Good friends of mine have acquired a family heirloom--a large steamer trunk that's about 200 years old. It's in remarkably good condition; there are no broken pieces and all the plate metal connectors and braces are there and in good shape. Only significant issue is the lid hinges don't function properly. They are made of wrought iron and probably need to be repaired (1st choice) or replaced. Species of wood is unknown. The challenge is that the entire trunk has been painted over in a hideous shade of green. My friends want to strip it down to original wood and refinish with a clear satin finish. Refinishing is outside my strike zone, so I'm reaching out for both advice and quite possibly a commission to do the entire refurbishing project by a fellow member in the Triangle area.
My immediate ?s are:
My immediate ?s are:
- Can the stripping and refinishing be done properly without removing all the metalwork on the trunk?
- What is the best method to clean and protect from future rust the metalwork. They believe it is iron, but it might be super tarnished brass. Your guess is welcome.
- What is the best method to strip the multiple layers of finish and paint?
- What is a good source for visually matching replacement hinges if that is the only solution?