How To Strip and Refinish Ercol Furniture
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- čas přidán 6. 10. 2019
- Professional antique furniture restorer Simon Gilboy describes in detail how to strip the old finish off of an Ercol coffee table, refinish and polish with a beeswax wood polish.
The table has been varnished and over-french-polished. The finishes have deteriorated to such an extent that the only remedy is to strip it all back to bare elm wood and refinish it from scratch.
YOU WILL NEED:
- Protective gloves, glasses and mask
- Solvent or paint stripper
- An old cut-down 2" paint brush (to apply the stripper)
- Roller tray (to catch the waste finish)
- Wallpaper or cabinet scraper (Buy from Gilboys: bit.ly/47Hriky)
- Grade 4 coarse wire wool
- 100, 120, 180 and 320/400 grit sand paper
- Methylated spirits/denatured alcohol and acetic acid/pickling vinegar (to neutralise the surface)
- Household sponge
- Finishing oil - ( Buy online :bit.ly/3IMIw7l )
- Gilboy's 'pure gold' beeswax wood polish: bit.ly/2LRC3ds
- 0000 grade ultra-soft wire wool: bit.ly/31XBmVq
- Pure cotton buffing cloth with an open weave: bit.ly/31WRYgi
SECTIONS
Stripping: 0:49
Cleaning Back: 4:32
Sanding: 10:30
Neutralising: 16:25
Flattening the grain: 19:22
Oil Finishing: 21:00 ( Buy online :bit.ly/3IMIw7l )
De-Nib: 24:40
Waxing: 29:13
Buffing: 31:55 - Jak na to + styl
A joy to watch a skilled craftsman at work!
Brilliant, I have exactly the same coffee table to restore (and sideboard and dining table and 6 chairs) which my parents bought in 1958 and which my father varnished many years ago.
Well ,you certainly have the life where you're at. Going to work in by an old train station, working on old furniture and just enjoying your passion in an atmosphere that augments your day. Good for you! Makes me happy to watch you.
Picking up ercol table chairs and sideboard, from damp garage, table fairly OK, sideboard, drawers swelled blackened. Never done any wood restoration before but your channel gives me the confidence to have a go. 👍🏻
Made a lifetime follower of me 👍🏻
Great videos Simon.
So nice to have a CZcamsr talking about furniture and products that I know and work with.
Lots of really useful info and tips.
Can’t wait to watch your other videos especially the french polishing one.
Thanks so much
Thanks Tracy. I recently produced a three episode series on "How to French Polish'"
Here's Number 1 czcams.com/video/Nu93hys1N58/video.html
I hope they help.
Kind regards
Simon
It is an absolute pleasure to watch a craftsman as work.
Thank you for the very informative video, it's great seeing someone enjoying their work so much. What a great result, too!
Thank you very much. 🙂
Superb advice. Our table now looks fabulous again!
Really enjoy your videos. They are entertaining as well as informative and educational in the real world sense.
Thank you. We try and make them as exciting as we possibly can for the viewer as well as fitting in as much knowledge as possible.
Seeing how it looked at the start of the show and how it looked finished amazing
Came to CZcams looking for general refinishing tips. This is the exact Ercol table I am wanting to refinish! Thanks for making it easy for me!
Very welcome.
I thoroughly enjoyed watching you do all that hard work. Finished table is beautiful.
Thank you.
Thanks Simon, amazing video. I picked up a 1959 Ercol chair during the week, from an antiques warehouse. The condition made me think it’d been used in a school for years, as it was covered in all sorts of stuff and had multiple finishes that had let go. Didn’t think it would be salvageable but followed all of these steps and it looks great now! Totally worth the time. It’s made me want to do more as well 😃👍🏻
Thanks Grant. It's an easy way to refinish your furniture without having to spend 4 years as an apprentice French Polisher to get there. 😄
Gilboys 🤣🤣🤣
Wow! Beautiful wood and excellent workmanship. 👍
Thank you.
What a great video and a beautiful new finish. I got a lot of ideas of that I can do with my Lane Acclaim table to revive it.
Thank you so much for your easy to follow video. I have learnt a lot and will be watching more of your videos.
Another great video. I'm a retired upholsterer/ French polisher worked in an antique dealers for years, now 72 years old and love you approach.
Thanks Lochlainn. That means a lot to me. I understand that we all do things (professionally) slightly different. I know that the trade was all about 'secrets' when I was apprenticed but I feel if i can share a bit and help others to achieve a reasonable finish, it would be a nice thing to do.
Kind regards
Simon
@@GilboysRestoration These days, many are simply out to “flip” an antique rather than actual restoration. Learning the correct methods for restoration and finishing is a solid skill one may use or even pass along. Working with one’s hands is great therapy. Thanks for the videos Simon. I look forward to using the techniques as well as your products in the near future.
Perfect. I just bought an Ercol table that needs refinishing and as you say, you can do this at home. I just need some elbow grease.
I just stripped a dark mahogany finish from my stairs, I had wire wool but didn't want all that mess , so I used a pot scrubber the round chrome balls from Tesco worked great for the spindles ,
're finished it with 2 coats of osmo hard wax oil tint in amber, it's come up nice
Awsome job, many thanks for the vid.
