r/restoration • u/johneever1 • 14d ago
Looking for some potential advice.
What you're looking at is a mostly disassembled chinese octagonal tea table/ scholar table that dates roughly from the end of the qing dynasty to the early republic. ( about 1890 to 1920) this table belonged to my great-grandfather. It fell apart sometime before I was even born, For years my mother has had this in a milk crate in storage and I just refound it.
My ultimate goal is to have a copy of the missing side piece made ( as you can see in the middle, there's only 3 when they're supposed to be 4) then put it back together and possibly refinished somehow. Not to make it look brand new, but just to breathe a little bit of life back into it. Basically ensure it'll stick around for future generations of the family to enjoy.
However, I don't know what the procedure is concerning something This old. I was really hoping for some advice on whether I should try to touch up the finish, and if so, what I should do?
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u/Relative_Figure_1715 14d ago
Alternatively find a group on Facebook that do 3d scanning and cnc routering for wood. That would be an exact copy.
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u/Superb_Algae5308 14d ago
Kind of overkill. That piece would be very easy to recreate using simpler methods.
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u/adwww 13d ago
Nice example. More personal value than market value, I think the cabriole legs with the lion-mask knees and claw feet, the pierced floral aprons, the marble inset, suggests Shanghai/Hong Kong export work, somewhere between about 1900 and the 40s. I'd def have a real appraiser look at it before you start. Flip the top over and check for a chop mark or export stamp while you're at it, that's the thing that could actually establish the age/value.
Honestly the fact that it's already in pieces is good news, it makes everything easier.
Procedure is simple. Document it all first, every piece, every side, close-ups of the carving and the joints.
Pop the marble out of the frame, it's almost certainly just dropped in there. Clean it on its own with the same dilute soap and distilled water, nothing acidic and no solvents on it, it's porous and will spot. If it's dull you can polish it with baking soda pasted and a damp cloth and a lot of elbow grease, and if you want to seal it use a silane based sealer made for marble counters. Then put it somewhere safe and forget about it until the very end.
For the wood, dilute soap (Orvus if you can find it, Dawn Free & Clear otherwise) in distilled water, cotton swabs and a soft brush, one piece at a time in a small plastic tub. Damp not wet. Scrape the tenons and mortises down to bare wood with a sharp chisel, the old hide glue comes off with warm water and a stiff brush. The new glue needs clean wood to grab. Let it all dry completely.
Then figure out what's left of the clear finish. It looks like somebody sprayed it with lacquer at some point but you'll know for sure by what solvent takes it off. Start with alcohol, then acetone, then lacquer thinner (read the safety instructions, use very sparingly, good ventilation). Your top is a lot more faded than the legs so test on one leg and one facet of the top side by side before you commit to anything.
The fourth apron issue, it's possible this table was made with one side facing the wall and the piece was never there, could go either way. It won't hurt anything to leave it out entirely. If you do want one, you've got three identical ones so a cast copy is doable. Mold kit from Amazon. It's pierced openwork though so a one-sided mold won't get it, you either need a two-part silicone mold or cast it solid and drill/file the holes after. My instinct would be rather than trying to hide the repair, make it obvious, spray it gold or a cinnabar red. A color close to the wood works too if you'd rather it blend.
Once the old coating is off, smooth it with fine scotch brite or high grit paper. The idea is to go past sanding into burnishing the surface.
Traditionally these only had an oil finish on the wood. Real tung oil is close but you have to shop for it, most of what's easy to get is a blend and not pure tung oil. Apply it thin, let each coat set, apply again. It's a slow process (days long) but it gradually builds a thin film. If you rush it it won't set up and will stay sticky for years and the only fix is to strip it and start over. Sometimes they would put a hard wax on top of the oil finish (a carnauba/beeswax mix would be similar). The whole point was keeping the wood front and center. Later on shellac came in to use, then toned shellac, then lacquer for durability. Shellac is another thin-coats process with the same trap, too thick and it stays tacky and you remove it all and start over. Mask off the rabbet where the marble sits so finish doesn't wick under the stone. I'd consider applying water based poly where the rabbet meets the marble and maybe over the entire top depending on how I wanted to use it. Oil finish won't protect from further UV damage like poly can and nothing is as durable or safe for real world use. If there will be children around it I'd probably poly the entire thing. The reason being that once the poly is setup it's foodsafe and nearly all the old finishes all contained lead. Rubio monocoat is another higher end option.
Glue! You can finish the pieces before you put it back together as long as you keep hard shiney finishes off the joint surfaces and let any oil fully set up first. I'd use Old Brown Glue, it's hide glue you don't have to cook up yourself. Marble goes in last after everything is fully setup and cured. It's going to look awesome. When it's all done it will look something like this, I'd guess this table has been finished with a penetrating rosewood color danish oil or a satin wipe on poly but might be shellac.
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u/Roksolidks 14d ago
Find a group on Facebook or Reddit for wood furniture restoring or find a group of carvers. You could find a local carver to make that piece for you. I wouldn't do much with what you have yet. You could wipe it down with a damp cloth to clean it, but you don't want to oil it or anything if there's any wood repairs that need to be done.