In a pickle: How to achieve 1950s blond oak finish
I am completely new to refinishing and am trying to revive a 1950s oak sewing machine desk. The desk started life in a middle school classroom and has that blond oak finish that you find on some old school desks. It had acquired a surprising number of cigarette burns, considering its origins, plus water damage, gouges, and worn finish. I have sanded it but it retains blemishes and the veneer is getting thin. So, my question is, how can I finish this project in a way that hides blemishes and achieves that light pickled oak look? I am aiming for a light mocha rather than orange tint to agree with the fabulous old sewing machine I intend to put in the desk. Pictures are attached showing the desk as it is now, two examples of blemishes, and an unsanded area showing the original finish in its current condition. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
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Photos didn't attach. Can you retry?
Thanks for letting me know. Here is another try at posting photos.
Light color and hiding blems at the same time is unlikely. Choose a "mocha" that blends with the majority of your burn marks & stains. Test on either the underside or backs of the drawer fronts before you stain the whole desk. Oak can get pretty noisy when stained so you may need a seal coat to keep it as quiet as the original surface was.
MJ, thank you so much, I really appreciate your taking the time to advise me. You have set me free to think about finishing this desk to match the sewing machine rather than attempting to restore its original look. I had thought I would have to go for a similar look to the original because my sanding of the veneer left behind some of the original blond pigment, deep in the grain. I thought the only way to hide that would be to match it. If that is not going to be a determining factor, I will be glad to follow your advice.
FYI Minwax makes a pickled oak stain. I've no idea if its any good.
I'll second what MJ said. And it will be hard, if not impossible, to get rid of all the dings, as you'll sand right through the veneer if you try. You really want to avoid that.
There is always paint as an option.
My plan now is to try a sealer coat followed by a darker stain than I originally intended, and if that fails, sigh, paint. You are all very generous to educate me.
If you haven't already tried the darker stain, you may want to consider using a light gel stain. I'm thinking General Finishes New Pine. Practice on scrap!! I am not sure how it will look over the blemishes. But gel stains sit on top of the wood like paint, but allow the grain to show like stain. Good luck.
Different direction here, but consider applying additional ‘weathering’, then two coats of dissimilar color milk paint to finish it off.
I must be missing something. That finish looks like natural white oak with a white pickling. I wouldn't stain anything just use General Finishes White Wash finish. You might even be able to leave a higher concentration over some of the problem areas to mask them a bit.
Here are pictures of the finished piece - I am delighted with it. Thank you all for your expert advice way back in early January.
So how did you finally achieve the look you wanted? It looks very nice.
Singer 403? Nice machine.
Looks great, nice job!
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Thanks for your comments! I wanted to avoid that weathered look associated with whitewash, so I gambled on General Finishes white gel stain and it worked. I put a light covering of wood filler over the darker blotches before staining. Then topped things off with General Finishes high performance topcoat in satin. For John_C2, yes, that is a Singer 403 sewing machine that I also rehabilitated and now I am sewing rompers for my grandchild. It is a joy to use this equipment.
Thanks for checking in. It's always nice to know how things turned out.
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