Thank You
Thanks a lot for posting this. Very useful
grazie per i tuoi video è sempre un grande piacere ammirare il tuoi meravigliosi lavori
That was a really interesting video, thank you.
Gorgeous
After watching this video for 2 years I finally have my hands on an ercol coffee table like this. I cant wait to follow the video
Hi Posy.
Have you done it yet? 🙃
@@GilboysRestoration yes all finished. Turned out fabulous. Your wax really is the best and made it shine ✨️
@@posytilly5726 That's great news. 👏
Great video, I have Lane tables to deal with and look forward to using this as a guide.
I hope it works well for you.
Wow, thank you - we have an Ercol Minerva coffee table and it's survived a lot - especially our two kids. We chose 60's & 70's Ercol years ago when we bought our first home because it is so timeless and beautiful. I wasn't sure that it was stained (which put me off doing this) but it's the exact same colour as this one - so I know what to do now. This was so helpful and I'm confident enough now to tackle it and get it back to looking its best. I'll go for an Osmo natural oil (I use this in our kitchen and trust it) and I will be ordering the Pure Gold wax, I love that finish. Thank you so much.
Thanks Michael.
How did you get on?
Cheers Simon
@@GilboysRestoration It went very well thanks, got all the marks off going from 120 down to 400. I bought some Woca natural oil which I recommend, then some of your Pure Gold. It looks beautiful with a lovely mid-sheen. Thank you so much, it's a fantastic product.
Another great job. Thanks.
Thank you
That was one great video, Thank's for the share, and have a nice day !!!.
Thanks Brian
Excellent Video, thank you!
I have bought a birch bench to use with my 1960s Ercol blonde table and chairs as it had a similar shape and style. It is much clearer and fairer in colour and I wonder if these products and procedure would make it look closer to the Ercol classic blonde colour?
Always leave the inherent beauty
Hi Simon. Great video. I have exactly the same table to restore, but there are a couple of splits between the wood blocks. Any suggestions what to you to fill these and when in the process would you undertake this? Thanks
One useful hack I’ve come across with wood finishes like osmo hard wax oils is to denib them with the back of sandpaper after applying. I do this in between costs and even after the last coat. It removes the roughness and makes the finish completely slippery smooth (without scuffing or scratching it), add some gilboys beeswax on top for extra lustre and smoothness!
Top tip. 👏👏👏
Great video. Very helpful. Is it possible to dye it lighter, less yellow, more neutral?
Lovely. Well done
Thank you.
Thank you for a great video. I have a dark oak stained Ercol dining table & chairs, and I would like to bring it all back to its natural wood and refinish. Can I apply the exact same process?
Hi, this video is super helpful. Realty great to watch you at work. I recently picked up some Ercol chairs in need of a bit of love - my plan was to clean, sand, oil and then wax but you include a ‘neutralising’ step - sorry to sound ignorant, but what is this step for, what are the benefits and is it necessary on the chairs too?
Great video, thank you :)
Great video
Thank You
Brilliant.
Hi, Great video. We have a few older pieces of ercol. 3/4 sleeper style chairs which are currently in the shed. We were tempted to attempt to turn them into external seats for the summer. Is there a particualr way you could do this or is it an impossible task? Wondered if you could do a demonstration video?
Hi thanks for another great video. You said you diluted the hard wax oil. What did you dilute it with, please? Cheers. Maria
Great job making this video :)
Thank you.
I use the same sander but mine is connected to a dust extractor . It's portable and can be used in almost any situation and is completely dust free.
why not use this method??
We have a table just like that which has been varnished and generally abused so I'm going to try to do it like yours. If it finishes half as good I'll be very pleased! Should I do the underside as well? One of the dowels along the base has been chewed by a dog, how would I replace it?
When you diluted the hard wax oil what di you use to dilute.
Regards Jeff from down under.
Really informative video which has given me the confidence I can do this! I've just removed the old varnish from the table top. The surface underneath is really good - is it still necessary to sand the table top? Sam
Hi Sam
It's not always necessary to sand the surface. If you have a good surface then I would suggest a light sand just so the sealer has a good key.
I hope it works out well for you.
Best wishes
Simon
Hi Simon
Thank you so much for this very clear and informative tutorial. It has given me the courage to tackle a very abused and unloved plank table top. I have stripped the surface and already can see that it is going to look wonderful when finished but it does have a slight crack between a couple of the planks. How should I fill or repair these before sanding?
Thanks again for your time making these videos and answering so many questions.
Hi Helen.
My pleasure.
Depending on how wide the size of the split is, you can fill them with a coloured beeswax repair block or you can use a water based brummer / stopper.
You can use an old credit card to apply the filler. I would use some masking tape around the fill area so no excess filler is pushed into the grain.
You can see me using wax to do it here..czcams.com/video/Di29DbPwx_Q/video.html
I hope this helps
Best wishes
Simon
That’s really helpful, thank you. I’ve ordered the repair wax and the samples kit. Can’t wait to see the finished result.
Hi Simon, I have bought some DIY stripper - presume it’s water based😊. In the instructions it says, in capital, do not use wire wool. What is your view? Thanks. Maria
Can I ask what you diluted the wax oil with please?
