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Got A New Table And Need Some Help

jamesPclay

jamesPclay

Hipster Doofus
Like a lot of you I am a fan of mid-century modern/danish modern design, so when I found this table at the flea market yesterday I could not pass it up:



My plan is to restore it because it is not in the best condition with some marks and what looks like a cigarette burn:



So here is the part where I need help. I have never done anything like this and I am not sure if it is something I should try to tackle myself, I would hate to ruin this beautiful table. But, supposing I do try it myself do you guys have any suggestions or tips? I think the wood is teak (correct me if I a wrong) and I have found some internet articles about refinishing teak, but most of them are conflicting as to what products to use and steps to take. I have seen some of you guys do amazing things with wood on here and I would love any help you can offer!

I think I am going to scrap the cane shelf on the bottom because it is already gnarled up, but it is leaving the marks shown. Do you think this would be hard to cover up?



And finally, does anybody recognize this manufacturer? (click image to make it larger) I have tried looking it up, but I am having trouble deciphering the letters in the circle and möbel is apparently Swedish for furniture.



Long post I know, but any help would be appreciated!

tl;dr : Help me restore this table.
 
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Them two dots over the o make it look German or some flavor of Scandahoovian. Which would be awesome.

First, if you really want to refinish it - and I understand how you would esp. if you're removing the cane - is it a varnish finish or is it just oiled? It looks oiled to me.
 
JonL said:
I believe the script letters spell the name "Ilse."
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We have a winner, thank you! Using your tip I was able to find a few other vintage pieces on the German ebay. It is German and was made by Ilse Möbel probably in the 60's from what I can tell.
 
i would gt a can of teak oil, some 0000 steel wool, and a nice soft lean rag.

liberally apply oil to a wad of steel wool, and work it in with the grain. most of the marks should dissapear.

clean it off with the rag, and reapply with the rag.
 
treserious said:
i would gt a can of teak oil, some 0000 steel wool, and a nice soft lean rag.

liberally apply oil to a wad of steel wool, and work it in with the grain. most of the marks should dissapear.

clean it off with the rag, and reapply with the rag.
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Thanks :thmbsp:
 
Möbel is german for furniture.
Möbler is swedish for furniture.
Møbler is danish for furniture.

and Ilse Möbel even still exists
 
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treserious said:
i would gt a can of teak oil, some 0000 steel wool, and a nice soft lean rag.

liberally apply oil to a wad of steel wool, and work it in with the grain. most of the marks should dissapear.

clean it off with the rag, and reapply with the rag.
Click to expand...

I totally agree with these suggestions except the "teak oil". Commercial teak oil mixtures are not all the same, some have polymers which will seal the dirt into the piece. Most of the original Danish manufacturers recommended mixing boiled linseed oil with turpentine (either 50/50 or 34/66). Never ever sand the wood surface if you can avoid it. If the surface is actually dirty or has a wax build up on it you can clean it with household ammonia, straight out of the container or diluted if you wish, then after the gunk is stripped off proceed with the linseed oil mixture.

Nice table by the way!
 
kangatoy said:
I totally agree with these suggestions except the "teak oil". Commercial teak oil mixtures are not all the same, some have polymers which will seal the dirt into the piece. Most of the original Danish manufacturers recommended mixing boiled linseed oil with turpentine (either 50/50 or 34/66). Never ever sand the wood surface if you can avoid it. If the surface is actually dirty or has a wax build up on it you can clean it with household ammonia, straight out of the container or diluted if you wish, then after the gunk is stripped off proceed with the linseed oil mixture.

Nice table by the way!
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personally I don't use teak oil myself, its just what gets recommended the most from MCM dealers around here...

I prefer using "Howard's feed n wax" as it leaves a nice finish, without any polymers. smells nice too. its just mineral oil, orange oil, and bees wax as far as I know.
 
Thanks everybody!

Does anyone know if the steel wool/oil method will work to cover up the marks where the cane shelf had been?
 
jamesPclay said:
Thanks everybody!

Does anyone know if the steel wool/oil method will work to cover up the marks where the cane shelf had been?
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is there discoloration between where the strips of cane were?

using the 0000 steel wool and oil method should get rid of most slight coloration differences, as the steel wool removes a very small amount of the surface of the wood, and you end up with a bit of wood colored slurry in your wad of steel wool. this evens out the color, stripping a bit of the darker areas off making them a bit lighter.
if there is serious color differences, it may take some elbow grease, and several applications to make the differences almost invisible.

if it hasn't been oiled in many years, the wood will be fairly thirsty and take a bunch of applications.

"howards restor a finish" of the right color may help even out the color, as it has little bit of stain in it. but, it doesn't come in teak color...it works wonders on walnut veneered speakers. although i find it does darken the deeper scratches.

if you use linseed oil, be careful in how you store the used rags, they can spontaneously combust under the right (or wrong for that matter) circumstances
http://www.naturalhandyman.com/iip/infpai/inflinspontaneouscombust.html
 
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I never use steel wool on my teak furniture. A danish furniture restorer told me many years ago that the very fine bits of steel wool will actually rust in the wood grain. He recommended that I use bronze wool instead, so I have for 30+ years on my teak. I happen to use "Scan Care" teak oil, and teak conditioner when needed, on my teak as I don't really want to mix up my own and have been very satisfied with it.
You may never be able to totally get rid of the color bands on the cross braces as teak coloring is effected by exposure to sunlight and of course oxidation rates are different when covered by the banding. Personally I would not be to bothered by it as it is a beautiful table.
 
Dynacophil said:
Möbel is german for furniture.
Möbler is swedish for furniture.
Møbler is danish for furniture.
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And Mueble is spanish for furniture.....probably Italian too.


jamesPclay said:
I thought I read that was only for outdoor teak furniture.
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I heard from a master wood craftsman, that wood may cure (dry out) for up to two centuries before it's made into furniture, so there may still be water content; especially if sealed by a coating/oil.

Wood is also hygroscopic so it acts like a sponge absorbing and releasing water w/temperature & humidity.

Residual water + whatever acids are in the wood will rust the wool.

Of course those are my inferences and reality may actually not be as perversive as I suggest.
 
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