Woodwork Restoration. 

A brief account of how Colin restored the woodwork in his 1965 "S" Type

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When I bought the "S" I felt the restoration of the vast quantity of veneer was going to prove difficult to say the least.  A friend convinced me it was in good condition apart from the many layers of treacle like varnish applied over the original.  As the car had been dismantled by the previous owner I gathered up all the  pieces and set about getting it all back to a clean bare veneer surface.  Many hours with metholated spirits and fine grade steel wool left me with presentable classic burr walnut, with only minor repair and re-gluing required to some areas of the the veneer.

I was unsure how I would finish it all but knew I personally did not like the over-glossy two pack polyurethane varnish finishes. After researching the Web and talking to friends I was eventually advised to invest in a top quality varnish brush and to use a single pack polyurethane varnish (not marine varnish).

As the veneer looked very dry and pale after many years of exposure to the Australian sunshine and not as dark as I wanted, I decided to treat it all with Danish oil to inject some life. After allowing to completely dry I applied a Feast Watson walnut stain mixed with metholated spirits to achieve the colour depth I wanted. After a weeks complete drying time I lightly sanded the surfaces using 600 grade wet and dry paper wetted with turpentine spirit.  Each coat of varnish was then applied by brush and allowed to dry for 3 days in a dust free room, before a further light sand with 600 grade paper to remove all high spots and foreign matter.

This process was repeated until 8 full coats had been applied. The last coat, when fully dry and cured, was then sanded with 1200 grade wet and dry, wetted with turpentine, until a matt flat surface was achieved.  The final gloss finish then obtained by hand rubbing with ultra fine cutting compound and then further finishing with an even finer glaze polish.  The result has brought many favourable comments and we are delighted with the way it now looks. Maintenance is done by using a small quantity of glaze polish (similar to T Cut), or beeswax, on a very soft cloth. All it takes is a little time, patience and care when rubbing down and the results will be well worth the effort at a fraction of the cost of a professional job.