Thanks for the very informative video, I have an Ercol dining table in the same style and have sanded it back. I want a finish that is heatproof and hardwearing to some extent - would the wax finish you applied be suitable or would a harder OSMO Polyx type product by better?
Hi Stephen, The wax polish on its own probably wouldn't do it. thats why we would recommend sealing it first with something like osmo or treatex first, that way you get that level of protection. the wax then acts as a sacrificial finish to protect the finish underneath.
Thank you for your really useful video. I am a novice to this and have just stripped back a little Ercol rocking chair. One question which is perhaps dumb - what do you dilute the hard wax oil with?
Sarah Fowler usually we do not thin it down, but I believe the solvent is white spirit or turpentine
Hi Simon, thank you for producing this video, I’ve managed to bag myself an Ercol Grand Windsor table and the extenders don’t match the rest, it’s going to be a big old boy to tackle so I’m glad to be going in with the knowledge from this. I’m going to get the treatex soft satin and I can see you used pure turpentine, what quantity did you thin it down please? Is it just a splash or 50/50? Also going to invest in your clear gold, seen so many good reviews. What’s the shelf life like on the wax’s? I’ve got lots of furniture to do in the long run but wondering if I should invest now in a bigger pot.
Thank again, I love watching your videos. Harriet
Hi Harriet.
Sorry I somehow missed your comment. Sorry.
I hope you have had success.
The shelf life is years as long as the lid is on securely. You can always soften it a little by adding a drop of turpentine. ✅
Apologies once again.
Simon .
Hi Simon, informative video, thank you very much. I noted you focused on the top flat area of the table. I have a pair of Ercol 203 Windsor armchairs which i am taking back to the original wood before refinishing. As you can imagine there are a lot of spindles and nooks on these chairs - would you recommend stripping first then sanding? Or straight sanding? Thanks for your time.
Hi Shona.
I would strip then sand unless the finish is really broken down and easily removes at the touch of the sandpaper.
You can see me using this method in this old video here. ( 21 minutes in) czcams.com/video/oVSS5KjHPg4/video.html
I hope this helps
Simon
Thanks for a great video with plenty of useful tips! Can you advise on any good, off the shelve strippers for Ercol furniture. Or, is there any that are going to cause damage and I should avoid? I'd never heard of Gilboys until this video, perfect for my two Cowhorn chairs to be restored!!
Hi Steve.
We use a dichloromethane stripper which is only used by licensed users. There are many paint strippers available and a number of our customers have had success with Enviromose? Maybe give this one a try.
Thanks for showing your process. Do you find using the 0000 steel wool to be the best way to apply wax, as opposed to say a scotchbrite pad or cotton rag?
Hi. We nearly always will use '0000' wire wool to apply the wax. It is very soft and transfers the wax evenly. You can use a cotton cloth but we prefer using the wire wool. We have never used a scotchbrite pad. It is not something we would recommend using as it is so inflexible compared to wire wool and to abrasive.
Here in New Zealand we have an Ercol Dinning set which My late inlaws bought with them in the 1970's. They had purchased the set in the late 50's so 70 years of regular use has taken its toll. The table needs re-gluing and resurfacing as do the chairs and love seat. I am very capable of doing the work but have one question. Can I use dilute boiled linseed oil as the oil coat. I have done this with Kauri which is a local conifer with great results but these woods are new to me.
Hello,
Yes you can indeed use linseed oil as the sealer, although there are a few ]things to consider.
with linseed oil, the drying time generally is much longer than a hard wax oil. Linseed oil will also appear to "darken" the timber more than most hardwax oils, as it penetrated much deeper. it also does not have as much body as a hard wax oil. but you can definitly use it.
i hope this helps,
kind regards
Archie
Great video - so useful! May I ask that if you add wax to the finish, is it ok to put cups of tea/coffee straight on the surface, or do you require coasters?
Thank you
I always recommend using coasters no matter what the finish is. But the combination of hardwax oil and wax polish will give very good protection.
*The bonus with using this type of finish is that it can be very quickly and easily repaired:
Cutting the surface back initially with '0000' wire wool, a light sand with 320 grit and then reapplying a single application of hardwaxoil and waxing again it should be as good as before.
Kind regards
Simon
Hi there, I’ve just come across this video today following a google search and it’s impressive! So glad I came across it. Question for you if you can help please...I’ve a set of solid oak wood bedside drawers which are quite blonde and look to have a matt finish. I’d really love to stain them a grey finish to tie in with bedroom decor (think i prefer the idea of stain rather than paint as perhaps more durable?) as I still love the shape and functionality of them but the current colour doesn’t look well with our new bed etc! Could I follow the same steps in this video in order to prep them and then apply a stain? Any recommendations? What would you suggest I finish with? Apologies in advance as you’ve got a pure novice here!
Hi J Breen.
Yes you are right. It is the best way to do it.
And yes you can follow these steps to achieve a good result. We have also produced this video czcams.com/video/GYJeZbj7rME/video.html
which also demonstrates how to do it.
I would stain the table before applying the first coat of sealer. Allowing the stain to dry overnight before sealing and continuing with the finishing. I hope this helps
Kind regards
Simon
Great video.Wife wants our old colonial sideboard painted light blue.Is it possible just to remove any residual polish on surface and then repaint.If so what product would just remove polish and would any special paint type be required?
