Help needed on my Machinist Chest Cleanup

Jim Mattheiss

Member
Messages
467
Location
Long Hill Township, NJ
Hello:

I picked up a machinists chest at an auction last night and want to clean it up.

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In this picture it looks golden but thats due to the flash. In real life its a sticky finish in a muddy brown. The Keno brothers from Antiques Roadshow would kill me for wanting to remove the patina, but I want it to look a little nicer.

I'm new to refinishing and am looking for any and all advice on the matter.

I took the upper left drawer out and wiped all the gunk off with windex which didn't make a great improvement.

So . . .

My plan is to start on the drawers first. I'm thinking of using DNA and a scuff pad to remove the tacky finish. Then sand lightly with sandpaper and apply a shellac finish.

Any reason to use a finish remover/stripper as opposed to DNA?

Thanks in advance for any and all advice.

Cheers

Jim Mattheiss
 
I'll second Don's recommendation for Murphy's Oil Soap. If the existing finish is shellac, DNA will likely cause problems by removing the finish along with the grime.

That's a great tool chest, by the way. :thumb:
 
Jim with pieces like that, I use my cleaning solution. fairly simple: 1/3we equal parts , turpintine , denatured alcohol, BLO. Use a very fine steal wool or burlap but something wit a little tooth to it, work an area 2x3". you will feel the top finish losen up which will take the dirt off and remove scratches. do the next area and so on. Finish one direction. Wipe the excess off with a clean rag. About 6-8 hours there will be a film over the piece. Buff this off with a clean rag. It will buff out much like a wax. What I do when I first start a cleaning is work an obscure area of the piece to see how much pressure I need to put on the cleaning pad and how long I need to work an area before the finish lossens.
 
Hello:

I spend a while this AM looking for the Murphy's Oil Soap with no luck.

I decided to go with the "Hawksford Method" for this project.

I had already cleaned the upper left drawer with DNA Only and did the other few with via the DH Method. Below is an intermediate picture. I like it - it retains the aged look while brightening the color.

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What if anything do I put on as a final sealing coat? Shellac?

Cheers

Jim

PS: I'm not sure why they re-mounted the pulls but I'll need to fill in the holes at some point in this process. The original holes line up and the new holes don't. . .
 

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Looks real good, Jim.

Question for the machinists out there...what is the piece of granite that slides out of the bottom of the chest used for? A flat reference surface?
 
Just a follow on status update. After looking at the status after the weekend I felt I needed to go back and clean up the drawer fronts further. Another session with a scuff pad and some of the DH mixture the drawer fronts are looking better.

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The grime around the pulls Isn't coming off without a sander but I think it adds character. I removed the ratty felt in the drawer bottoms and will get some good quality wool felt to replace it. LOML is happy as she gets to go come to Joann's Fabric with me while I buy the felt. Apparently Joann's Fabric is the sewing equivalent of a Woodcraft or Rockler. :dunno:

I cleaned up the front panel - but it needs more work. It was really grimy.

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There weren't too many tools left in the chest when I got to it. There were 3 - 6" Starrett 303R Rulers and a number of small punches. I cleaned everything up and it's in storage till I get the box completed.

When I pulled the drawers to replace a missing drawer runner I found an old slip of paper stuck against the back of the box. It was a handwritten Tool Loan chit from 1959. I'm guessing that makes the box from then or before.

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I need to start on the case itself soon. . .

Thanks for reading

Jim
 

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Jim your box is most likely from the 20's or 30's. Really nice find. Looking great. Do you still have the original shellac coat on it. Not that it matters all that much but saving it give a lot of character to the piece. When you done cleaning you have 2 options to go with. Either shellac or apply a few thin coats of Tong oil or BLO then sand lightly and wax.
 
Dave: The finish is still there but a lot of the grime is gone.

The bottom of the drawers looks like tempered hardboard - they are pressed wood with a smooth face and a diamond pattern on the back.

I'd love for this to be a true antique but the tempered hardboard seem to make it a more modern tool. The nailing of the bottom it TOO neat to be a replacement.

Thanks for all the encouragement.

Jim
 
I finally started on the case itself. It was FILTHY. I cleaned the left side and wasn't impressed. A lot of black grime is still left on the wood. I cleaned the right side of the case and it was untouched by grease/grime. I'm betting it was butted up against something that protected it. I then cleaned the top and it's like the left side - dark stains and such.

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I'm going to circle back later today and clean the top again along with the front panel.

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Cheers

Jim

PS: I can see where I wore thru the finish on the drawer fronts in some spots. A coat or 2 of shellac will take care of that.
 

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Put a fork in it - it's done!

I got the liner felt and the replacement pulls in on Monday so I could do the final work on the chest.

With the pulls installed and the felt in place it's all done and has been placed in it's new home.

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It's to the immediate left of my workbench at waist height.

I put some of the tools it cam with back into the drawers. Now I need to migrate tools to it over time.

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I'm quite happy with the results and can circle back to clean up the basement area. Between this project and the box swap things got quite out of hand. At some point I'll have to post a mini tour of my 25% of the basement.

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Cheers

Jim
 

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