Thrifty Thursday 09: Lane Acclaim & Danish Oil

Hey all,

I know, it's been a while! I've been working on finals, finishing up the semester, and preparing for the holidays; I haven't had much time for projects, let alone time to write about them!

But now that the semester is over and the holidays are all taken care of, I have a bit of extra time to return back to what I love doing.

Today we're going to go over three different projects: two in-progress & one not quite started. Let's start with one in-progress, which will lead into our others.

I picked up this Lane Acclaim coffee (cocktail) table through a Facebook group I'm a part of. It was a total steal, but it needed some serious TLC. These typically go for $450+ out in the wild, due to the quality & durability that go hand-in-hand with the Lane name & design.

Those dovetail joints are to die for! This particular design line is one of my favorites. The dovetails, the tapered legs, the accent dowels... and particularly the wood.

This table had already been stripped down of its original finish. The deep color on the top had been removed, and the center walnut veneer almost blended with the ash borders. There was Scotch tape on it, gouges, scrapes, and some water stains. The legs were (and still are) wobbly, one had an attempted repair that didn't set straight, and it was just generally abused.

But thanks to the internet and the power of Pinterest, I knew exactly how beautiful this table could be. After all, it was "probably the biggest selling table in the world."

Source

After some digging around on the internet, I reached out to my Instagram family for some advice. I'd watched several YouTube videos, and it seemed that Danish Oil was the choice product for refinishing these pieces. I wanted to know if anyone had had experience using the product and if they had any suggestions.

Enter Edmond & Son Salvage; this guy is what I hope to be when I "grow up" in the refinishing world. We yammered on for a few hours about furniture & projects and our mutual love for Mid Century furniture & good projects. He showed me an Acclaim line guitar pick table he had refinished using Danish Oil & sold me on the product. 

Source

Seriously, go take a look at his IG feed. He's blessed with such beautiful finds & does such a wonderful job at keeping the integrity of the pieces alive.

I had read that using stain on these pieces would absolutely ruin them, as the ash border soaks up stain like a sponge. I'd end up having obscenely dark borders with black grain lines if I used stain, and that was not the look I wanted.

Anyhow, I ran out to Home Depot the next day to grab the supplies I needed (aka a few sanding sponges & some Danish Oil). I brought it all home, sanded down the table top (using sponges instead of my orbital or hand sander due to how thin the veneer on these pieces is) and cleaned off the dust.

What I saw did not impress me. Under all of that other damage, there was a giant water stain in the center of the table. It was glaringly obvious; I could deal with the scratches & pock marks & other imperfections but this was huge. It was just this big white mark over the beautiful wood grain and it kind of made me want to scream.

Despite my best efforts, I just couldn't quite shake the stain. This is as close as I got.

I then ran over the whole thing with a 220 grit paper to smooth it all out, eliminating the final remnants of all other damage. I fought with the can of Danish Oil for a good 15 minutes trying to get it open ("child-proof cap" meant "human proof cap" in this case), and then finally put a nice coat on the table using a rag. 

Holy bejeezus. This product is black magic. In this picture, it's still drying, so there are some blotchy spots, and it was late at night, so definitely not the best lighting but HOLY SMOKES the difference is incredible!!

And do you see what I see?

Because I see a color difference you never would have guessed from the original state. I mean, I also see where that cursed water stain was, but I think that's mostly because I know it's there....

I seriously cannot get over the dovetails though....

One coat and this piece was done (aside from the wobbly leg dilemma). How often can I say that? Dansih Oil is so different from stain. It actually soaks into and dries in the wood, versus just adding a layer on top like stain does. Danish Oil also is a one-step process- no sealant or anything needed- as it colors, seals, and protects the wood all in of itself. 

So this got me thinking. I haven't officially finished my incredibly abused Broyhill nightstand. I mean sure, I painted the sides & legs white for a two tone salvage job, but that's what stripper is for, right? I mean, I can get away with stripping it down, sanding it smooth, and pretending that that never happened, right? Right?

Before, when I picked it up at Salvation Army

Why did I do this thing? Why did I do this terrible thing? I'm sure that I could've figured out how to fix it. I'm sure that some Murphy's Oil soap and some steel wool could've made it all ok. 

Now, after I thought I had a good idea but totally didn't

Instead I hastily "fixed" it with white paint, causing myself more work in the end because you know I'm going to have to strip it down and use this Danish Oil magic on it. I don't care if all it is right now is a snake tank stand & blanket storage compartment, it needs to look fabulous.

Craaaaap..... (facepalm)

My only concern is the back lift is cracked along the top of the nightstand, from the edge to about 2" in on each side. Not sure how I want to fix that yet, but one thing at a time, right? 

Then I have this sitting in my storage unit that is begging for a new life. It has beautiful inlays, a sturdy build, and is solid wood. The front panels open up to reveal shelving & small wooden drawers. 

I'm envisioning an entryway table or kitchen island after a good cleaning, sanding, and a rub down with the Danish Oil. I'll of course do a test spot to see if it'll work just as well on this project, but I can't imagine it'll have any issues.

I'm still debating whether or not to drill holes in the bottom of the legs to pop some casters in there, but I think they'd be a good addition functionally, especially for a kitchen island. Movable storage and counter space is paramount in apartments, and is always a great addition for holiday parties. Hello drink station!

I'm hoping that it'll fit my KitchenAid mixer below, but if not, it can always store those awkward appliances like CrockPots! 

Even with all the projects I have yet to do at home (removing holiday decorations, fixing the coffee table legs, the snake tank stand, and general cleaning), I can't stop thinking about getting my hands on this. I keep telling myself to finish the task at hand...we'll see how that goes ;)

Well, I suppose I should get back to cleaning and getting ready for our NYE guests! Hope you all had a wonderful holiday week.

See you soon!