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I want to spruce up an indoor patio-door sill. It's tatty, hasn't been touched in at least 25 years, but it is still solid and needs only maintenance.
The first question is, what wood is it? - It appears to be hardwood, due to the fact it has no real damage to it and it has a rich dark reddish hue, so I'm thinking 'cherry' probably fits the bill, but any tips on how to be certain would be appreciated.
Any varnish (or whatever it is) has completely worn away from the door area, but it still clearly visible at the other end, showing many flaking gaps (unsurprisingly).
To start with I'm going to give it a good scrub, with sugar soap, to clean it up as best I can. I'm then going to go over it first with 120 grit sandpaper followed by 180 UNLESS I'm advised otherwise.
Once it is sanded and prepared, I'm not sure what I should do next to give it a beautiful finish. What I've researched shows many different methods (wax, pre-stain etc), but what do you guys think I should do to bring out the natural beauty of the wood... I'm not looking to stain it, I want to keep and potentially enhance it's natural colour.
What do I need to purchase and what is the process? ...for the record I'm a pen-pusher, with some experience in plumbing; I know nothing about wood maintenance. Any tips/help would be appreciated.
TIA
The first question is, what wood is it? - It appears to be hardwood, due to the fact it has no real damage to it and it has a rich dark reddish hue, so I'm thinking 'cherry' probably fits the bill, but any tips on how to be certain would be appreciated.
Any varnish (or whatever it is) has completely worn away from the door area, but it still clearly visible at the other end, showing many flaking gaps (unsurprisingly).
To start with I'm going to give it a good scrub, with sugar soap, to clean it up as best I can. I'm then going to go over it first with 120 grit sandpaper followed by 180 UNLESS I'm advised otherwise.
Once it is sanded and prepared, I'm not sure what I should do next to give it a beautiful finish. What I've researched shows many different methods (wax, pre-stain etc), but what do you guys think I should do to bring out the natural beauty of the wood... I'm not looking to stain it, I want to keep and potentially enhance it's natural colour.
What do I need to purchase and what is the process? ...for the record I'm a pen-pusher, with some experience in plumbing; I know nothing about wood maintenance. Any tips/help would be appreciated.
TIA
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Thinly vieled looking for a French polishing lesson...
My pine table is coming next 
With time on my hands and a 2 week break coming up (22nd) I'd like to do a little DIY and this is the first project on my radar. A few tips would definitely come in handy.
With time on my hands and a 2 week break coming up (22nd) I'd like to do a little DIY and this is the first project on my radar. A few tips would definitely come in handy.
Aspro, I've just copied the entire text from your opening post and pasted it into the address bar (Chrome browser) and then clicked on 'Enter'.
Result was that it came up with an AI Overview in response to your query which may help.
Maybe worth a try.
Result was that it came up with an AI Overview in response to your query which may help.
Maybe worth a try.
I'm happier dealing with indoor stuff, rather than
external patio doors.
If they've survived so long without treatment then must
have been cared for before.
I had an awful dark brown varnished table, that I stripped down
sanded and then waxed. I was pretty chuffed.
Then they bought some degus, put the cage on my table
and when they came out to run around they chewed it
to bits. Lovely little creatures, but buggas for chewing
wood, 6 years later the table was chucked out, but
I enjoyed the project.
external patio doors.
If they've survived so long without treatment then must
have been cared for before.
I had an awful dark brown varnished table, that I stripped down
sanded and then waxed. I was pretty chuffed.
Then they bought some degus, put the cage on my table
and when they came out to run around they chewed it
to bits. Lovely little creatures, but buggas for chewing
wood, 6 years later the table was chucked out, but
I enjoyed the project.
thanks t2r... will try that.
On careful inspection I've just noticed some small (what appears to be) surface splits in the wood. Hmmm, that adds to the project. No bad splits though so will need to somehow fill/cover them without it noticing.
On careful inspection I've just noticed some small (what appears to be) surface splits in the wood. Hmmm, that adds to the project. No bad splits though so will need to somehow fill/cover them without it noticing.
I just tried that t2r on Copilot. I use this at work and haven't found it to be that great for reading the files I attach (tbh), but by posting my own post into it, it really did break it down for me in an easy-to-follow way, step-by-step. Don't use AI generally but this has proved how naive I've been with it.
