I am currently preserving my family homestead of about 120 years. All the fir trim, (base, casing, plinths, rosettes, etc.) are in the original shellac finish, and in pretty good shape (120 yrs of dings, scratches, nail holes, etc., but nothing major). They had never been painted, thank God. Would cleaning them up, and giving them a new coat of shellac be the best finish? I am trying to keep the house as original as possible, but do not want it to be a museum piece. I do have two kids under the age of eight, and am wondering about the durability, although it has lasted this long…now on the fifth generation. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
Replies
Clean and recoat with shellac would be my choice. No need to strip the old shellac as the new coat will disolve/blend with the old coat.
I'd re-coat with shellac also. I'd clean with a damp rag then buff with green scothcbrite or steel wool and apply a new coat in a 1 or 2 pound cut.
Paul
F'burg, VA
Thanks guys. This seems to be the concensus of everyone I talk to, so I'll probably be checking into the next step...figuring out the particulars of shellac application. Any other ideas are greatly appreciated.
Mix your own. I like Behlens flakes. Put 2 pounds in 2 gallons of denatured alcohol. It take 2 days to dissolve. Mix and store it in glass.The stuff you buy premixed can often be too old and will leave a sticky mess. Use a polyester brush.
Good luck
Frank
shellac is certainly a versatile finish, and as you are about to find out, really easy to recoat. However, it is not a durable finish in the spectrum of available options. You may want to research the merits of going with a shellac base coat (for authenticity, color match, and ease of application), and a clear poly top coat (for durability, easy cleaning).
I'm all for keeping things authentic in old houses, and furniture, but look to use modern materials when the performance advantages are there. The way I figure it, if poly was available to builders 120 years ago, they would have used it as well.
by the way, natural clear fir trim is such a treasure, you are really fortunate that someone in earlier times didn't decide a coat of paint would look better on it!
Ever since we started this project, I have thanked everyone, many, many times. The hardest part in our area (upper midwest) is finding fir to match for the new pieces that we have needed to add.
Congratulations on NOT painting your fir trim. Here in the NW we have lots of it, though too much has fallen to the paint brush over the years. Actually even if the trim has been painted and isn't too banged up (paint sticks in the dings and is hard to remove), a heat gun followed by a citrus based stripper does a good job of restoring the natural beauty.
In December 1999 I wrote an article for "Old house Journal" magazine on refinishing old shellaced fir trim. The trim in our house (circa 1909) was severely alligatored and actually black in areas where it received sunlight. In the article I also show how to color match new trim to old trim, that is simulating patina. Check it out to see one way to do it. The beauty of shellac is the ease to recoat any damaged areas, just brush on another layer and it's good as new. I would NOT put a layer of poly over it. Good luck.
Thank you very much much! I am a long time subscriber to OHJ, just as I am to FH. I will be looking up that article immediately.
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