We just got our first AS (1966 Overlander) and the woodwork looks pretty good, but I'd like any suggestions on how to make it look the best without full refinishing. I've done nothing but furniture polish so far. Is there a cleaning/sealing process that would help? Oils? Polishes? Basically, I want to have a nice look without complete refinishing.
Depending on the color of your cabinets you can mix shoe polish with butchers wax and buff them really pretty. I did this in my 65 AS. I washed them first with vinegar water to get rid of some mold and general grimeIf you have scratches or worn places you can use a little stain on a qtip first.
Silverleeper,
Sometimes a good cleaning and then a lemon oil rub down is enough to invigorate the finish.
Lemon oil and a good cleaning could be the key. I think thats brought up in post#8 on the thread link I posted. I'm just trying to give different options. I'm a hands on person so without seeing and touching I hesitate to just give one method.
This stuff has long been a favorite of mine.
I have used it on my '65 Safari's cabinets, worked great.
I applied it with a small (2" by 3") scotch-bright-pad, that way you can do a little scrubbing/sanding while you are applying it. Then wipe the surface with a rag to remove any material that got removed by the sanding action.
You can put on several coats, changing colors to get the final look you want.
Later coats can be applied with a rag, with no wiping clean needed if you put on thin coats.
If the wood ever gets scuffed, just wipe on another coat.
It is very easy to use, very forgiving, nothing tricky at all.
"Watco Danish Oil penetrates deep into wood pores to protect from within and to enhance the natural look and feel of the wood. It creates the rich, warm glow of a traditional hand-rubbed finish."
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Our cabinets were a little faded and dry as well on our '66. The Restor-a-Finish brought back alot of its rich color. It looks like it faded over the winter a little. I might try the lemon oil and see if it holds up better, or maybe the feed-n-wax to seal it up.
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1966 Sovereign International
2003 Black Chevy Silverado w/q-steer
This stuff has long been a favorite of mine.
I have used it on my '65 Safari's cabinets, worked great.
I applied it with a small (2" by 3") scotch-bright-pad, that way you can do a little scrubbing/sanding while you are applying it. Then wipe the surface with a rag to remove any material that got removed by the sanding action.
You can put on several coats, changing colors to get the final look you want.
Later coats can be applied with a rag, with no wiping clean needed if you put on thin coats.
If the wood ever gets scuffed, just wipe on another coat.
It is very easy to use, very forgiving, nothing tricky at all.
"Watco Danish Oil penetrates deep into wood pores to protect from within and to enhance the natural look and feel of the wood. It creates the rich, warm glow of a traditional hand-rubbed finish."
Where do you purchase it? I'd like to get some and try it.
The Watco oil is the same material as tung oil but has less solids. If you want to restore the shine more permanently try tung oil in semi-gloss. wipe on, let it dry. use 0000 steel wool between the last coat and the one before it to knock down any bumps or rough spots. Tung oil will build faster than watco type finishes so you probably will need only two or three treatments max.
Anything with wax in it will eventually cause your woodwork to darken. Especially if you use it over and over, and it will have to be throughly removed if you ever re-coat with any other kind of finish at all. I generally don't recommend it. Tung oil can be re-done over and over if you want to refresh the woodwork now and then. It will build up a more protective finish with continued re-coating.
Old English Scratch Cover is a great product for covering scratches and unifying the color. It comes in different colors depending on your wood color.
Bluto, Watco Danish-oil-finish is available at lots of places like Home Depot or Ace Hardware. Watco is a subsidiary of RUST-OLEUM, which by the way, is my favorite paint.
Viking is correct, Tung-oil has more solids.
Tung-oil will put more of a surface coating on the wood. Where as Danish-oil-finish is more of a penetrating finish that leaves the surface looking like natural unfinished wood. I like Tung-oil, it is easy to apply with a rag and gives a very nice looking finish. It’s all a question of whether you want the wood to look naked or lightly covered. Both can be beautiful looking. Other considerations, what was the original finish like? Do you care? Tung-oil will give a more durable finish, less affected by stains and scratches. But it has a slightly different look. Do you want your wood to wear a bikini or a light T-shirt? Just try to steer clear of the heavy winter overcoat (thick polyurethane). And please don’t ever sequester it behind lock and key in a windowless enclosure (paint). You can always top coat a Danish-oil-finish with Tung-oil if you find that the bikini isn’t quite enough. Just wipe the Tung-oil on with a soft cloth and let it dry. Tung-oil and Danish-oil-finish are both very easy to apply.
BWH
This is some good info. The wood in my trailer has the original finish on it but some places look rough and have an uneven or brittle feel sort of like when a finish or top coat is dried out. I'll lightly sand the cabinets with a wad of 000 steel wool or just use a scotch pad as mentioned earlier with the Watco first and see what happens. Does this stuff need to be thinned out? What do you use as a thinner? I have a ton of other small projects to get done first, but this is definately on the list of must do's. Thank you!
You can also try minwax clear polyurethane that will soak in and revive the original color of the wood work and will leave a varnished look to it...dries very quickly - low oder,use staight out of the can...last a long time . they have minwax in a silver quart can (10.00) at Wallyworld...I mean Walmart...
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