Restoring A Mid Century Modern Bureau

In this restoration video I work on a mid century modern bureau made by Jentique. I need to remove water stains, scratches and the old finish before refinishing, remove a handle that someone had added and fill with a new veneer patch repair with some wood grain painting to help it blend in, and then apply new finish and find a replacement key for the fold down door.
0:00 Intro
1:19 Removing Finish & Water Marks
3:15 Veneer Patch Repair
5:32 More Finish Removal
5:48 Working On The Handles
6:08 More Finish Removal and Refinishing
7:23 Spraying A Varnish Top Coat
8:08 Paint Wood Grain Repair Colour Matching
10:40 Hard Wax Fill Repair
11:22 Finding A Replacement Key
12:01 Outro
My Spray Booth Video • My $30 / £20 Dust Boot...
My Spraying Equipment Video • Getting Started With P...
Card Scraper geni.us/lqutwuz
Carbide Scraper (small / detail) geni.us/G8jKT2B
Carbide Scraper (large) geni.us/OLWK4UA
Shellac (light) geni.us/WGSon
Shellac (darker) geni.us/CBrf
Varnish geni.us/clC4
This video is supported by Milwaukee, check out their full range here: uk.milwaukeetool.eu/?...
M18 Trim Router uk.milwaukeetool.eu/en-gb/m18...
M18 Fan uk.milwaukeetool.eu/en-gb/m18...
M18 Heat Gun uk.milwaukeetool.eu/en-gb/m18...
M12 LED Area Work Light
Ratcheting Screwdriver uk.milwaukeetool.eu/en-gb/9-i...
#midcentury #furniture #restoration
Thanks for watching! Please subscribe, click like if you like, and hit the bell icon for future video notifications
HELP SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:
Support with KZbin channel membership: / @ragnbonebrown
Support with Patreon: / ragnbonebrown
Support with PayPal paypal.me/ragnbonebrown
MY TOOLS:
For links to the tools I use, plus some of my favourite consumables, finishes and more see links below. As an Amazon Associate I may earn from qualifying purchases.
UK affiliate store: www.amazon.co.uk/shop/ragnbon...
US affiliate store: www.amazon.com/shop/ragnboneb...
SHOP:
Etsy: www.etsy.com/uk/shop/KeithBro...
teespring.com/stores/rag-n-bo...
LINKS:
Website: www.ragnbonebrown.com
Facebook: / ragnbonebrown
Instagram: @ragnbonebrown
Twitter: / ragnbonebrown
Email: [e-mail]
Second KZbin Channel (non woodwork videos): / keefykeef

[@lindacgrace2973]

Hi, Keith! Painting tip - the reason that acrylic paint doesn't reflect light in any way similar to the surrounding wood grain is simple: it is not formulated to. Acrylic paint contains modifying agents to add body and plasticity to the paint and it has a LOT more opaquing agents (so that you can see the colors) than oil paints. Get a small student's set of OIL paints! They are, by nature translucent, and can be thinned with spirits to the exact opacity that you need. Oil paints used in paintings are ALWAYS underglazed (under-painted with contrasting colors). For instance, skin tints are much more realistic when under-painted with blue-green. It is completely counter-intuitive but it works. The top color gains in vibrancy and depth. The under paint should be the exact opposite of the finished color. So for skin tones, bluish green. For the vibrant orange/brown tones of teak, go with a muted bluish purple. To simulate red mahogany, under-paint with green. Then, add detail lines after the base color has dried with thinned-out oil paints (they are called glazes). Oil paints can be shellacked and varnished just like any other wood finish. Hope this helps, Your American Fan, Linda.

[@markraisner9000]

Yes, oils were the way to go.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thanks Linda, I'll definitely try oil paints next time. I get the feeling it probably still wouldn't reflect light in the same way as the wood grain, but sounds like it'll definitely give better results than the acrylic! Appreciated, Keith

[@lindacgrace2973]

@@RagnBoneBrown Least I can do - I've learned so much from you! It seems only fair to share. Keep up the good work!