Thanks
Hi Norman. I would use a paint stripper to clean off any old polish. The reason for this is to ensure the surface you are painting is free from contaminants that may inhibit the drying of the paint or prevent the paint properly adhering to the surface.
I'm not sure of which paint to recommend for painting furniture. It's not something I have done very much of. I just googled 'furniture paint' and there were many well known brands in the search results. 🙂
Best wishes
Simon
Hi Simon, It was great watching you strip and restore the table.
but what do you do for the opposite - we have 2 ercol 252 in colonial colour which we love. the whole chair is fine apart from the section of the arms, which have warned down with some patina and even exposed to bear wood at the tips. how do you restore the colour back to colonial to match the rest of the chair. I guess we would strip the whole arms, but what stain do we use here to match the ercol colonial. and what to finish off, thanks Mo.
Hi Mo.
It's a really difficult repair. Because Ercol finished their coloured furniture with a spray coloured lacquer. It makes it almost impossible to successfully repair.
I would advise employing the services of a French polisher. A skilled technician would be able to use shellac and colour fads to mimic the translucent finish that Ercol originally sprayed on.
If you want to gibe it a go yourself I would suggest stripping the arms back to bare wood, then apply a very light stain. when this is dry apply a clear coat of sealer. ( this can be any sort of clear varnish) Then, when dry, apply a tinted coloured varnish to try and mimic the Ercol spray colour. Again, once dried, I would wax it with a dark coloured wax to help smooth the finish and add to that translucent look.
I hope this helps
Kind regards
Simon
Hello, I'm planning on doing this to a ercol day bed, just wondering if i can use Danish oil before the wax, and should I dilute this with white spirit? Thanks!
Hi Julia. I would always recommend sealing the surface before wax polishing. Take a look at our video on “how to strip and refinish wooden furniture.”
Hi @Gilboys I have an old dark finish ercol table handed down to me, but unfortunately it doesnt suit the rest of the decor in my flat. Which is a shame because its a 1960s development, but the rest of my furniture is light wood. Could you do this with the dark ercol range? Once stripped would the wood have a natural 'blonde' colour again.,
Great video by the way.
Hi Olly,
Indeed it should be quite light under the finish but it may be a little danker than this. It may take a little more sanding and an extra strip but yoh should get there. Just be careful not to sand through anything. Thank you for watching our videos
Great video, but I have a question: could the oxalic acid be used to remove the black marks? It’s cheap and easy to use.
All the best
Hi Tony
Yes you can use oxalic to remove marks. You can see me using it in the twin pedestal desk restoration video.
I have acquired an Ercol dining table that has been painted white. I have just bought your wax and I'm looking forward to trying to restore it using this video! Can I just check which type of osmo oil do I need? And does it need to be thinned down with something? Cheers
Hi Kirsty.
I like using a clear satin finish hardwax oil. You need to thin it. but I often do just fro the first coat so it get a nice key to the surface. I used pure Turpentine to thin ours but you can use white spirit. I hope it works well for you. It would be great to see before and after images.
Thanks for buying our polish
Kind regards
Simon
This was a light coloured Ercol table and the finish came off relatively easily. I have the same table but it is the dark finish. Will this also strip off on the same way right back to the underlying wood or will the wood be stained?
Hi Oliver. It will strip off the same as you see here. All the satin will come away when you strip. A lot of the colour is in the finish and not really staining the wood. So you can strip dark Ercol and make it light by performing exactly the same process as I show here. ✅
Glad i found this voideo, just bought Ercol Dark Elm coffee table, same design as this. Notice some nicks in the top and, it is light wood underneath the dark finish. Would this stripping process remove the dark finish? would love to return it to the natural Elm wood finish.
Hi Dominic.
Yes, this process will return it back to the natural wood colour ✅🙂
Simon 😀
I've watched this a dozen times before starting on my Ercol 383 dropleaf table and it is full of the best advice I could have hoped for! I have stripped the finish off exactly as you did here but can't seem to get into the wood without gumming up the sandpaper - even with 40 grit paper! It's like the wood is bullet proof! Is there something you could recommend? Thanks in advance!
Hi Katie
Is it gumming up with wood dust? It's not because there is finish left on the surface?
Normally wiping the surface of sandpaper on some fabric removes the build up. You can use rubber cleaning blocks that also remove the sawdust. Have you tried a mechanical sander?
Kind regards
Simon
Thank you very much for this informative video. Instead of Treatex oil, can I use Danish oil? And if so how should I dilute it? Thanks. Deniz
Hi Deniz. Yes you can. No need to dilute it. 🙂
An overhead camera would be good. Very useful video.
Can i ask what you did with the legs please? - Do you leave or did you do the same as the top?
i've just watched to the end & answered my own question - many thanx - looks great.
