Help with wood trim - not T

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otrcman
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Help with wood trim - not T

Post by otrcman » Tue May 04, 2021 6:57 pm

I'm hoping somebody here can give me some insights on the types of finishes used on decorative interior wood trim circa 1928 - 1930.

I'm not interested in current favorites, or easiest, or looks the best. I'm interested in learning what finishes were available and commonly used in that period. I have just one remaining sample of the original trim and it looks like someone might have given it a thin coating of red paint in the past. I know that's not right. But what would have been used ?

The trim itself is walnut; I know that. Beneath the coat of paint on my one sample part the original finish has been either sanded off or maybe it was so thin that it has just disappeared over time.

I'm thinking that the most likely finishes would have been shellac, or vanish, or linseed oil. Or maybe some sort of wax. I don't think it was a stain as a stain would have soaked into the outer surface and still be visible even if sanded for new finish. Ditto wax, as then the new finish would not have adhered.

Thank you all in advance.

Dick


Topic author
otrcman
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Re: Help with wood trim - not T

Post by otrcman » Tue May 04, 2021 9:07 pm

In re-reading my initial post I realized that I had focused down on the question so closely that I failed to mention what sort of machine that this wood trim was used on. No, it's not a car, not a buggy, nor even a house.

The machine I'm restoring is an airplane. A 1929 Curtiss Robin. The decorative wood trim is 1" wide strips around all the interior window edges.

Dick
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Dan Haynes
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Re: Help with wood trim - not T

Post by Dan Haynes » Tue May 04, 2021 9:38 pm

I don't know anything about airplanes, but my unrestored 1925 Lincoln walnut window trim is finished in shellac.
1925_Lincoln_L144BTouring_358ci_36_4HP_V-8_RearView.jpg
"The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." -George Orwell


Topic author
otrcman
Posts: 364
Joined: Sun Jan 06, 2019 2:25 pm
First Name: Dick
Last Name: Fischer
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Re: Help with wood trim - not T

Post by otrcman » Tue May 04, 2021 11:03 pm

Thanks for the reply, Dan. Shellac makes a lot of sense, as it dries rapidly and the parts could be installed right away. At the peak, Curtiss was making two to three Robins per day, so drying time would have been important. Varnish and linseed oil are less attractive from a drying time standpoint.

Love your Lincoln, especially the dual spares. Did they do that because of two different wheel sizes or was it just for "extra safety" ?

Dick


Dan Haynes
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Re: Help with wood trim - not T

Post by Dan Haynes » Wed May 05, 2021 11:36 am

The wheels/tires are all the same size, 7.00x21, I guess two were for two flats on a long trip? There is an engine-driven air compressor and air hose with gauge if needed.

What the two spares do mostly is make the back of the car heavy. It rides nice, but in mountains or on curvy roads, the back of the car swings around.
"The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." -George Orwell


TXGOAT2
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Re: Help with wood trim - not T

Post by TXGOAT2 » Wed May 05, 2021 1:02 pm

Re: Lincoln: More pressure in rear tires might help handling.


Dan Haynes
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Re: Help with wood trim - not T

Post by Dan Haynes » Wed May 05, 2021 10:25 pm

Higher than the recommended pressure makes the windows rattle in the doors.

I just let the rear end sway from side to side. It did it when it was new, it still does it.
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Re: Help with wood trim - not T

Post by TRDxB2 » Thu May 06, 2021 2:47 am

Here are some references that might help
From about 1880 through the 1920s, “a lot of the woodwork was finished with what we call orange shellac,” says Bruce Johnson, a spokesman for Minwax and the author of The Weekend Refinisher and other books on woodwork. “It didn’t matter what kind of wood it was.”
https://www.oldhouseonline.com/repairs- ... rk-floors/
https://www.houzz.com/discussions/68857 ... 20-s-house
The past is a great place and I don't want to erase it or to regret it, but I don't want to be its prisoner either.
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