[@benisaac5359]

Oil paints work much better but they just take so long to dry it makes it hard to use them without slowing down a restoration. Thoughts?

[@lindacgrace2973]

@@benisaac5359 To speed drying time and increase paint viscosity, mix drying oils into your pigments. There's a wide range of drying oils on the market. Options include refined linseed oil (the easiest to find), cold pressed linseed oil, poppy oil, and refined safflower oil. The oil will be dry to the touch in half the time, however, it still takes days for the paint to "cure" completely. "Dry" is when all the solvents evaporate away. "Cure" is a chemical process that hardens the coating throughout. That's why they tell you it's OK to walk on newly finished oil-based poly floors as soon as they're dry to the touch; but wait a week before moving furniture in. You're safe to add a new layer of color as soon as the paint is dry, you don't have to wait for it to cure completely. Hope this helps :-)

[@harindergill7221]

Good one, may not make money but sure shows great respect for craftsmen of the past . Thanks

[@jennifercurry84]

My grandparents had one of those bureaus...happy memories ☺

[@marconeill9510]

The pencil rubbing trick is genius mate! 👏👏👏

[@elliemay6887]

I’ve watched all your videos and they are all brilliant but my favourite is your electric guitar 👍

[@thewoodworkguy1189]

I never fail to learn from your videos! Thanks for sharing. Greetings from sunny Cape Town.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thank you!

[@sagguharjit88]

Dear Sir You did very hard work to restore this piece of furniture.You repaired this piece of furniture very patiently .Now it has got new life and new look .Thanks for sharing your skills with all of us

[@frandy1774]

I really like these kind of videos you do. One of my favourite videos is the chest of drawers you found,fixed and restored a few years ago.

[@craigdewar6634]

Nice work. Really enjoy your restoration videos.

[@finbarstadt7213]

The problem you have is using pure acrylic paint on the wood - it will always be visible from certain angles. You can get around the problem by diluting the acrylic paint with some shellac. It will mean that the patch reflects the light in the same way as other areas. Try it and you'll see that the touch-ups become invisible.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thank you may try that in future

[@jodirauth8847]

Fantastic work and fabulous piece...congratulations

[@petestaint8312]

Wow! Fantastic. 👍

[@dalelbiker]

Another good video. Re the patch my old Dad who used to restore grandfather clocks also used water colour paints on veneer patches. What he used to do was water it down. Using a light colour first and then darker washers. Washes I’ve used that method and it does work well as it acts more like a stain. The lines of the patch if using plywood will appear black as the glue causes some of that. Veneer is better as less depth to take out. Really like the restoration.

[@deelirious]

I love how you share both what works and what doesn’t. Great video, thanks

[@Thesidingsworkshop]

Nice refurb Keith

[@AndreaArzensek]

I love your restoration furniture. It would never occurred to me to try to paint the grain but it seems to be a really good solution! Thanks for sharing!

[@TheWardagh]

Great work 👍🏼

[@pteddie6965]

I love how this piece looks, Keith. I'm with a few of your other commentators. I would not have been brave enough to try the veneer patch and subsequent paint matching. I would have gone for some type of knob that wouldn't be overtly obtuse and called it a day. Have you ever watched Dashner Design? He is an absolute wizard at the 'paint matching thing'. Thanks for the video. I enjoyed it. Another great job.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thank you! I don't think a knob would look right, I prefer to try and make it look close to how it would have looked originally. Yes I watch Dashner, good channel. The thing is with paint matching, I am pretty good at it and I could have easily made it look like I had the perfect colour in the video just by setting the camera up at the angle of my perspective while painting, and it would have looked a perfect match. The problem is, when the camera is at another angle, it looks off, and I prefer to show my mistakes rather than just make it look like I'm some kind of master and everything always go right, as that way others can learn from it and know that I'm being authentic. I'm not implying that that is what Dashner does by the way!

[@tjacksonwoodworker3726]

Excellent work..

