1930's Art Deco Walnut Bureau RESTORATION

It looks like I have my work cut out for me with this project. Believe it or not, this Art Deco Bureau has some walnut hiding beneath this angry old finish. It needs a good clean, the finish needs to be removed, there are plenty of patchwork and repairs to be done, and there is a broken drawer pull. F.H Marshall was a Scottish furniture maker and after a little research, this piece looks to have come roughly from the 1930s-1940s. But first things first, it's time to disassemble. Even though these piano hinges are the same size, I always like to mark exactly where they've come from, because after years and years of being in the same place, they adopt a memory and just seem to work better when placed back in the same position. There are plenty of scratches on every single face of this piece. I'm really hoping that a lot of them only go as deep as the finish, rather than the walnut veneer being damaged. But I won't know this until I get the finish off. The veneer is super thin, so I've decided to use my scraper. I find that using stripper, sometimes it does leave a residue and discolouration. I can't really afford to need to sand this out due to the veneer being so thin. You can see I've managed to expose the wood, it's got a really beautiful grain, although this drawer front doesn't look too happy about it. It still looks angry. It is crazy to see just how much of this walnut grain the aged varnish was hiding. The shelving and the drawers are really grubby, there's plenty of marks. I'm not actually too sure what these black marks are. So I'm just going to see if some Bar Keepers Friend and water will help me get rid of any of it before I even consider stripping the inside. And as you can see, the Bar Keepers Friend has actually done a fantastic job of getting rid of pretty much all of the marks. These are looking great so far, but I will add some wax or restore a finish a little later on. There are so many chips in this veneer, that it would take me days and days to do so many tiny veneer patches with actual veneer. So I've decided to use some wood filler. I absolutely love these Bakelite drawer pulls, they have a really beautiful shimmery effect going through them. I'm pretty confident though, I'm not going to find a replacement to fix this one, so I'm going to repair it myself. Well, attempt to. If time was on my side, I could probably get some resin, make a mould and try and mix up a similar marble effect. But in true Cole style, I'm just going to go with what I've got, which in this case is more wood filler. You probably think I'm a little bit crazy for trying to do this. Yep, I think so too, but it's not going to stop me this time around. Here we go. So I'm just going to take the pull onto this scrap piece of pine to get that flat surface along the bottom at the very least. I'm then going to basically slap some wood filler on the side of it and hope for the best. I mix up a nice quantity, enough to cover the end of the handle, and then I basically just smear it on there. Because there's so much of it and it's not going to harden as fast as it normally would, it's starting to kind of ooze all over the place. So I'm just going to use a little bit of tape to try and prop it up. I mean, it is basically looking like an absolute mess, so I don't blame you for thinking this will fail. Certainly not pretty, but let's just let it dry out and we'll go from there. The earlier filler has dried in just a few minutes. It dries really quickly, this stuff. So it's all good to sand pretty much straight away. I then go over all the wooden surfaces with 240 grit sandpaper. That gives me a really nice smooth finish without the risk of sanding through the veneer. I am now going to condition the wood prior to staining. Now since my journey of restoring and making over furniture began, one of my biggest challenges and equally most rewarding part is nailing the color of the stain and getting the perfect wood finish. It can totally transform a piece. So upskilling in this area is something that I'm very, very passionate about, and I'm grateful to say that today's video is sponsored by Woodworkers Guild of America, an online resource where you can learn directly from the pros. With premium videos taught by experienced instructors who share their professional techniques that will take your woodworking and furniture flipping skills to the next level. I've been learning some new things about finishes that I did not know before, like how to work out what the finish actually is, and in turn how to correctly remove it, and also choose and apply a top notch top coat to get that smooth flawless look. And honestly, the way these instructors break it all down, it just clicks. I'm loving putting these new skills to use and seeing enhanced results in my projects, much like this recent piece I worked on. The best bit, Woodworkers Guild of America keep adding fresh content, so there's always something new to learn. So next on my list is learning how I can make the most of the table saw that I'm getting for Christmas this year. Everything from basic operation through to tips and techniques that I never would have thought to try. So if you are like me and want to up your game, the first 1000 of you to click the link below can grab a full year of their premium membership for just $1.49. Just a heads up, this is for new members only. But seriously, if you're into woodworking or restoring and making over furniture just like me, check them out. You are going to love it. I use some restorer finish on all of the internal surfaces, so the shelving, the inside of the drawers, inside walls, everywhere. Alrighty, so this hot little mess has now dried out and I can see I've made a slight mistake by not putting a piece of tape underneath the handle. So it's obviously stuck to the wood because that is what wood filler does. I'm now going to use a chisel and a hammer to try and get it off. I guess this will be a good test for the strength of the repair. We'll see if it breaks. And I can't believe it hasn't broken. Hard as a rock. So I continue with the chisel to remove some larger portions of the filler, basically just trying to shape it so I can get it as close to the original shape as possible. You can kind of see it's getting there. I mean, obviously the colour isn't correct right now, but the shape is getting close. And I'm starting to feel pretty positive about this. That's pretty good, isn't it? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit proud of myself right now. But now I need to make it look the same colour. So basically I use a combo of things, stain, paint, rub and buff to try and get that shimmer. I know it's not going to be perfect, but I think using the original pulls on this piece is really important. So the colour is looking... Well, I mean it's still wet, so let's check back later. I'm using a dark oak stain and even though it looks dark going on, it really just gives it a slight tint, making the darker grain pop and it gives a little less of an orange look. While I work away at this, I want to take this opportunity to thank you very much for tuning in. If you've been here before, thank you very much for your continued support. And if you're new and have enjoyed this video, maybe a cheeky subscribe isn't out of the question. A like, a comment, watching my other content, it all helps me on my YouTube journey. So thank you very much. I use a combo of furniture markers and paint to try and disguise some of these wood filler repairs. It generally always is a bit of a work in progress. I find that throughout the project, I'm touching them up. As with different finishes and things, they sort of change colour along the way. I'm basically touching them up until the very end, to be honest. And even at the very end, sometimes I'm not happy with them. But at that point, there's not much more you can do unless you want to start over again. And I need to continually remind myself that it's not about making these pieces look brand new. We're all aging and that's a privilege, and I think the same goes for furniture. My next step is to add one layer of hardwax oil. If you watch my channel, you know this is one of my favourite products. Easy to work with, it makes the grain pop and it adds a very smooth, protective, water-resistant layer to the wood. Sadly, these piano hinges aren't solid brass or anything, they're just plated. They've got a few imperfections, so I'm just going to give them a light sand with 240 grit to remove any bumps. And then I'm going to use some rub and buff to see if I can bring back a little sparkle. Not perfect, but definitely a little bit better than when we started. I left the hardwax oil to dry for about eight hours and then I come back with some Gilboys Antique Gold Wax. It's got the slightest tint of colour, it smells absolutely amazing, and I apply it with a very fine steel wool and leave it to sit for around 20 minutes. I then come back and buff it flat with an open weave cloth. I'm not too sure if you can see the beautiful, smooth satin finish that I'm getting here as I'm doing this in the evening and the lighting isn't great. But here is the teak table that I worked on earlier in the week. You can see how it started, and then after one coat of hardwax oil, and finally after an antique gold wax application. What a difference. Simon at Gilboys has kindly given me a code so that all of my viewers can get 10% off their purchase on the Gilboys website. The link is in the bio, just click on that and the discount will be applied automatically. A massive thank you to Gilboys for their generosity. Now, I have put the repaired handle back on the piece in a different place. See if you can spot it. I'll let you know which one it is in one of the reveal photos shortly. Happy Halloween everyone, and until next time, take it easy.