Restoring an antique printer's tray.

I've been looking for an old printer's tray for a while now. There are always a few on ebay but very expensive. I spotted this sad and lonely example on a carboot sale last week. It looked like it had been in a damp cellar for years, filthy, warped and split. The woman selling it was really rude and unfriendly and generally I would have told her to f..forget it, but I really wanted it so I parted with my £5 - which was probably £4 more than it was worth - and brought it home.

Cleaning it up was a real challenge, I'd say I probably spent 6 hours on it in total, but I really enjoyed working with wood. It felt like I was bringing it back to life.Anyway here's what I did:

I forgot to take a 'before' picture but this after the first soaking so you can get the idea...

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I used Pledge soapy cleaner for wood, but in a much highe concentration than I would use for general cleaning, a toothbrush and a bottle brush.

I used the garden hose on high pressure to try and remove the filthy paper lining clinging to the corners.

I used linseed oil to recondition the wood, it took 2 generous applications, and used cotton buds to work it right into the corners.

 

Ta da! Just need to find lots of teeny tiny treasues to fill it now.