[@PabloBD]

Always like the trial and error method in your videos, very down to earth

[@eileenworth7862]

This is the kind of project that first put you on my radar! I hope you keep peppering your output with such restorations. 💜💜💜

[@gryffindork9563]

I love older pieces you restore 🤎🤎 I think it reminds me of my childhood my Mum had a few pieces of that style of furniture or very similar 🤎🤎

[@ianvicedomini2648]

An outstanding job done Keith. These bureaus are still very sort after and for this day and age, quite nice. Great video mate 👍🏼👍🏼

[@guylittlejohn5515]

I find a good way of dressing up a keylock without a handle is to use a silk furniture/curtain tassel in a suitable colour. This will hang in front of your repair and is good for keeping the key visible if removed from the lock. Great job, cheers Guy. PS . I have a very similar unit which could do with some tlc.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thanks - a good idea, although my intention was to make it look close to how it would have looked originally.

[@karenmitchell6814]

Very nice. I love the size of the piece and how refreshed it looks with some new shellac & varnish. I know of 1 trick to help with making paint look more like wood and that is to use shellac between applications/colors of paint. It helps to create depth and layers of reflection. Not sure how it would work here on a such a small area, but its an idea.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thank you Karen that's an interesting idea, I shall experiment with that in future 👍

[@teresabell1014]

That turned out really good, I like your perseverance.

[@gillamswoodcraft9605]

Nice work Keith, good tip I've found for putting patches in wood, sand the edges of the patch at a slight angle so that it's easier to fit without it catching👍

[@awantamta]

I always love your restoration videos.

[@eyuptony]

Hi Keith the finished beauro turned out really nice. The repair was excellent. Great job with the colour matching. Tony

[@cakepanda]

Another astonishingly good video Keith. Just the right length and detail. Wonderful restoration.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

thank you!

[@chandarussell]

I’d use it as desk myself. It looks great. Well done.

[@benjaqsonworkshop9974]

Interesting to see your work on this. I guess Tom's 1000 years of experience doing this has made him pretty good at it! I've tried a few but only used solid paint on wood filler repairs.. I find water stains and felt tips on wood have a more translucent finish so the grain shows up as a blend. Thanks for showing different ways of doing things, I really enjoy your work.

[@mikedeman5351]

Really nice project :)

[@paulrowley71]

Great end result Keith. My dad used to have a bureau very similar to that but with four drawers rather than cabinet doors. It also had a slide out desktop with black vinyl and wooden roller shutter style doors over the top part which had small cubby drawers like you described. Veneer matching looks like a very tough call judging from your videos on it but I agree that you achieved a pretty good end result. Looking forward to catching up on the pergola project next week. Cheers. 👍🏻

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thanks Paul

[@NomadMakes]

Great video, mate! Cool to see that you are continuing to build your skills in furniture repair/restoration. And it is always nice to save a piece of furniture. Cheers.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thank you!

[@smallspacecreation5768]

That veneer repair turned out really good as long as the person buying off you hasn’t watched the video they won’t even notice it 👍👍👍👍

[@karlpopewoodcraft]

Cracking job mate, really like this style of furniture. What a lovely gesture by Mandy to get a key cut for you. Im really wanting to do a restoration project. 🗝️😊

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Cheers Karl, not my best work tbh.... I'd love to see you tackle one and day I bet you'd do a great job👍

[@TheFurnitureArtisan]

This is more my kind of video🥳. I mean, who lays slabs anyway😉🤣. A decent job with the experimenting with paint. I tend to only use paints in less conspicuous areas that do need blending in but don’t often don’t get seen in direct light (under a shelf). I’m sure you know about Earth pigments. They are my ‘go to’ for more visible repairs. Gilboys have a great video that explains and demonstrates the process far better than I could for anyone interested.

[@williamtucker8052]

I’ve been trying to learn repairs like you did in this video. There’s a company called Konig that do a solvent based paint pallet for around £20 which is for repair jobs like this. Good job though, it’s not as easy as it looks

[@eddienew2044]

Great video. Acrylic paint can be used with a huge range of mediums to change its properties. If you want to experiment you could try gloss medium or iridescent medium with transparent paint to see if the results are more to your liking.

