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Saw a 1920s buffet at an estate sale in Tacoma with the weirdest original finish
I was at an estate sale last weekend in the North End of Tacoma, and they had this massive oak buffet from the 1920s. The thing that got me was the finish. It wasn't shellac or varnish like you'd expect. It was this thick, almost rubbery, dark brown coating that felt like plastic. The owner's grandson said it was the 'original factory finish' and had never been touched. I'd never seen anything like it on furniture that old. It was peeling in big sheets on the sides, and underneath, the oak was this beautiful, pale color, totally untouched. It made me wonder what the heck they were using in some of those early factory setups. Has anyone else run into a mystery finish from that era that just doesn't match the usual recipes?
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kevin_adams1mo ago
Wonder if it was some kind of early cellulose lacquer. Those could get weird and brittle over time. Did the peeled pieces feel flexible at all, or were they hard and crackly? The rubbery part throws me.
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kevinjones1mo ago
My uncle used to restore old factory furniture. He called that stuff "catalin" or sometimes "bakelite varnish". It was an early plastic coating they used to make pieces look shiny and new for cheap. It always fails, peeling off just like you saw. Underneath is usually perfect wood because the plastic sealed it for a century. It's a real pain to strip off but worth it.
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