I found in my attic this old travel trunk. Very dusty. I repaired 2 other trunks before for my familly, covering them with fabric, because the wood was disgratious. Here, the wood was clean, so I kept the outside raw, with varnish on top of the wood to protect it.
In the attic.
Keep record of how it was before if you have anything / anypart you remove if you want to reproduce all the details. Here, the inside is made of wallpaper, which is subject to water damage and therefore difficult to clean.
The lock is dirty but not rusty. Good news !
I removed everything inside the trunk. As the wallpaper was glue to the wood, I needed to remove it with a lot of water. A brush helps to remove correctly the different particles.
I started by the inside because the wallpaper was covering the borders of the external fabric.
The most difficult part is to remove the fabric near the ironwork. There, you may not be able to remove all the fabric. Use a clamp to remove as much fabric as possible. Then, when you are unable to remove more, use a cutter to cut the visible part of the fabric. Be carefull to not damage the wood.
As you can see, it creates a lot of dust. Do this project somewhere where it is easy to clean.
This dark spot are not moisture, it is just glue + dust.
After water cleaning, there is a little bit of glue left, but no more dust.
Now, let it dry for at least one full day in summer.
Let the trunk dry for a day.
Take a mop to avoid scratching the wood when changing the face up.
This step will remove the very last pieces of glue. It will also brighten the wood.
Polish the metal to remove all the rust.
Next, protect the metal by painting in or using varnish. Use painter’s tape to avoid painting the wood.
Wood stain (lasure) is used to color and strengthen the wood.
With a different light.
Enjoy !
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