Thank you for this video. What did you dilute the hard wax oil with? Thank you for for help. Peter
You can use white spirit or turpentine. We have just launched our own Hard Wax Oil. (at last!) ( Buy online :bit.ly/3IMIw7l )
Hello Simon I have nearly stripped my first ercol chair following your helpful video. The wood still looks a bit discoloured as it had brown laquer on before but once I have given it the final sand I am thinking of staining it with an american oak colour to cover up the discolouration. Would a gel stain be best on beech do you think? I also wondered if you have ever come across soda blasting and would recommend this as a good alternative to using paint stripper as I have 3 more chairs to go! Thanks Amy
Hi Amy.
I feel your pain. I have spent many days stripping chairs. I can not emphasise enough on the importance of making sure all the original finish has been removed prior to starting any of the finishing process.
I have not yet used soda blasting to remove an old finish, But if they say they can successfully do so then I would definitely give them a try. It could save you a lot of time and effort. (not something I would recommend for antiques)
Be careful of using stain on beech legs and frames. ( if it is beech) Beech is bloody awful to stain evenly.
Maybe give all four chairs to the blasting company, so you have all the chairs prepared in the same way.
And then make a decision on your finish.
You can always send me an image of them.
I hope this helps
Best wishes
Simon
Many thanks Simon will send you a photo of the chair once finished sanding.
thank you for all of this informations, please when you restored this table did you apply this process to the whole table or just the surface, and when doing such a work should i work only on the damaged surface or the whole object ?
Hi Sanaa. When applying this process always do it to the entire horizontal surface area. You don't necessarily have to do it to the legs/frame. It depends on how far you want to go or if it needs to be done.
@@GilboysRestoration ok, thank you i really appreciate your help
Hello I have some fleur de lys ercol chairs that look like they have been stained an varnished. Will the process of refurbishment be the same?
Hi Amy.
Yes. This process of stripping is the same we use for all furniture that needs it.
Good luck with yours.
Take your time and enjoy it.
Kind regards
Simon.
Question: What brand of abrasives do you use?
I've got my favorites, I'm a bit of a tool snob so I don't skimp on my consumables either, but I know a lot of people don't think to ask that question and just assume that most sandpaper and similar consumables are pretty much equal when in reality the difference between the cheap stuff and the good stuff is night and day.
You can grow a lot of gray hair while you're waiting for cheap sandpaper to do it's job.
I also want to know what preferences are in the UK. I can usually get the same stuff you guys get, I just have to dig because it's never an advertised brand here. Not being advertised, I probably don't know it exists and haven't tried it.
One more question while I'm thinking: Your wire wool doesn't bleed at all?
I've had problems with the wire wool in the states giving a dull gray tint to any finishes I apply with it, and it can even get worked into the wood if I'm not careful. It's supposedly the "best" brand so I settled for it and stopped shopping. If your wire wool don't do this, however, I need to keep shopping around.
Also, would you in your experience have an idea of something that I could use to wash the wire wool with to clean it up without just dissolving the finer stuff like 0000? Got quite a bit of it that I don't want to just throw out and I don't plan on lighting any camp fires soon.
We buy all of our abrasives through a trade finishing supplies company. Here in the UK its branded as their own but as to who actually makes it I'm afraid i don't know. In the past we always preferred to use 'Hermes' abrasives but over recent years we found that our trade branded papers were just as good.
I should imagine that the bleed you are getting from you wire wool may be caused by oil added to the wire wool to stop it from rusting, try using oil free wire wool and see how you get on. The '0000' wire wool we use is actually sold by us on our website. We've never tried cleaning our course wire wool will anything before, generally we leave our used wire wool to dry out for a bit at this point a lot of the rubbish can be taken out by teasing the wire wool apart, the dried finish flakes off, this only works to a limited extent though.
Hope this helped.
@@GilboysRestoration Thanks for the reply.
There's no oil on the wool, it's like it has mill scale dust that's coming off during use, and that's what I was trying to clean. I know a couple things that work like phosphoric acid, but they also dissolve the wool entirely in seconds or minutes depending on the coarseness.
Love the video. Great tips and sound quality... btw we can hear you clearly with your mask on so don't compromise your safety but one important point........ please rig up a frame to mount your camera above your head looking down on to the wood. we want to see what you're doing as you do it and not have to stare at your face throughout, lovely as that might be. Thank you
Hi Simon. No worries if you don't manage to get to this question, but I recently purchased a second hand round Ercol drop leaf dining table made of Elm. The process for bringing the wood back up to scratch seems fairly straightforward, but it's the metalwork (hinges, screws, metal tubes) that's bothering me. The hinges, for example, are covered in rust and some other gunk. What would you recommend for the metalwork, sch as the hinges? I'm planning to use a stiff brush and see where I get as a pre-clean before abrading the table with wire wool, then vacuuming and beeswax polishing.
Hi Phillip.
Thanks for messaging. If they are really rusty I would go at them with sandpaper, maybe through the grades if its particularly rough. Work your way up to a smooth polished finish.
You can always lightly spray them with a clear acrylic lacquer to prevent further oxidising.🙂
@@GilboysRestoration Thanks Simon, appreciate the guidance. All that's left is to give it a go and hope for the best.
Thanks
Phil
How much would it cost to have this done by a pro?
*Goes to a hardware store in just about any town in America*
"I need a solvent stripper, a lever action rifle, a knife with a 8inch blade and a box of .357 shells."