[@brianatbtacprod1989]

I agree with a person below, the problem is the acrylic paint isn't doesn't show the wood below. I don't know if you have seen any of Thomas Johnson's restoration videos, but they are very detailed, and show layering to make some very large patches fade into the background. Even for people who aren't into restoration, his examples of complex glueups, blending finishes, and construction from the past are also worth a look. You also see many examples of what not to do, because he is making the nth repair for the same problem from the original piece.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Yes, I've talked about Thomas on my channel many times

[@petegibbins9073]

Great job. Sometimes it’s better if you can colour match in natural light. To avoid lines around the edge of repair cut the repair piece first then use this as a template by attaching to area to be repaired temporarily (masking tape) then cut around the repair piece, the patch and repair area will be exactly the same. Obviously this only works on thin pieces of veneers. Hope this helps and makes sense!

[@geoffreycoan]

Good video Keith, I could sense your frustration with the lid, scraping it all off and starting again must have been galling. I follow your logic of blending in another piece of veneer, but personally I’d have been to afraid of a visible line around it and would have filled the holes and tried to colour match the hole plugs with wax, wood stain, etc - that way you’re colour matching over a smaller area. Did wonder if you were going to paint the whole front in the end, glad you didn’t !

[@harrybrooks7750]

Great work, your perseverance is admirable! Were you tempted to take a bit of veneer from the back of the lid to replace the missing bit? That was what I'd expected. Your approach worked out though 👍

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Cheers Harry. The back of the lid was actually a different species of wood (sapele rather than teak) so it wouldn't have worked so well, but it's a great idea and may work in some cases

[@liammiller3395]

Just needed some Ramen noddles and super glue 🤣

[@chrisfranklynmakes]

That's perseverance! I probably would have cut around it and the lock and given it a pull to solve that and the lock issue in one :)

[@mobydick1478]

Great job, as usual, but I would have cut the patch of the teak veneer with straight lines and not with that particular shape. Teak has such a tipycal grain, and a geometrical patch would have blended in better. Imho 😊

[@mandyleeson1]

Nice one Keith. 👍🏽

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thanks Mandy, not my best work but hopefully I can find it a new home 👍

[@mandyleeson1]

@@RagnBoneBrown I think you're being a bit hard on yourself Keith. I was wondering if you could have done one of your inlay patterns in the damaged bit? Though it would probably take more time than it was worth ...

[@pitsnipe5559]

Nice job. Nice piece, would make a nice laptop computer desk.

[@JohnColgan.]

Great work Keith. I've been watching s Canadian girl on John's Furniture Restoration, she's pretty darn good at matching in repairs, worth having a look, actually she's pretty darn good at everything

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Cheers John I will check it out

[@chairlord]

A nice little piece there Keith. I think you gave it a good effort but I sometimes think that an obvious honest repair looks better and tells more about the history of the piece. I might have been tempted to rout out a slighly larger section and inlay something quite contrasting. Like another commenter suggested, perhaps in the shape of the other drawer pulls. I think there's something interesting about this approach - sympathetically adding your work to the piece. I mean this is easy for me to say mind, I'd never attempt anything like this. :-)

[@darrenpaulgreen]

I think you should be proud of the end result Keith. Not sure if you’ve ever heard of the Magic Man repair guys. They do similar repairs onsite (eg to furniture, worktops etc) and they produce similar results. Worth googling them for some inspiration as they have some excellent videos.

[@deebellamy6372]

How about cover the repair with a rosette. Not a rose shape, but some design that would go with mid century look. You could just apply it after your done.

