Help identifying wood and finish on church pews
chrisburgin
| Posted in Finishing on
Hello there!
I am planning to do some minor repairs to our church pews and could use some help identifying the wood and finish. I have attached 3 photos below but can take more if it would be helpful.
The wood itself is quite light under the finish, similar to a white oak. The pews are a little over 100 years old. I also have noticed that on the railing there is a finish that appears to have “run” when being applied. See the second photo for a closeup of that.
Any guidance that someone can provide would be super helpful, thank you!
Replies
Looks like oak and varnish. The topcoat on the pews will be dirt and grease from ten thousand hands. Before working on an area clean and de-grease it and and a wide overlap in all directions. An amber oil-based finish is the way to go. If you want to get closer on color you might want to flip one over and experiment with toners or stains. The color you have now comes from years passing.
Personally I think do the repairs and wait. No one will notice except for seeing the upgraded condition.
Thanks so much mj, that is super helpful information. I'll do exactly what you suggest.
Yes , that is white oak, as mj said, wipe with mineral spirit to clean oil and grease. It’s very possible that the finish is shellac so be careful using denatured alcohol, it would dissolve the finish.
It seems a pity to destroy that hundred years of patina to make something like those pews look "new and improved!". Would the cleaning off of any dirt not be enough?
One technique I've used with "tired" old varnish finishes is to clean off the dirt then rub the whole surface over with a rag containing a modern finishing oil - something like Liberon Finishing Oil, in fact.
If you rub a very thin coat on, the solvents in the oil can soften and help smooth the varnish. Scuffs, dull patches and other superficial damage to just the varnish itself can be greatly reduced and often eliminated. The oiled varnish will then dry, as the solvents evaporate, to a better looking condition but without making a drastic change to the original patina.
Experimentation on a small area is obviously advised, since the composition and response of the varnish will not be entirely predictable. The big question: will it dry again or go permanently sticky?
Lataxe