If you either have, or have located an old beech wardrobe that is in need of some repairs, there is one very simple way to restore the woodwork. It will take time but not a lot of money and it will look great once it is finished. This will require you to strip the wood down in order to do it, but once done it can be kept up with fairly simply.
A mixture of linseed oil and turpentine, mixed in equal parts, makes a perfect finish for beech wood furniture, or any wood furniture actually. It is a fairly simple procedure although it is not something that can be finished in an afternoon. It may take you longer than making a built in corner wardrobe for example, but that is mainly because you need to stretch the project out in order to allow the linseed oil to dry between sanding and re-coating.
The first thing that needs to be done is sanding. The wardrobe needs to be sanded down with the grain, not against it till the surface is clean and free of any former finishes.
Once that is done you should apply a mixture of equal parts of turpentine and linseed oil to the wood. Cover the whole wardrobe, making sure you get all parts covered and then leave it to soak in. Once it is soaked in you should apply another coat. Keep applying coats until it is obvious that the oil mixture is not soaking into the wood any longer. This will take quite a few coats with beech wood, as the wood is naturally very absorbent (which is why it does not do so well in humid conditions.)
When you notice the wood has reached saturation point you should wipe the wardrobe down with a soft, lint free cloth and remove all the excess oil. Then, leave the oil to dry and the wood to harden. This may take a couple of days. Don’t rush it. Once it is dry you should again sand the wardrobe down and repeat the whole process again. Continue the process until the wardrobe is the color you want it to be.
This can be repeated again at intervals, whenever you feel the wardrobe needs refinishing or touching up again. It does not take a lot of money but the time expenditure is fairly high. The great thing is that it will look fantastic when finished in this way; natural and a rich, wood grained look that will only get better with age.
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