Restore Heart Rimu Dining Table

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networkn

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#232177 3-Apr-2018 11:53

We have a very nice heart rimu dining set which over the past 11 years has gotten a bit faded from the sun and odd dents where the kids have been rough with it, as it's very soft wood.

I am looking for someone experienced and very good to quote for restoring it to it's prior glory before it gets too far gone.

We are in Auckland. If anyone knows of companies who do this type of work, it would be much appreciated.

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Smpl Mnmlst
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#1987558 3-Apr-2018 12:36

Sorry this doesn’t answer your query - and it doesn’t really matter either way - but is it actually heart rimu? Heart rimu is not a soft wood - it’s hard and dense and known for its toughness.

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networkn

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#1987575 3-Apr-2018 12:44

Well, it was sold to us by Harvey Norman as heart rimu. I am unsure if it actually is.

It's very similar but not identical to this.

https://www.trademe.co.nz/home-living/lounge-dining-hall/tables/dining-tables/auction-1586612305.htm

SepticSceptic

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#1987634 3-Apr-2018 14:03

Check the underside - if you can leave a dent with your thumbnail without too much pressure, then it aint Rimu. If you can shave or sand a bit off, the stuff you sand off would almost be the colour of chocolate drink powder.

Having restored a table with Rimu insets, rimu, as @eracode suggests, is a quite a hard wood. You cant nail it - the nail would bend, or the wood would split.

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#1987636 3-Apr-2018 14:04

@SepticSceptic see the picture above?

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#1987643 3-Apr-2018 14:13

networkn:

@SepticSceptic see the picture above?

Yes, I did. In the last pic the table legs look like pine ...

Just that you mention that the wood seems very soft - you almost need to whack rimu with a hammer to get a dent.

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#1987649 3-Apr-2018 14:16

My son dented it with the blunt end of a knife when he was little by banging it up and down on it.

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#1987675 3-Apr-2018 14:50

networkn:

My son dented it with the blunt end of a knife when he was little by banging it up and down on it.

Yeah, that will probably cause a wee bit of dentage ... but under normal living conditions it wont dent easily.

Have you tried filling the dent with water, and applying a clothes iron treatment with a damp towel in-between the iron and the wood ?

You may need to web search the exact method - it works better for soft wood, but should get some good results with a harder wood.

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#1987678 3-Apr-2018 14:52

SepticSceptic:

networkn:

My son dented it with the blunt end of a knife when he was little by banging it up and down on it.

Yeah, that will probably cause a wee bit of dentage ... but under normal living conditions it wont dent easily.

Have you tried filling the dent with water, and applying a clothes iron treatment with a damp towel in-between the iron and the wood ?

You may need to web search the exact method - it works better for soft wood, but should get some good results with a harder wood.

Yeah, it's dented. HN warned us at the time of buying it, and so did the manufacturer that it was a very soft wood prone to dents.

AIKU no longer in business, supplied it.

I wouldn't try that method myself. I am not sure if I could cope if I made it worse.

eracode

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#1987697 3-Apr-2018 15:11

SepticSceptic:
networkn:

My son dented it with the blunt end of a knife when he was little by banging it up and down on it.

Yeah, that will probably cause a wee bit of dentage ... but under normal living conditions it wont dent easily.

Have you tried filling the dent with water, and applying a clothes iron treatment with a damp towel in-between the iron and the wood ?

You may need to web search the exact method - it works better for soft wood, but should get some good results with a harder wood.

This method is simple to do and does work - but only on timber that is un-sealed - because the water needs to get into the fibres then swell with the steam from the heat, to reverse the crushing of the original bruise. If the timber is sealed/varnished/polyurinated - it won’t really work.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

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#1987699 3-Apr-2018 15:13

Yeah, it's not bare wood. I am guessing it has a stain or something applied to it.

I mean it's a dining table, wouldn't really be very durable if it absorbed liquid.

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#1987701 3-Apr-2018 15:15

networkn:

SepticSceptic:

networkn:

My son dented it with the blunt end of a knife when he was little by banging it up and down on it.

Yeah, that will probably cause a wee bit of dentage ... but under normal living conditions it wont dent easily.

Have you tried filling the dent with water, and applying a clothes iron treatment with a damp towel in-between the iron and the wood ?

You may need to web search the exact method - it works better for soft wood, but should get some good results with a harder wood.

Yeah, it's dented. HN warned us at the time of buying it, and so did the manufacturer that it was a very soft wood prone to dents.

AIKU no longer in business, supplied it.

I wouldn't try that method myself. I am not sure if I could cope if I made it worse.

Yeah - somewhere, something is amiss - it's either rimu that is quite hard to dent, or it's a softwood that is easily dented. It could be a softwood stained to look like rimu.

Try the dent removal on the underside first :-) You may need to make a dent to remove a dent.

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#1987706 3-Apr-2018 15:18

Reading up on Rimu it could be from the sapwood part, but I am going to get someone around to inspect it, if it's not rimu, I'll be seeking redress from the retailer, as we were sold it on the basis of it being Rimu and it cost an absolute fortune.

eracode

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#1987712 3-Apr-2018 15:24

It may well be rimu but what is, and what is not, heart rimu - is a moot point. New/virgin heart rimu is very rare these days and thus extremely expensive. Because it’s so expensive, it’s frequently recycled by demolition yards and even then it costs a bomb.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

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#1987715 3-Apr-2018 15:30

FYI Rimu is not a hardwood, which is actually a botanical term, not a measure of hardness (density). It's a conifer (needle-like leaves) meaning it's classed as a softwood. But Rimu heartwood is moderately hard (high density), with sap and intermediate soft (low density).

As suggested above, you can steam out bruises with a heavyweight damp cloth and the wife's iRon applied to that cloth locally. It's very easy to do. You can practice on a piece of pine - it responds similarly to Rimu.

eracode

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#1987719 3-Apr-2018 15:39

The steaming trick will never 100% reverse a dent or bruise - more like 70-80% but does a pretty good job - depending on the type of timber.

Back to OP: Rose & Heather used to do excellent timber furniture restoration and re-finishing work - you could start by contacting them. Martin Bell used to be the go-to guy there.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

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