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Brown-Saltman Desk And Chair Completed

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Hepcats Haven

This set was in pretty rough shape!

You might remember me blogging about this desk sometime back. Our friend Vic allowed us to buy it because she wanted it to be restored. Though this set needed a lot of work, it had to be done. Brown-Saltman pieces are hard to come by and deserve every chance at becoming new again. The first thing I had to deal with was the re-veneer of the top of the desk and drawer fronts.

The top had burns, water damage, stains and chunks of wood missing.

Since the surface of this desk had wood loss in some areas, I had to fill it before I re-veneered it. You might be saying what should I use for a filler…….Bondo. This stuff is a great filler for projects like these.

Here are the pieces with bondo applied and drying in the sun. Once the bondo is dry I will sand it flush with the surrounding surfaces.

The next step is to rough cut the veneer with excess to allow for trimming and adjustments. Once you apply the veneer glue to the under surface of the veneer and the surface of the desk and those surfaces come in contact, you will not be able to separate them again.

Here is an example of a process used when applying veneer. This is a great help to make sure a good fit. (click)

Once I applied the new veneer I trimmed off the excess and light sanded the edge and all surfaces to prepare for stain.

Next step is to apply the Heywood Wakefield champagne stain. The original look of these desks had a pickled finish. I am not too keen on that finish so I changed it up!

After 4 coats of the Heywood Wakefield stain the desk was ready for re-assembly.

Here they are drying in the late afternoon sun.

The chair was refinished the same way as the rest of the desk, once it was done I sent it over to Bill at B&T Upholstery to recover it in some fantastic teal frieze fabric, similar to the upholstery on our famous pink wing chair. Here are the results:

All I can say is WOW! Thanks Bill, it looks great!

Now with the chair done and the desk re-assembled it, is now time to move it into our bedroom so Mel has a work station when she needs to work. We are pleased with the final results and will enjoy this piece for years to come.

As you can see, we had a piece of glass cut for the top to safeguard it from damage.

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Posted in Restorations, The Makin's Of Our Pad and tagged B&T Upholstery, danish, Desk, eames, Eichler, Help Desk, Heywood-Wakefield, Heywood-Wakefield Company, knoll, MCM, Mel, mid century, retro, Surface, vintage, wood veneer. Bookmark the permalink.

HOW TO: Applying Wood Veneer

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Hepcats Haven

Dont let it intimidate you!

I know from antiquing all the time you come across a lot of great wood pieces that have water damage or chipped veneer. This will usually turn off most collectors/buyers but don’t let it intimidate you. If something catches your eye you should really consider buying it and repairing the surface. The surface damage actually gives you the power to haggle more and get the piece for very cheap in some cases.

Depending on the kind of wood veneer you buy it can be relatively cheap to expensive. There are a vast array of woods to choose from and the grains can blow your mind. Usually the more exotic wood veneers have to be special ordered through a specialty wood dealer. I don’t think you will find veneer at Lowes or Home Depot but I could be wrong. I purchased a 4×8 sheet of Teak veneer (around $200, but I have a lot left over for other projects) from a dealer in Sacramento California to restore the surface of my Seeburg Jukebox pictured below. The original surface of the veneer on this cabinet was not in the best shape.

Keep in mind that the veneer was not this color. I stained it to make it look richer but you could just oil it as well.

Something to remember is that you always want to cut the veneer to overhang the piece of wood you are applying it to. This gives you room for error in case it does not line up appropriately. The surfaces that you are going to apply the glue to need to be completely free of debris otherwise you will see it when the two pieces are glued together. Here are a few things to use to help complete the job:

Remember you have to apply this to the back of the veneer and the surface you are applying it to. Also, you can use just a regular brush to apply the glue to the surfaces.

If you don’t have a router with a veneer trimming bit this is a low cost option. It has a razor that when slid on the edge of the piece you are veneering cuts off the excess.

I have this same roller. This will help to push out any air bubbles that get trapped during application of the veneer. I prefer this tool as opposed to using a flat piece of wood because the wood could mar the surface.

Here is a video from DIY to show how simple it is to veneer something and trust me it really isn’t difficult.