I was so excited when I saw this trunk come through our doors. Even before we worked on it, it was in beautiful condition. We rarely see trunks come to us in as good a shape as this one was, with that red paint still preserved. In fact, this trunk is in such good condition, that it still has it's original keys! We never see that! From what I can decipher, based on the style and materials used on this trunk, the trunk was made in the mid 1880s. I am sure it was owned by someone who loved it and took great care of it. It was not left outside to rust or have the wood rot. It never experienced a horrible 70's painted 'makeover' and I can hardly imagine that it was ever used as a plaything by little children.
So this post is about a little job today, not a big one. We sometimes need to completely restore a trunk, and take it all the way down to a bare box, such was not the case here. With this trunk we cleaned the exterior with a mild cleaner and steel wool. We drove in and cleated a few nails where they were missing. And we oiled the entire exterior with Tung Oil. This brought out all those beautiful reds in the metal, gave a glossy shine to the bright orange wood, and protected the entire trunk from future damage.
So for those of you who think we just take on enormous jobs, this beautiful trunk is proof that we are happy to work on whatever project comes through our door and we will do our best to make your treasured piece look it's best.
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