[@tracymclaughlinholmes677]

As a painter I can say acrylic paints absorb light but they're much easier to work with they could be watered down with regular H2O to thin them out into more of a glaze etc but the issue you ran into is the paint will absorb the light. Oils will reflect the light more so matching the light reflection of wood but oils are notoriously hard to work with since they are nowhere near as forgiving as acrylics. If you're blending in a patch with acrylics and you don't like it and haven't sealed it you can wash it off with water oils absolutely not. It's chemical stripping or mechanical stripping for oils. Regardless I think you did a phenomenal job! The patch definitely stood out more before working with paints. Plus the final shot where you showed it in the house with the key in the lock the repair looks more like a shadow than anything else.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

thank you

[@alyssablock377]

First off, amazing job overall. In this case I think you could have made the veneer patch more obvious. A diamond shape under the keyhole maybe even stained darker could have been a creative solution. But I understand wanting to stay true to the integrity of the original design. 🤷‍♀️

[@Lord-Panda2112]

Yes!!! New video. Holiday last week mate? Hope it was fun well deserved!!).

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Yes, week in Corfu. Thanks

[@Lord-Panda2112]

@@RagnBoneBrown Lovely! Honeymoon I hope. I just love your channel. Keep it up!!!

[@trevordyson8882]

I am very impressed with your work. I wonder if mixing shellac with wood stains of different shades would create a more realistic effect.

[@figrollin]

I appreciate how tough that patch was. I personally would have preferred a nicer handle! But, I appreciate that's a matter of taste, not a hard or fast opinion.

[@micbarker6256]

Same comment from me, maybe easier said than done, but I'd have tried to produce a new handle in the style of those on the lower part of the cabinet to cover the patch.

[@figrollin]

@@micbarker6256 I think that'd be the "best" solution, but definitely a hard one. Nevertheless, a very faithful restoration!

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thanks - a good idea, although my intention was to make it look close to how it would have looked originally

[@elmochacho3]

I'd have considered a full new door. Although the patch wasn't bad.

[@jenniferlawrence8533]

NICE😍🇺🇸

[@bosse641]

Nicely done. I think I would get a brass handle that would look nice and cover that area where the knob was. Easy fix :o)

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thanks - a good idea, although my intention was to make it look close to how it would have looked originally.

[@emma472]

This is such a helpful video! I have a similar desk that i want to re- finish. How would you re finish the pigeon holes?

[@MrJozza65]

I take it you aren't a fan of the "Shabby Chic" look then 😀. That bureau took a lot of work to do, but it's great to see an old piece of furniture rescued and ready to go to a new home for many more years of use.

[@barryirby8609]

Nice work. I was wondering if you could have stolen a bit of veneer of the bottom of the internal shelf if it were made of the same wood. Or installed some sort of contrasting medallion? Now that it's done, how about adding some sort of bangle to the key to partially cover the patch and distract the eye.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thanks - a good idea re: the key. I think the internal shelf was a different species, it appeared to be some kind of meranti ply.

[@robbristow]

With the benefit of hindsight, In order to disguise the old knob position, would a door pull similar to the ones already in use on the lower doors been a suitable option and in keeping with the piece? At least you could open and close the unit without the key in place all the time.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Hi Rob, yeah it would have been an optional although obviously it wouldn't have been true to the original and also I doubt you can buy those handles (unless they could be scavenged from another piece of furniture). I would have needed to route them in to the door, which would have been interesting to try. 👍

[@janvisser6643]

I was thinking the same thing. It would be nice trying to make the same handle.

[@lenanderson8103]

A lovely bit of restoration/recycling good job Keith 👍

[@isyt1]

Great job! Trouble is, I think that thing would still have looked absolutely shit when it was brand new

[@kamelhmmvafan]

Why not inlay a shape instead? So it looks like detail instead of a repair?

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thanks - a good idea, although my intention was to make it look close to how it would have looked originally.

[@robertleyland4252]

Hi Keith great and informative vids ,bit of a random Q were did you get your compressor from what types is it i am looking at getting a nail gun to remove nails from pellets I saw your vid on the nail gun

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thanks! There's a video about it here kzbin.info/www/bejne/pn_RdnuQd95mn80

[@anthonydixon4470]

Really good work, could you please tell me what brand of shellac you were using.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thanks. Links in the my tools section to all the finishes I used

[@W4TRI]

You did a great job on the match! What about a 5th inlaid handle?