"Right away sir"
Great video, thank you! I'm preparing to restore our 1960s family Ercol dining table that was last restored in the late 1980s! It gets heavy use and wiped with a damp cloth regularly - is there an argument to give a second coat of hard wax oil before waxing to give a tougher finish?
Hi Mark. Yes, in your situation i would recommend giving it a second coat to help protect it.
When you say you have diluted something like wax oil, what have you diluted it with?
You can dilute it with white spirit or pure turpentine. I prefer to use pure turpentine.
Hi there. Thanks for this vid. I have the same table in the round version, with a dark walnut finish. I would like to refinish the top, but how do I manage to achieve the exact same colour as the legs and rack (which I won't be stripping)? Is it even realistic to find the exact same colour finish, or should I just strip and sand the whole table? Thanks in advance if you happen to read this 👍🏻
Hi Jack
I would recommend stripping and refinishing the entire table. Trying to colour match Ercol is nigh on impossible.
Coloured Ercol was created in the factory using spray stains & lacquers. I have never seen a stained factory finish, and this makes it extremely difficult to part refinish.
It was an antiquing effect they created in the spray-booth, certainly not easy to repair, even with professional tools and knowledge.
i hope this helps
Simon
@@GilboysRestoration Simon, you are a hero. Thank you so much
Hi thanks for the video! Looking for advice on how to protect our dark ercol drop-leaf dining table. I bought it 6 weeks ago and the seller had stripped it back, applied teak oil and beeswax...which looked nice but is impracticable with our 2 young boys' spillages! We already have a few dark water marks and my husband is going mad about how OCD I am about wiping anything wet up! I've done some research on the OSMO products and have seen that a lot of reviewers on Amazon are recommending using OSMO Wood Protector and then the OSMO Top Oil for kitchen surfaces. The finish has more of a sheen but actually looks nicer and much more resistant than my ever-fading beeswax! Would you recommend? I'm planning on using the Colron wax remover and sanding before using any of the OSMO products...any advice gratefully received! Thanks! Anna
Hi Anna
I would suggest using a liquid stripper to remove the current finish. It is crucial to ensure the end result is right by properly removing all the old finish.
Preparation is key to creating a good finish.
Both Osmo or Treatex products will work well for you.
I would suggest applying at least 3 applications of the hardwax oil, giving you a vice protective surface.
I hope this helps.
Kind regards
Simon.
@@GilboysRestoration thanks so much
Hi Simon, thanks for a great video (which I've now watched many times!). in your experience, do Ercol pieces that have a darker varnish (such as their Golden Dawn finish) hold the colour in the finish itself, so are they stained? I'm about to strip and finish a Ercol drop leaf table for the first time, so keen to know how deep the colouring might be... thanks again!
Hi Oli.
It's a good question and the answer is No, they didn't stain the wood itself.
From my experience with darker Ercol finishes, I am almost certain the Ercol french polishers sealed the bare wood with a clear lacquer. This would have been sanded smooth and a tinted lacquer would have been spray applied to give the 'antique look' or an overall darker look to the wood. They may have even applied a third coat to seal the colour in, but this would have been done immediately after the colour spray was applied.
The result was a brand identifying finish but sadly not a good one. This type of finish will have a much shorter lifespan than a wood finish that is applied correctly by staining the wood and finishing with a clear film coating or french polish.
Coloured Ercol suffers badly from UV light and with prolonged exposure the lacquer will break down. The finish then becomes brittle and if knocked or scratched easily lifts away exposing the raw, almost white, unstained Elm or Oak.
This can be touched in by using raw pigments, but it’s time consuming and does not fix the problem.
On the flip side, it makes it a lot easier to strip back to the bare wood…
Because the darker coloured Ercol has been coloured, in effect with an opaque finish, the raw wood will look almost as clean and new as it did when it was in the factory.
The only slight negative is that Ercol would sometimes select the slightly less uniform cuts of wood for this, as they knew it was going to be mostly concealed by pigmented lacquer.
I hope this helps.
Kind regards
Simon
@@GilboysRestoration thank you for such a detailed response! The current finish seems to be in an ok state, but I’m keen to strip back for a lighter finish, so it’s good to know that it’s not as deep as first thought. Just one other thing - as this is a drop leaf, do you suggest stripping everything as one, or separately? I fear I’ll need to replace the hinges anyway as they are rusted.
@@osltd My pleasure, I feel if I can give as much information as I possibly can, it will help others.
It doesn't really matter how you go about stripping as long as you do it properly.
You can do the leaves individually of you want to. And yes I would also replace the hinges. (or restore them if possible) I hope it works well for you. 🙂
@@GilboysRestoration Thank you! Also, it was lovely to get such a personalised package when I received your beeswax polish! Can't wait to use it!
what about steel wire residue? It crumbles a bit and sticks into pores, spoils the surface and makes it grey-ish (especially oak)
and if you sand it sown afterwards - why even bother with wool in the first place?
What can I use to replicate the colour golden dawn?
Hi Sue.
It's tricky, as Ercol applied the colour with a spray gun and trying to replicate that in a domestic situation is very difficult/ almost impossible.
I would sand the area you are trying to colour, up to 320 or 400grit finish. This makes it a harder substrate for the stain to penetrate and therefor lessening the darkening effect.