Great tip, thanks again.
Great tip, thanks again.
Youtube might be worth looking at. I've fixed things before using it. Not every time mind
I tried YT CB but it kept coming up with replacing a sill, not refurbishing it. Copilot (so far) has cemented some of the things I did get from it though and it appears Danish oil is a worthy choice, amongst other things. Won't be starting the project until circa 20th but like to be prepared and ready, hence this early post.
I would buy some boiled linseed oil, dilute 50:50 with white spirits and apply two coats,leaving the first to soak in before applying the second. You will need to allow a couple of days for it to dry through.
Remember these oils and thinners are flammable and the fumes potentially harmful so make sure the area is well ventilated.
Thanks Foinavon, appreciate the advice which I will certainly consider.
I’m a wood and DIY expert. In fact, it’s one of my favourite hobbies!
I’d have to read the whole thread to find out if I’ve anything to add. There’s some very long posts for my liking!
Try using Google lens on the grain, or post a picture.
Been to loads of auctions in the past and the technical term "Brown Furniture" was often used to describe most old wooden furniture, they always used the term oak but BF seemed to cover all hardwood and often didn't atract any interest, often it was like, here's more brown furniture, anyone?
Love walnut, but mahogany cherry not so much.
Been to loads of auctions in the past and the technical term "Brown Furniture" was often used to describe most old wooden furniture, they always used the term oak but BF seemed to cover all hardwood and often didn't atract any interest, often it was like, here's more brown furniture, anyone?
Love walnut, but mahogany cherry not so much.
That's an interesting suggestion bnb. I'm figuring if I can determine the precise wood I can find out the best way to repair/refurbish it. Thanks.
Hello. For what it is worth (and I am an antique furniture restorer), I would NOT worry about trying to work out what wood it is. After all virtually anything that is not a conifer is a hardwood. Even Balsawood is a hardwood. Depending on date, they would have used anything that was cheap and available. Originally Oak, Elm etc, then tropicals like teak, iroko or other cheap exotics. The key will be getting all original surface treatment off, then using something that soaks and breathes. You say you don't want to change the colour so an Osmo colourless oil or similar would be perfect. Teak/Tung Oil would do the job but might change the colour more than you want. The days of Linseed Oil are over. Hope this helps. BB
Teak, Tung, OR DANISH, as someone said. Might darken more than you want though.
Thanks for your time blackbarn, that is helpful. It was me who said Danish, as it was an online research suggestion. If you don't mind, I have a few hairline splits in the wood, that I'd like to somehow cover. Most look like they have been stretched, but a few are larger and longer, but still only fractionally wider than a hair. Any tips how to best deal with these or would the oil you mentioned naturally cover them?
I'd like to thank you all for your contributions and I think the sawdust/wood glue method should be sufficient to hide the cracks, which I measured this morning at a maximum 1mm. The sanding looks straightforward, starting with possibly 80 to take the old varnish off, then moving up to 120 before finishing it with 180. I'm going to take blackbarn's choice of "Osmo colourless oil" which appears ideal for the task and should, as advertised, bring out the natural colour.
The use of AI was an excellent tip too, as I've never really used it before, but it does appear to answer most of my queries with ease, but you can't beat a little experienced advice too.
Thanks again guys.
The use of AI was an excellent tip too, as I've never really used it before, but it does appear to answer most of my queries with ease, but you can't beat a little experienced advice too.
Thanks again guys.
Be careful with AI.
Whilst it may have been great here, it can pick up
silly answers at times.
I've been trying to use it on stuff I already know (golf)
and it gets stuff wrong from time to time.
Don't we all, but,...
Whilst it may have been great here, it can pick up
silly answers at times.
I've been trying to use it on stuff I already know (golf)
and it gets stuff wrong from time to time.
Don't we all, but,...
I noticed that at work yhtl. When I want it to read bank statements it does catch some of the information I need, but when I manually check it, it also misses some out so not yet a useful tool for work. Nevertheless, it does help in some things and after putting a picture of my wood through it, it has told me it is "more than likely" Sapele, which I've never heard of before, but apparently it was popular between the 80's and 2000's.
I used to get 3 or 4 times a day, then I was diagnosed as having woodworm.
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