Refinishing Stanley Bailey Handles

[Kevin Blunt]

Hi Guys,

I have two sets of handles that have the high gloss shellac/varnish finish on them. Given that they are old, the clear finish is cracking and flaking off and is all scaly looking. What I want to do is strip the old high gloss finish off and refinish them. My question is, what is the proper product to use to strip it off with, and, if I use it, will it harm the colour of stain on the handles underneath? Maybe the wood isn't stained at all, it is only the finish on the natural wood, but I am pretty sure they are stained. Maybe one of you can confirm that for me.

Thanks for your help.

Cheers and Beers,

Kevin

[Mike Henderson]

The knob and tote on old Stanley Bailey planes were made of rosewood. I've never seen one of those knobs or totes with a thick lacquer or varnish on it, unless the previous owner put it on.

If you really want to refinish them, I'd just sand them by hand until you get the finish off. Sand to about 220 grit. If you find that the wood is not rosewood but is some other wood with a stain on it, just stain it again. I've used Old Masters stain "Early American" to good results. (a number of other plane manufacturers did not use rosewood)

If you want to put a film finish on the knob and tote, I'd use only one coat of lacquer - more than that will make them look "plastic". Otherwise, just oil them, or use a three part finish.

Mike

[Frank Desaulniers]

To refinish old Stanley handles I soak them in lacquer thinner (methyl hydrate) for a night. THen I just sand a bit and throw on a few coats of BLO, and a few thin coats of shellac to seal. Shellac creates a film but it's non-slip so works well for handles.

[Kevin Blunt]

Hi Frank,

If you wouldn't mind, I just have a couple questions for you.


When you soak the tote and knob, does it damage the wood, or the stain underneath the gloss finish, at all? What I am thinking of doing is stripping the old gloss on and using a spray polyurethane finish on afterwards. If I understand correctly, basically you take the handles and just put them in a bowl of methyl hydrate and just let them soak overnight? Is there any scraping involved or does the finish just dissolve in the thinner?

My other question is, is there actual stain on the wood underneath the gloss finish, or is the gloss finish just so dark that it appears to be stained? If I look closely, I can see the grain of the wood through the gloss, but it is very dark and I would like to brighten them to enhance the grain in the handles.

I realize that obviously you can't see the actual handles I'm asking about, but in your experience, what have you discovered with regards to stain on the handles?

[Frank Desaulniers]

Hi Kevin,
You're right, I just let them soak in a bowl overnight and the finish completely dissolves. Be careful though, lacquer thinner is somewhat toxic. I sand very lightly to even out the surface (dings etc). On the 4 or 5 pairs of knobs and totes that I've refinished, there was no stain underneath the finish. I think the wood on early Stanleys is Brazilian rosewood, but in any case it gets very dark once you put a finish on.
Lie-Nielsen uses varnish on their handles, and I like the way they feel too. If you want to keep the wood as light as possible water-based poly might be the best option (maybe try a little on the underside to see how it looks). I thought Stanley used lacquer on their old handles, but I'm really not sure where I read that....

[Wiktor Kuc]

There is also good article by Scott Grandstaff on reparing totes and another one on using scrapers for refinishing. Actually, the second article is about making scrapers and he shows how to use them to strip the tote.

http://www.wkfinetools.com/restore/fixTote/index.asp

and

http://www.wkfinetools.com/MUTools/mTools/makingScraper/index.asp

Maybe this will help.

[Ian Gillis]

Lacquer thinner and methyl hydrate are 2 different things. I only point this out because while they will both dissolve shellac, there are a lot of things lacquer thinner will dissolve that methyl hydrate will not. Lacquer thinner consists mainly of acetone with some other highly volatile solvents thrown in.

Cheers

[Frank Desaulniers]

Thanks Ian, it was indeed lacquer thinner that I used for the handles, not methyl hydrate.

[Derek Arita]

There is also good article by Scott Grandstaff on reparing totes and another one on using scrapers for refinishing. Actually, the second article is about making scrapers and he shows how to use them to strip the tote.

http://www.wkfinetools.com/restore/fixTote/index.asp

and

http://www.wkfinetools.com/MUTools/mTools/makingScraper/index.asp

Maybe this will help.
Couldn't connect to these links?

[Mark Herdman]

I have, for a pure user grade tool, bead-blasted the old finish off, and replaced it with nothing, except hand grease through use!
Feels totally different to others I have, but soon acquires a polish of its own.
The wood underneath was just plain beech, so would have retaken stain or other finish.


Mark

[Mike Henderson]

Couldn't connect to these links?
Try a Google search like this: "Grandstaff site:http://www.wkfinetools.com/"

It should give you all of Scott Grandstaff's articles. Actually, anything with his name in it on the Wkfinetools site.

Mike

[You actually don't need the http:// stuff. I just copied that from the URL bar.]

[Stew Denton]

Hi Kevin,

I have just sanded the old totes and knobs then hit them with a coat or two of spray lacquer followed by three or four coats of paste wax.

I have tried different things, but after advise here, and again, trying other approaches, that approach has seemed to work best for me.

That said, the sanding easily strips off the old original Stanley finish, for Stanley planes, but I think they used lacquer or shellac. Varnish is tougher to get off, but a tote is not very large. If you use an oil as a first step in finishing, and the tote is rosewood, the rose wood will often turn very dark, I had one set turn nearly black.

If the plane is a later Stanley, or another brand of plane that used beech, or another lighter hardwood, then the stain and oil followed by finish and wax approach may be needed to darken the tote, if that is what you prefer.

Stew

[Hilton Ralphs]

Here is the link to the Tote (http://www.wkfinetools.com/tRestore/planes/fixTote/fixTote-1.asp) repair.

Very old thread this, Kevin the OP last posted on SMC more than three years ago.

[Frederick Skelly]

Yeah Hilton, its funny how these old threads pop up once in a while. Guessing Derek was searching the archives.

Derek, I use a mild citrus-based stripper, let dry and then sand. Then I put on a couple coats of clear shellac. The resulting finish is just to my liking without looking like plastic. Seems to hold up well during use, too.
Fred

[Doug Trembath]

I just put it in a Ziploc sandwich bag, pour in an ounce or so of Denatured Alcohol, seal it up and let it sit a while. Every one I have redone was shellac, I wiped them down after soaking for a bit to remove the old finish with an alcohol soaked rag. Let them dry, and apply either shellac or rattle can lacquer. Buff with 4/0 steel wool and Johnson's Paste Wax and I'm done. Warm, lovely finish and looks very original. YMMV, of course...

Doug Trembath