I have an old Baptist chapel (1817) with 1st floor balconies on three sides. These balconies still have their original bench seating and box pews designed to hold in excess of 100 people. These box pews have little knee height hinged doors and fold up sections of bench for access. All are made from pine and still have their original stained colour, a dark chocolate brown. I believe this colour originally had a slight sheen which is still evident in a few places but unfortunately many of the pews have turned to a matt finish with age and a few small areas have even attained a white / grey colour embedded into the chocolate brown. They generally don’t look too bad on mass but on close inspection, are all generally looking a bit worn with scratches and a few areas of blistering.Thankfully there is no evidence of any woodworm.
With conservation in mind, does anybody know the best way to restore these pews? I.e. how much should I rub down and what types of stains /varnishes/ shellacs etc should I be using. All I’m looking to do is to lightly rub down and recoat a few small areas where blistering has occurred mainly on some of the upright panelled backs of the benches (probably caused by sunlight) and likewise with areas which have lost a bit of their colour to the white/grey. I also want to touch up any scratches and infill any tiny sections of wood that have chipped away and then give the whole lot a good coat of beeswax polish and buff up to a shine.
It doesn’t have to look perfect just a sympathetic touch up and at the very least to hide the bright coloured scratches that show through the dark brown. Any expert knowledge/ advice would be appreciated.
With conservation in mind, does anybody know the best way to restore these pews? I.e. how much should I rub down and what types of stains /varnishes/ shellacs etc should I be using. All I’m looking to do is to lightly rub down and recoat a few small areas where blistering has occurred mainly on some of the upright panelled backs of the benches (probably caused by sunlight) and likewise with areas which have lost a bit of their colour to the white/grey. I also want to touch up any scratches and infill any tiny sections of wood that have chipped away and then give the whole lot a good coat of beeswax polish and buff up to a shine.
It doesn’t have to look perfect just a sympathetic touch up and at the very least to hide the bright coloured scratches that show through the dark brown. Any expert knowledge/ advice would be appreciated.