I would select a stain or dye that is described as 'light oak'. I think this will be the closest match to olden 'Golden Dawn'.
Then seal it with a clear coating and wax polish it.
I hope this helps
Simon
Hi, I used a chemical stripper on an Ercol chair and left the chair in my garage. After a few days I have noticed the wood has turned a slight green colour, do you know what would cause this?
Hi Ian. Sorry I missed this question. I'm not sure why it went green. Did you sand the chair after stripping it and then neutralised the surface?
kind regards
Simon
@@GilboysRestoration Hi thanks for the reply. I didn't neutralise it and that is probably the reason why. I have also read that if the darker Ercol has been sitting in the sun for a long time the wood underneath will turn green.
Hi, I have been told that ercol wood should be laquered not varnished or oiled. Which is right?
Hi Elizabeth. None of them are wrong. You can finish Ercol with whatever you want. It's made from solid wood, so it is up to you.
Personally I prefer hard wax oil with a Beeswax polish finish. To me, it mimics the original finish. Although I believe the materials today are far more advanced, including the ones I demonstrate. They are far more eco-friendly and easier to maintain than the original period Ercol finish. (sprayed lacquers)
But the choice is yours: Lacquers can very quickly look to plasticky and require professional equipment to look right.
Varnishes can look, well like a varnished finish. I personally feel these old finishes have had their day and the more modern natural oil and wax blends, that protect and enhance the look and fee, are much nicer. 🙂✅ (and easier to apply)
Hi. Great informative video. I have an old colonial elm ercol coffee table in golden dawn finish which has lots of fine scratches on the top. I would like to strip and sand as you have done. What wax colour would you recommend for a lighter golden dawn finish, or do I just put on less wax coats? I plan to paint the legs - I know this is controversial, but I think it will look better in our living room. I also have an ercol windsor gateleg table in golden dawn in ash wood. According to the ercol site some tables in ash have been stained first. What are my chances of getting the same finish on both tables if I decide on a natural finish? Thanks.
Hi Edwin
Sorry I missed your questions. If you are stripping and refinishing then I would always recommend using a stain to adjust colour and not wax.
Once you have stripped the old finish off and prepared the surface, this is the point when you colour the table. Use a stain or dye that you feel is the closest match to your furniture. Then seal it after allowing it to dry overnight.
Depending on how many applications of sealer/ hardwax oil you use; ie A sealer coat, left to dry then sanded and a second or third one applied. (again leaving to dry thoroughly between applications)
The last process I would do is wax with a clear polish.
I hope this helps
Kind regards
Simon
i just got one for free and found out its valuable..
the grain on mine goes length ways and it doesnt have a badge on the side... just a sticker gold badge underneath...
is it legit?
cheers
Yes. It’s legit. ✅👏
What did you dilute the wax with please?
I diluted it with a little drop of white spirit. But be careful doing so as it may not be the right solvent for yours. I would err on the safe side and just apply it neat and wipe off the excess. ✅
Show n tell tips...
I've just bought a 1950's ercol sideboard that requires a striping and finishing. I need to remove a broken draw knob. It's a wedged spigot type. Do you know if the spigot is glued as well as wedged. Access is from the inside face.
If possible I want to remove all the knobs before comprehensive stripping as all woodwork needs taking back to bare.
Is this feasible.
Thank you
Hi Jimmy
Thanks for your question. I would have said yes, it is glued, knowing that mass production furniture is always constructed in a bombproof manner. I wouldn't advise removing all the knobs unless you are going to traditionally hand french polish it.
I know they are a pain in the backside when it comes to finishing, but if you are using a low satin sheen finish you wont have any problems. (Ercol suits a low sheen finish)
I have just been removing knobs on a late 19th C French commode for this same reason. But the only reason I did so, is because it is almost impossible to french polish with them in place. ( it will be in a new video)
I hope this helps
Kind regards
Simon
@@GilboysRestoration thank you, I have to replace one broken drawer knob but luckily the previous owner left a spare one in a drawer. So I can potentially destroy the old one on removal if it doesn't come off cleanly.
Cheers J
@@jimmyknees4639 Drill the knob out carefully from the back and then repair it with a dowel. 🙂
@@GilboysRestoration the ercol knobs much simpler than that as its a one piece with plain spigot with a cut slot and wedge fitting. Any problems removing the others I can simply turn another out of beech and colour match if necessary using the original as a pattern.
I'll be applying osmo wax oil as a finish. A lot less maintenance and more water resistant than beeswax.
We have an original Ercol Windsor Goldsmith table and four chairs,bought as new and in 1976. We think it was solid beech then stained dark brown by Ercol, as that was the fashion in the 1970´s . Unfortunately it has damage from water or wine and the beech colour is showing through. Also wear on the top of chair backs. How can this be repaired?
I suppose it’s too big a job to take it back to the beech colour?
Hi Rosemary.
It's a great question but not an easy one to answer.
Unfortunately Ercol didn't give us an easy finish to restore...
When new, the French Polishers in Ercol's factory will have sealed the chairs with a clear lacquer. Once dried the lacquer is lightly sanded smooth, then a spray polisher will have applied the trademark shaded colour over the chair giving it its distinctive Ercol look.
