin to feel a burning sensation then neutralise immediately with water.

Assessing the damage

1. So much patching of colour on the front of the chest of drawers indicates it had come into contact with water or other liquid through either a splattering or having been severely dripped on.
2. This large stain down the side of the chest is raised and resembles glue or a similar robust liquid.
3. The inside of the secretaire has a number of ring marks from cups and mugs being put down without a coaster, the whiteness is the result of liquid coming into contact with the cellulose lacquer.
4. Marks and scratches look decidedly out of place over the top of the oak’s rather lovely medullary rays.
5. The years following World War II left certain restrictions on materials that could be used by furniture makers, be it due to trading or that much of it had simply been used up and it was no longer abundant. Veneering furniture once again became a popular answer to reserving stocks, fine at the time, but half a century on these veneers are now easily catching and breaking off so will require patching.
6. Removing the finish. If your workshop isn’t well ventilated, then it is a good idea to work outside when using paint stripper, making sure to always wear the appropriate PPE.
7. To begin with, most of the surface finish was removed using Nitromors. This was applied with a brush and left for a few minutes until the surface began to bubble. A good test to see whether it is lifting the finish is to scrape a little off and onto a piece of tissue. The paint stripper should look dirty and contaminated with flecks of polish. When ready the paint stripper was removed completely using cut off wooden tongue depressors and coarse wire wool, following the grain to avoid scratch marks.

8. Most available paint strippers are much weaker than they once were due to changes in health and safety legislation. This means several applications of stripper may be required in order to achieve a satisfactory result, depending on the state of the surface finish. Afterwards the remaining paint stripper is neutralised by washing down with water.
9. I cleaned down the chest of drawers with a scouring pad and wax cleaner, so that the surface was definitely free of wax and dirt.
10. There had been a sticky mark left for a prolonged period of time, so the wood underneath was a different colour. It can be colour matched at a later stage.
11. I began by working over the surface using ‘0000’ wire wool, which shifted any lasting paint stripper from the grain.
12. A brass wire brush proved very effective at scraping off the remaining finish; this is a quick but invasive method, so is not advisable on a high value object. It is extremely important to only use brass as there is a danger that other metals will react with the tannins in the wood and stain it black, particularly timbers such as oak.
13. If there are very raised lumps of surface finish, then a sharp chisel can be used to lightly scrape the surface. You can avoid digging by using the chisel at an angle pulling towards yourself.
14. Bleaching and colouring. When applying the oxalic acid with cotton pads make sure to change them regularly as the dirt will quickly build up on the surface. Using oxalic acid at a ratio of two spatulas to 100ml water, I wiped the top surfaces down with cotton pads soaked in the solution and left for no more than 10 minutes in total.
15. The result of bleaching can be quite instantaneous, immediately picking up dirt from the grain. The solution needs to be neutralised preferably with isopropyl alcohol; however, methylated spirits can also be used.
16. As you can see, the dark stain was much less visible after the use of oxalic acid.
17. Although it can help to use a wire brush to lift dirt, if the surface is wet, then the wood will become very fibrous and may be easily damaged as a result.
18. Van Dyke pigment paste was applied with a natural fibre brush as the finer hairs are less likely to streak.

19. It can help to dab at the colour for an even covering so it doesn’t dry with a nasty ring around it.
20. Rather than using a palette, dabbing out your brush onto the back of your hand is ideal for indicating the pressure needed to be applied for the right effect.
21. When colouring up a surface, make sure to keep standing back to look at the patch from the angle most likely to be seen in everyday life. Where there were clearly light marks I brushed over a light wash of Van Dyke paste as if it were a watercolour.
22. Repairing damaged veneers. With a scalpel it is always important to keep your fingers out of the way of the blade and cut away from yourself.
23. For as close a match as possible with the veneers, look for the best grain match that you can and ensure the grain direction is facing the correct way – matching colour can be dealt with later. The new pieces were then adhered with wood glue and taped in position with low-tack masking tape until dry.
24. When smoothing replacement veneers, light pressure and going with the grain ensures the surrounding areas aren’t damaged and the new pieces don’t break out.
25. There is no special formula that can be applied to every replacement patch as the wood is not one constant colour. Various different applications need to take place to find the perfect look; this can sometimes mean taking layers off and trying again until you achieve the desired result.
26. Once dry, the new veneers had to be smoothed carefully using a scalpel and fine grade abrasive paper before colouring up with a mixture of layers of yellow and orange wood stain followed by Van Dyke paste.
27. The tung oil was applied using a pad and then left for 15 minutes before any residue was rubbed off with a clean cotton cloth. Rather than re-apply cellulose lacquer, which can be messy work and involves a spray gun, I decided to go down a slightly alternative route and finish them with tung oil, reproducing the slightly golden tint that the oak once had. The timber had also become very dry over its many years so the tung oil was able to rejuvenate the surface and give it a healthy appearance that was then finished off by buffing with microcrystalline wax to bring back the original shine.
28. The restored secretaire …
29. … and the chest of drawers. Both pieces were now back to their stylish selves!

Further reading