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thanks - a good idea, although my intention was to make it look close to how it would have looked originally.

[@caskwith]

When you use a knife blade for scraping do you turn a burr on it? I do it with single edge razor blades and find they make excellent scrapers this way.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

I don't, no - they work great as is

[@caskwith]

@@RagnBoneBrown Fair enough, give it a try sometime though, maybe it will surprise you.

[@sisters1941]

How about a small brass medallion just under the keyhole where the patch is?

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thanks - a good idea, although my intention was to make it look close to how it would have looked originally.

[@lisaberry2022]

Will a 4x4 hold a porch swing?

[@ronjones9373]

Did the lady with the key happen to send you a picture of the interior? As a kid we had a ladies secretary bought in 1953. Its interior was like yours. No drawers. Just shelves. The entrre shelf unit could be taken out if you preferred the desk without it.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

if you google "jentique bureau" there are plenty of photos with the drawer boxes, although maybe they didn't come as standard... Not sure!

[@OldCharlieRum1903]

Made in Norfolk, restored in Norfolk.

[@DiHandley]

I hope you don’t mind Keith but I’d like to be brutally honest with you about this one. Utterly amazing! You should take a look at Thomas Johnston’s channel. He does this sort of work all the time and I doubt if he could have done any better. 👍

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Cheers David. I watch all Thomas' videos

[@gracelobley8801]

What's wrong with paint and wallpaper?

[@Cradley684]

That matching is a pig Keith, saw the best of them struggle with matching, but reckon you did a good job, have a nice day Mate

[@sbiecoproductions6062]

Good Lad Dill.... Wait. Where's Dillon???

[@Kaninchenbau]

I absolutely wouldn't reccomend using any kind of artist paint (acrylic, oil, doesn't matter, this applies to all artist paints) instead of stain or wax because unless you buy some expensive, high-quality, professional grade artist paints, that paint won't last, it'll either fade or become discolored over time as sunlight degrades it (how fast that happens depends on the paint's lightfastness and how much sunlight it gets), you'd need to protect it with a UV-resistant resin and/or glass to stop it from discoloring but obviously that isn't possible with a piece of furniture (and your regular wood finishes do not protect paint from UV either). You did a great job restoring the bureau, don't get me wrong, just definitely avoid artist and/or craft paints in the future

[@OrangeRauy]

A nice piece, good work! But...your attempts at fixing the hole in all honours, but maybe just giving it a nice subtle brass handle would have solved this a lot more elegantly. And you'd not even have needed that key.

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thanks - a good idea, although my intention was to make it look close to how it would have looked originally.

[@chillievans]

How about a little round handle? Pahaa

[@Lord-Panda2112]

Oi. No chalk paint bashing you!!

[@ledugerio]

😃😃💪💪👍👍👍👍👏👏👏👏🙋🙋

[@nycgraphist]

Yes, oil paints, rather than acrylic.... Why not replace the ugly knob handle with a new oval handle like the ones the bureau has now? You could've sourced it or created one yourself. Since it is not going to be used as it was intended, a fix like that wouldn't be a bad idea, I think

[@RagnBoneBrown]

Thanks - a good idea, although my intention was to make it look close to how it would have looked originally.

[@kempshott]

I wonder how many UK woodworkers realise you need a Home Office Explosives Precursor and Poisons licence (EPP) to possess oxalic acid as crystals or >10% solution.

[@nettiestephen6590]

Hi there, I’m not sure if you realise this but you are supposed to totally rinse off all the OXALIC ACID as it is seriously dangerous. I’m not sure if you watch Thomas Johnson antique restorer - you see that he uses oxalic acid regularly but he always rinse it off really thoroughly. Just thought this might help

[@RagnBoneBrown]

I did wash it off, and I explained that in the video....

[@nettiestephen6590]

@@RagnBoneBrown - ok sorry please accept my sincere apologies I didn’t hear that - I was just trying to help you out