And finally a clear lacquer sprayed over this to seal the colour in and provide the final protective finish.
Now with your chairs, nearly 50 years later, this lacquer system has started to break down and the original light beech wood can be seen in patches.
Coloured Ercol is very difficult to repair or 'make good'.
Because the finish was sprayed applied, and spray coloured it's almost impossible to repair.
In the past myself and my team of restorers have spent hours and hours applying our best French polishing techniques, hand colouring flaky Ercol. It can be done, but you would need an artist tray full of raw pigments and the patience of a saint. 😆
And even after all the hours of work, a few months later newly flaked away lacquer will reveal fresh, bare areas of raw timber.. 🙃
Some might say, 'Why don't you spray it in the same way ercol did?' 🧐
You can't do this for lots of reasons but the main one being because the spray will not adhere to the old finish.
So the most successful way of restoring the chairs, is by far, stripping the old finish off and refinishing.
Now there is a hidden potential problem with stripping coloured Ercol, with a wet stripper. I’ll explain..
Beech wood is used in mass produced furniture because it is very stable, easy to machine and shape. It is also cheap. The flip side of this is it’s an absolute bugger to finish. 🤪
Beech has a very microporous surface, even when sanded to a very high grade.
And because it is a natural wood, when a stain is applied to it it immediately draws the colour unevenly, deep into the wood. And it looks bloody awful.
You can apply a conditioner to the wood to prevent this absorption but it will have to be very carefully applied.
The easiest thing to do is seal the surface with a clear polish :- french polish, lacquer, sanding sealer, hard wax oil, varnish.. The list is endless.
Hence why Ercol got around this problem by spray sealing all of their furniture. It’s a very quick and easy way of overcoming this problem. It also meant they could then create their unique distinctive spray coloured finishes. The problem is 30, 40, 50 years later this finish is failing and unlike traditionally finished furniture ( stain, seal, waxing etc…) it’s almost impossible to repair.
So going back to ‘what's the problem’
When you apply the wet stripper to the chair it will dissolve the colour as well as the lacquer, it will congeal into a goo. This goo, if not quickly scraped away from the surface maystart to stain the virgin exposed beech wood. So be aware of inadvertently staining the wood with the very stuff Ercol sprayed over it in the first place.
Sanding is an option, if the lacquer is very dry and flaky it will sand easily, avoiding this potential hazard. But if it’s not, sanding will be an arduous task, which many give up on half way through.
Either way if you have the desire and time go for it.
Once you have stripped it back to bare wood I would advise sealing it with a satin hard wax oil and wax polishing with our pure gold.
This natural finish will not fail in the same way as Ercol’s finish has done, and it can be easily touched up without the need to strip. 😀
I hope this helps you
Best wishes
Simon
@@GilboysRestoration thank you very much for taking the time to give such an in depth answer to my question! Not sure where we go from here, would be a shame to paint them … going back to using a table cloth would probably be the answer!!
how much would a restoration like this coffee table cost me?
Hi Andy,
It's difficult to say really as every piece is different. it really depends on the extent of the damage to the finish and to the timber underneath.
Hi, I loved the colour of the original light wood after initially sanding it right down. Could you recommend something to maintain that very light colour? Great video by the way.
....the wood underneath the dust was darker than I thought it would be. But I would like to lighten the orange colour as much as possible. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Have you ever bleached this kind of wood?
Gilboys Pure Gold Bees Wax is £39.99 or two bars of gold bees wax is £2.05p on eBay - which should I go for? Or is it a no brainier?
Great video by the way. It would be really useful to do a video where you stripped really dark varnished/stained Ercol wood (especially a bit of furniture with lots of details, nooks and crannies) because it’s proving to be a real challenge and there’s not many videos out there
Hi Bath Drone Boy,
Thank You, i'm glad you enjoyed our video, we may have a dark piece of furniture to film soon. Stripping things with lots of carving/detail is very fiddly and generally we will only strip a heavily detailed area when it is 100% necessary, as cleaning out all the stripper afterwards is very time consuming.
Beeswax polish is very different to just beeswax. Our beeswax polish is more than just beeswax (it's not M&S Beeswax), its actually Beeswax blended with 4 other waxes, all with unique properties that help to nourish and enhance your furniture. Also the kit you are looking at comes with everything you need to wax polish your furniture (Wire wool for application, buffing cloths and scratch repair cubes)
If you'd like to know more come over to our website and have a look or if you'd like feel free to give us a call and we'll be happy to tell you more. gilboys.co.uk/pages/about-our-waxes
Thanks again,
Archie Newnham-Dibley
Hi Bath Drone Boy - I’m not associated with the company at all, but seriously their products are just the very very best. You won’t regret it - I use their polished on everything from my antique piano to my basic wood furniture
@@DaniCavenderHandley Thank you ever so much!
Why sanding across the grain? You are the expert, so clearly there's a hidden secret here - everybody else tells me to sand WITH the grain.
He did sand with the grain
Sorry, hadn't noticed that the table top grain runs across rather than along the table top. Odd.
I think the grain is running across the top because this was made to have a colour spray finish over it. meaning the grain was partially muted.