Vintage Wooden Tool Box – refinishing
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Hi,
I have an old wooden toolbox (1930s – 1950s I’m guessing) that had a black finish originally, but is now in poor condition.
I want to refinish it, but don’t know what to use.
I guess it would have been finished with black milk paint back in the day, but I’m not sure how protective and hard wearing that would be?
Can anyone suggest a finish that would have the traditional look, but would be stronger?
Thanks
Darren.
Is plain old stain out of the question? Just before I had fully transitioned to hand tool woodworking, I made some pieces for the man cave where I was going for a weathered traditional look. I used two Verathane stains, Ebony and Carbon Grey (from either HD or Lowes). They were applied somewhat sparingly with a rag. The ebony saturated a bit more than the grey, but both still allowed the grain to show through and I love how they turned out. If I were doing those pieces again now after years of learning from Paul, the only thing I would do differently with the finish is add a coat or two of shellac for protection, but not enough to add gloss.
Of course, if I were making them again now they would also have better joints and wouldn’t be made from whatever junk wood was in the big box store. 🙂 But I’d still consider the same stain to go with the decor.
Is plain old stain out of the question? Just before I had fully transitioned to hand tool woodworking, I made some pieces for the man cave where I was going for a weathered traditional look. I used two Verathane stains, Ebony and Carbon Grey (from either HD or Lowes). They were applied somewhat sparingly with a rag. The ebony saturated a bit more than the grey, but both still allowed the grain to show through and I love how they turned out. If I were doing those pieces again now after years of learning from Paul, the only thing I would do differently with the finish is add a coat or two of shellac for protection, but not enough to add gloss.
Of course, if I were making them again now they would also have better joints and wouldn’t be made from whatever junk wood was in the big box store. 🙂 But I’d still consider the same stain to go with the decor.
Thanks, that’s a good idea, I’ll look into that.
D.
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