Wood cabinets in a 69 Globetrotter.

[desertair27]

I'd like to brighten up my wood cabinets which look really dry and some even has some water stains. Any suggestions on what to use?

[SeeMore]

It is a multi-step process if you want to brighten/renew the finish. Here is one method:

1) Remove excess grease and oil residue from the cabinetry using a clean rag dampened with mineral spirits. Change to a fresh side often.

2) Sand the cabinets lightly with 220-grit sandpaper. Apply, long, even-pressured straight strokes, working with the grain of the wood. Light sanding roughens the surface to allow the finish product to adhere better.

3) Apply a tack cloth to remove all the surface dust from the cabinets. If desired, wipe the entire cabinets with mineral spirits one more time.

4) Touch up the cabinets before applying the finish coat to them to ensure even color. Dab a touch-up pen for wood matched to the existing stain color to fill in worn areas and scratches in the cabinetry missing finish and color. Wipe off the excess on areas where finish remains and feather in the transition edges. A slight discoloration from the original color does not matter. These pens operate similar to felt-tip pens.

5) You might want to choose a combination stain and polyurethane product if there is UV damage or color variation. Be sure to stir (not shake) the product to ensure it is thoroughly mixed. Select a stain color the same or a slightly darker than the existing cabinet stain for best results.

6) Apply the finish to the cabinet molding and trim areas first, working with the grain. Then move on to the flat areas of the cabinetry. Use a high quality brush and keep your strokes even to get the best finish coat. Refrain from over brushing.

[desertair27]

Originally Posted by SeeMore

It is a multi-step process if you want to brighten/renew the finish. Here is one method: 1) Remove excess grease and oil residue from the cabinetry using a clean rag dampened with mineral spirits. Change to a fresh side often. 2) Sand the cabinets lightly with 220-grit sandpaper. Apply, long, even-pressured straight strokes, working with the grain of the wood. Light sanding roughens the surface to allow the finish product to adhere better. 3) Apply a tack cloth to remove all the surface dust from the cabinets. If desired, wipe the entire cabinets with mineral spirits one more time. 4) Touch up the cabinets before applying the finish coat to them to ensure even color. Dab a touch-up pen for wood matched to the existing stain color to fill in worn areas and scratches in the cabinetry missing finish and color. Wipe off the excess on areas where finish remains and feather in the transition edges. A slight discoloration from the original color does not matter. These pens operate similar to felt-tip pens. 5) You might want to choose a combination stain and polyurethane product if there is UV damage or color variation. Be sure to stir (not shake) the product to ensure it is thoroughly mixed. Select a stain color the same or a slightly darker than the existing cabinet stain for best results. 6) Apply the finish to the cabinet molding and trim areas first, working with the grain. Then move on to the flat areas of the cabinetry. Use a high quality brush and keep your strokes even to get the best finish coat. Refrain from over brushing.

Thank you for the info SeeMore.
Mike

[Lance M]

Nice GT!
Man, you are like an aluminum magnet!

Clean them up and use Howard's RestoreAfinish in the shade you desire. There must be some finish left for it to look very good.

[desertair27]

Hey Lance
Always looking for Aluminum and always learning.
Thanks for the advice as always.
Mike

[ALUMINUMINUM]

Your wood looks to be in great condition. I'll bet that your ash interior still has remnants of the original sprayed clear lacquer. Lacquer is original if you have concerns of “originality”. Airstream fogged just enough lacquer on the panels that show to give it a furniture glow. Lacquer oxidizes over time, but is easily “re-nutriented” (made-up word), with another application. So, to restore the original surface, you'll need to scuff it lightly, wipe it down with a rag dampened with lacquer thinner, vacuum, tack-rag, etc, and assure that it is very clean. Getting it to looking as good as new is easy with another coat or two... or twenty. Back in the day, twenty, coats of hand rubbed lacquer was a common hot-rod finish.



Lacquer is a very forgiving and easy coating to apply. It's hard enough to sand, blend, “rub out” or reapply in an hour's time. That may be why Airstream chose it... dries hard and fast, easily blended. I wouldn't want to argue the benefits of lacquer with a modern-day coatings expert, but with multiple coats, lacquer does acquire a “depth” I don't see an equivalent to these days.


What worked beautifully for me, to refinish much of my original ash ( I re-sawed and re-used all my gaucho, closet, and cabinet plys and solids into a configuration that better fits me), was to assure that there were no contaminants on its surface by using a Scotch-brite and lacquer thinner. Then wiped it down with clear lacquer. I didn't fuss with a sprayer, but to mask and a spray is good too. I applied thinned coats with a cotton rag and a 1” Purdy beveled sash brush. Thin Coats, and you're done in a half day. Dirt, nubs and hair can be scraped off and blended an hour later. I don't know anything easier to work with than lacquer. Lacquer takes well to wax, if you want added reflection and durability. I'd ignore the rottenstone and pumice you may read about.


After appropriate prep work, if you prefer, you can use oil base polyurethane over the old lacquered surface with no consequence, but when your beautiful woodwork is being admired, you get another big “oooooohh!” when you say it's seven coats of “hand rubbed lacquer”. Much better than the Oh?? if you say you just Pledged it.



I certainly agree that there is a multitude of quick and easy miracle furniture restorers in a bottle that will suffice.



Globe Trotters Rule!

[desertair27]

Great info there Aluminuminum and great name. I appreciate all the tips. I bought some Lacquer and Howard's oak colored restore a finish. I'll do some testing with both to see what works best for me.
Beautiful trailer you have there. What color stain did you use?
Thanks
Mike

[ALUMINUMINUM]

Thanks, it's been a fun time working on the GT.


Mostly I'm using Minwax, not the worlds finest, but readily available and predictable. On the GT, depending on the wood species and its thirst, I blended Golden Pecan, Colonial Maple, Ipswich Pine, Golden Oak in varying ratios to get the color matches. Sometimes I first coat with Golden Pecan, then redden it up with a thinned Colonial Maple second coat, darken if needed with a third apply of Golden Oak...



Ash is a noble and respectable wood with an important but seldom praised history of baseball bats, hockey sticks, wheelbarrow handles, woven baskets, axes, shovels, rakes, hoes... And late sixties Airstreams.


Good luck with your remarkable '69 GT.