The "Amyl" roll top desk questions

Hello Antiquers,

For some time I've been searching for 'antique' furniture for my room, you see I'm a student so my budget is limited. Two days ago I found a roll top desk not far away. The previous owners had used it for 30 years and are very fond of it, however they wanted to sell it.
My intent is to restore or refinish this desk (but not to sell it) coming summer because I have some spare time and I would enjoy it.

However, I've never restore or refinish furniture before. I want to restore it to it original state. I'll add some photo's down below.
For one I don't know anything about this desk, I've searched this forum before posting but haven't seen it yet.
Second, I don't know how to restore it. For example, how can I check if the desk is waxed or not etc.

I hope this is the right forum to post any of these questions and if possible get advice on how to restore this desk to its former glory.

Many thanks in advance!

P.S. The key is missing so I've taken out the lock in order to check the roller. It seems like one slat is loose. If necessary I can provide more photo's (with pleasure)

 

Really looks like it doesn't need all that much work. I would start by cleaning it well with mineral spirits (white spirit in the UK). This should remove any wax or other oil-based grime. If there are any spots that don't come clean with the mineral spirits, clean them with soap and water but try not to get the wood too wet.

There are a couple approaches you could take with this desk. Many people would strip the rest of the finish off and apply a new finish. An easier but technically harder approach would be to even out the existing finish and supplement it as necessary. The first approach will leave you with a more uniform look. The second will leave it as a worn but nicely presentable antique. I have done both but prefer the second approach these days.

 

Many 'antique' shops will have a bunch of keys. Take the lock with you.

 

Thanks for your reply! Will be really helpful.

Any idea when this desk was made and is it considered antique? (I'm not sure so I put it between apostrophes)

 

Thanks, I wasn't sure it was normal to ask for a new key for an old lock if you didn't have the key.

 

If it's an old piece of furniture, sure; people are forever looking for replacement keys for furniture like this. I'd just clean it up and leave bad enough alone; it took it close to 100 years to look like that.

 

Looks antique or nearly so to me. Made pretty much the same way for a lot of years but you can't fake wear and tear. You might research the company to see if they are still in business. If they went out, changed their name, or were bought up, that would be the latest date for your piece.

 

Depends on what you want to do with the desk in future. If you keep it forever, it won't matter what you do to it. If you ever think about reselling it, you want to do as little as possible. Clean it up, but don't refinish it.

My husband is a locksmith and people bring us old chests, cabinets, etc. all the time to get keys made. Make sure you don't lose any little pieces like springs out of the lock. Put it in a plastic baggie. And find a real locksmith, not a hardware store.

 

Welcome to Antiquers, Marc! I noticed you said "coming summer"... are you in Australia?

I like your desk and if it were mine, I'd keep the finish looking the same.

 

I'm not sure what I want to do with the desk. I'll use it during my studies. Not really interested in reselling. I picked it up for 30 euro's which is fairly cheap in my area. (near Amsterdam).

I'll see how it looks after cleaning. I want to keep the wear and tear which gives it that character I love. Maybe apply oil/wax (I don't have any knowledge about refinishing or antique in general) to get this effect;(http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Antique-Roll-Top-Desk-Writing-Desk-Solid-Oak-Industrial-Chic-/271932040931)
(Don't know if ebay links are allowed, I'll remove it otherwise)

Thanks for all the help/advice so far!

Edit: Pat P, I'm from the Netherlands but the weather isn't like summer yet, but it is summer

 

Links to items are fine here.

Does your summer weather start later than the start of the season?

 

Holland has had a weird summer so far. London has fried but not Amsterdam. That looks 1920s or 30s to me. I'd clean it up with white spirit, then use a decent wax.

 

If when you are cleaning it with spirits, the areas where there is no finish look like they are finished when wet, you probably don't need to put any color in to the bare areas. I usually go over a piece with lacquer thinner to remove any oxidized finish and thin and even out what finish is left before doing anything else.

This sounds easy but in reality is a bit tricky. If you get the finish too wet with lacquer thinner, it starts to bubble and strip it. This is not what you want to have happen. I work in fast long strokes with the grain and don't get too much lacquer thinner on anything. You have to keep enough lacquer thinner on your rag that it doesn't get too sticky and not too much so that it starts leaving too much behind.

Once I have evened out the finish, I go over the whole thing with an oil-varnish. I make my own with one part oil-based varnish, one part mineral spirits, and one part tung oil. There are commercial products that approximate this. You may need to re-oil any particularly bare/dry areas. 2-3 coats with steel wool/or nylon finishing pad to remove imperfections after coats should be sufficient. I usually put a coat of paste wax as a final protective coat once the finish is dry.

 

Thanks verybrad for your detailed explanations .
Will get materials today for I know what I need now. (+ start looking for a chair which fits the style)

Will keep everyone updated as this is my first time, I'm bound to run into problems I did not foresee.

 

I was cleaning the desk with white spirits yesterday and found something peculiar. Is this normal or did someone try to restore the piece? (looks restored to me but I'm a beginner on this)

 

Not sure what the pic is of. Is this a piece of veneer? Did this happen while you were cleaning it or is this just something you found? Does look like someone has used something to disturb the finish. Lacquer thinner will do this but the spirits should not.

 

It was in the evening so it isn't sharp. I found it like this before cleaning it. It's a board used to make the boxes above the right drawer. I believe it isn't veneer but a solid piece.

I haven't used Lacquer thinner yet

 

OK, I understand now. Lacquer thinner should be able to even this out. may need to work on it a bit and remove some of the finish in the process. Always work with the grain.

 

Reading an old book last night, a recipe I'd forgotten for cleaning furniture. One part raw linseed oil, one part meths, one part white vinegar. Shake till it makes a thin cream. Works very well.

 

Some of the old recipes do include vinegar. I remember reading an article about why this is not a good idea but really don't remember why. The finish recipe I gave above originally included some vinegar and linseed oil instead of tung oil. I modified it by omitting the vinegar after reading the article. I later substituted tung oil for the linseed oil after reading about some of the drawbacks to linseed oil and the superior properties of tung oil.

Might have something to do with oxidation. Found this article about how to oxidize wood with vinegar. Sounds like an interesting technique but you may not want this for all your furniture.

http://www.friendly-home.net/2012/07/finishing-how-to-oxidize-wood.html

I am still finding lots of vinegar recipes for furniture so maybe it isn't all that bad.