Little Georgian Box - Cleaning/Restoration Advice?

Bought this box from ebay, it's hard to find one at this sweet size, and it actually looks better than I though! Think I could just leave it as it is, but is there anything I can do to enhance the look a bit?

 

@808 raver

 

Looks like it has been refinished and/or re-coated with varnish. I think if you go over this with lacquer thinner, you can even out the finish quite a bit and remove imperfections. It is a bit of a tricky business and you need to work fast so that you do not remove too much finish. If you are not confident in doing this, don't. Once done and completely dry, go over it with a fine steel wool or finishing pad. A coat of paste wax would be the finishing touch.

If not confident in using lacquer thinner, you could use mineral spirits and steel wool or finishing pad to clean and buff. The mineral spirits should not break down the finish, though you might want to test a spot first. Again, paste wax would be the final process.

Not sure what the white marks on the top are. You will want to address them while cleaning. They may just wipe off with either solvent. Otherwise, you may need to scrape them a bit if on the finish surface. Superficial scratches should virtually disappear with either method used.

 

Thank you! The white dirts spots can’t be wiped off with wet cloth, if chemicals are too tricky for beginners like me maybe I ll just give it a polish using fine wire wool?

 

Can you determine what the spots are? I see a couple more in your other pictures. One little oval one on the front and another on one end. In these photos, they look like bits of paint picked up from contact with another object. Usually, these can be flaked or scraped off with an X-ACTO knife blade (or other razor blade). Need to be carefull that you don't go too deep into the box's finish. Can't tell if the ones on the top are the same.

Mineral spirits should not be too challenging to use. It is fairly benign and will not disolve most permanent finishes. There is some odor and it may dull the finish a bit. This would be restored using the steel wool and paste wax.

 

I cannot get them currently so I ll leave it for now, but I did give it a good polish and now it looks much better. Some dirts are gone but the dark paint you mentioned is still there and cannot be polished off, but I assume they're meant to be there to stimulate tortoiseshell? It looks fine to me! Thank you for detailed instructions

 

Not the faux finish you are talking about. These....

 

Oh I see! All gone after polishing

 

Looks great!

 

thank you

 

Sorry I've been busy over the last few weeks. I would firstly address the yawning of the box by slightly undoing the screws of the hinges, if this allows the lid to sit flat then put a cardboard shim under the hinge plate. Then I would remove all the finish by using IPA and wire wool, then find a light color wood that matched the missing beading glue it in then sand it to match, sand and fill (fill with sawdust that matches the wood and PVA glue) then sand all over until smooth then French polish. This is a good box to practice on (unless you paid a lot for it?) Even though I can't see inside I suspect the lock has been changed, I'm sure the pattern on the outside of the box is the wood grain but be careful it isn't just paint that would sand off, if it is paint it's very unlikely to be Georgian. If done well (remember most restoration processes can be undone) it should turnout lovely. The box isn't big so fine sandpaper.

 

Thank you Raver! I've done sanding so far and a temporary repair for the missing beading. Here is some better pics as I'm quite happy with it, and I'll leave the filling work to the future.

It's not obvious in this pic ( you can see it in the last update I made) but yes you're right the 'paint' can't be removed and since it changes significantly due to lighting I think it's natural too. And the lock seems to be replaced, as you said, I can see paper lining missing in that area. I paid 50 pounds for it, guess not bad as these boxes would go for around 100 in finer market?

 

I have the urge to sand that beading in to match the existing beading lol It looks miles better than it did to start with, great job. It's a bit nerve racking restoring an expensive antique, just wait until it's not worth 100's but 1000's. Soon you will be buying exotic woods for restoration, if I were doing that box I would have cut some boxwood I bought about 10+ years ago just for restoration but there is always stain in a pinch.

 

I ll replace it once I settle down right now I can only find this pale pinewood poorly cut from my canvas frame. Btw what wood do you think it is on the front and side veneers ?

 

I've seen it before but it escapes me (too old lol) some sort of mottled figure but there are so many woods and even the way they are cut can change the look, you can never have them all to replace missing bits. Sometimes you need stain to help but if I can I will try and find a donor to restore, I now have quite a big selection of broken antiques I can take from.