Help with wood trim - not T
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Topic author - Posts: 366
- Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 2:25 pm
- First Name: Dick
- Last Name: Fischer
- * REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1912 Touring
- Location: Arroyo Grande, CA
Help with wood trim - not T
I'm hoping somebody here can give me some insights on the types of finishes used on decorative interior wood trim circa 1928 - 1930.
I'm not interested in current favorites, or easiest, or looks the best. I'm interested in learning what finishes were available and commonly used in that period. I have just one remaining sample of the original trim and it looks like someone might have given it a thin coating of red paint in the past. I know that's not right. But what would have been used ?
The trim itself is walnut; I know that. Beneath the coat of paint on my one sample part the original finish has been either sanded off or maybe it was so thin that it has just disappeared over time.
I'm thinking that the most likely finishes would have been shellac, or vanish, or linseed oil. Or maybe some sort of wax. I don't think it was a stain as a stain would have soaked into the outer surface and still be visible even if sanded for new finish. Ditto wax, as then the new finish would not have adhered.
Thank you all in advance.
Dick
I'm not interested in current favorites, or easiest, or looks the best. I'm interested in learning what finishes were available and commonly used in that period. I have just one remaining sample of the original trim and it looks like someone might have given it a thin coating of red paint in the past. I know that's not right. But what would have been used ?
The trim itself is walnut; I know that. Beneath the coat of paint on my one sample part the original finish has been either sanded off or maybe it was so thin that it has just disappeared over time.
I'm thinking that the most likely finishes would have been shellac, or vanish, or linseed oil. Or maybe some sort of wax. I don't think it was a stain as a stain would have soaked into the outer surface and still be visible even if sanded for new finish. Ditto wax, as then the new finish would not have adhered.
Thank you all in advance.
Dick
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Topic author - Posts: 366
- Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 2:25 pm
- First Name: Dick
- Last Name: Fischer
- * REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1912 Touring
- Location: Arroyo Grande, CA
Re: Help with wood trim - not T
In re-reading my initial post I realized that I had focused down on the question so closely that I failed to mention what sort of machine that this wood trim was used on. No, it's not a car, not a buggy, nor even a house.
The machine I'm restoring is an airplane. A 1929 Curtiss Robin. The decorative wood trim is 1" wide strips around all the interior window edges.
Dick
The machine I'm restoring is an airplane. A 1929 Curtiss Robin. The decorative wood trim is 1" wide strips around all the interior window edges.
Dick
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- First Name: Dan
- Last Name: Haynes
- * REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: several
- Location: Lodi, CA
Re: Help with wood trim - not T
I don't know anything about airplanes, but my unrestored 1925 Lincoln walnut window trim is finished in shellac.
"The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." -George Orwell
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Topic author - Posts: 366
- Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 2:25 pm
- First Name: Dick
- Last Name: Fischer
- * REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1912 Touring
- Location: Arroyo Grande, CA
Re: Help with wood trim - not T
Thanks for the reply, Dan. Shellac makes a lot of sense, as it dries rapidly and the parts could be installed right away. At the peak, Curtiss was making two to three Robins per day, so drying time would have been important. Varnish and linseed oil are less attractive from a drying time standpoint.
Love your Lincoln, especially the dual spares. Did they do that because of two different wheel sizes or was it just for "extra safety" ?
Dick
Love your Lincoln, especially the dual spares. Did they do that because of two different wheel sizes or was it just for "extra safety" ?
Dick
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- Posts: 443
- Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 10:37 am
- First Name: Dan
- Last Name: Haynes
- * REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: several
- Location: Lodi, CA
Re: Help with wood trim - not T
The wheels/tires are all the same size, 7.00x21, I guess two were for two flats on a long trip? There is an engine-driven air compressor and air hose with gauge if needed.
What the two spares do mostly is make the back of the car heavy. It rides nice, but in mountains or on curvy roads, the back of the car swings around.
What the two spares do mostly is make the back of the car heavy. It rides nice, but in mountains or on curvy roads, the back of the car swings around.
"The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." -George Orwell
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- First Name: Pat
- Last Name: McNallen
- * REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: 1926-7 roadster
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- Board Member Since: 2021
Re: Help with wood trim - not T
Re: Lincoln: More pressure in rear tires might help handling.
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- Posts: 443
- Joined: Mon Jan 07, 2019 10:37 am
- First Name: Dan
- Last Name: Haynes
- * REQUIRED* Type and Year of Model Ts owned: several
- Location: Lodi, CA
Re: Help with wood trim - not T
Higher than the recommended pressure makes the windows rattle in the doors.
I just let the rear end sway from side to side. It did it when it was new, it still does it.
I just let the rear end sway from side to side. It did it when it was new, it still does it.
"The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." -George Orwell
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Re: Help with wood trim - not T
Here are some references that might help
From about 1880 through the 1920s, “a lot of the woodwork was finished with what we call orange shellac,” says Bruce Johnson, a spokesman for Minwax and the author of The Weekend Refinisher and other books on woodwork. “It didn’t matter what kind of wood it was.”
https://www.oldhouseonline.com/repairs- ... rk-floors/
https://www.houzz.com/discussions/68857 ... 20-s-house
From about 1880 through the 1920s, “a lot of the woodwork was finished with what we call orange shellac,” says Bruce Johnson, a spokesman for Minwax and the author of The Weekend Refinisher and other books on woodwork. “It didn’t matter what kind of wood it was.”
https://www.oldhouseonline.com/repairs- ... rk-floors/
https://www.houzz.com/discussions/68857 ... 20-s-house
The past is a great place and I don't want to erase it or to regret it, but I don't want to be its prisoner either.
Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger