Vintage table restoration ?'s.

J

Josue

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Hello all! New to this forum. I didn't see a "welcome" section to introduce myself, so I'll just throw out a little background story real quick...

I'm 30, and I've been around billiards since I was very little. My dad used to be big into leagues and just playing in general since he was young as well. He never cared for all the smoking/drinking/gambling that was associated with billiards in the 60's/70's/and 80's bar scene though, and his dream was to open a "family friendly" pool hall that did not allow any of these items. He finally opened his business in 1994, but sadly the concept never really caught on. He kept afloat for a while, just enough to keep the business going and give him something to do (he didn't really have to work, mom made enough to support us all) but once my mom started putting their own money into the business, they decided to pull the plug in 2004.

Some of my greatest memories were growing up in that pool hall though! I don't get to play much right now, but my wife and I just bought our first house (been renting for 7 years, ugh) and there's a perfect spot for a table in the basement! My dad kept his 2 nicest tables from the hall, 2 - 9 footers, one is late 1800's, and the other is early 1900's. He doesn't play much on them either, but he still wouldn't give up one of them to me. haha They're probably too nice for me anyway, my kids would beat them up for sure.

My favorite, and most memorable table from his hall was a Brunswick Sportking. When it hit me that I'd be able to get a table in the new house, I dug around on craigslist, and wound up coming across one pretty cheap! We picked it up last night for $275 (I probably would've gotten it for less, but my dad saw fit to step in and throw out $275 right away, they were asking $300....thanks dad), needing felt, some paint, and a good clean up. I know they're not exactly top of the line, but the sentimental value to me is worth more.

I forgot to take my own pics before taking it apart to move, but here are the pics from the ad.





It's being stored in his basement until we move, and I'm going over there later today to work on his truck, so I'll get better/more detailed pics in regards to the questions I have about fixing this table up. I look forward to hearing your guys' input on this!
 
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Alright, here are the pics and questions...

You can see someone painted over the factory tan-ish color.




This piece is actually cracked, it goes beside the ball holder. I don't know if I can find/make a new one, or maybe glue this one back together?



How about this blue paint that got on the rail? What's the best way to get that off?

 
The rails themselves are dull and very rough to the touch...how can I get the shine and smoothness back? A good buffing?




This was where the logo went originally, but it wasn't there when we peeled this sticker off. Good product to get the adhesive off and not damage the rail?

 
The ball holder has some gouges around it, but I don't think I'm going to worry too much about it, just because I think it'd be an intensive process to try and restore. Unless I'm wrong?



The frame and legs are in ok shape, could maybe use a coat of paint to freshen them up. Any brand/finish recommendations?




And some random pics...




You can see my dad's Sport King in the backround!



And me shooting when I was 12 or 13. lol

 
You can pull many dents and blemishes from wood with steam. After the finish is stripped, get a cotton towel or shop rag soaking wet and lay it on the dent you wish to remove folded into about a 4x4in square. Use a clothes iron turned all the way up hold on the wet rag over the dent. If you use your wife's iron, it will quickly become yours :wink: Keep soaking the rag in a bucket of water and continue to repeat and many rather deep dents will magically raise. If the fibers are cut, then the gouge won't completely raise but will usually improve. The dented areas will usually still be visible after staining and finishing, however, the dent will be gone. Another method if the piece is small is to put it into your dishwasher - the high heat/steam will pull many dents. My wife once caught me "washing" 5 M1 Garand stocks in the dishwasher. I had removed all the racks and had them on the counter. She opened it up before I could distract her and I got an earfull!!

Any remaining cuts can be filled with a combo of superglue and sawdust as this works better than wood putty because it will take stain better due to the sawdust present. I have used these methods on dozens of military gun stocks with excellent results.

Todd
 
Will this method work with dents on top of the rails as well? Like the circular dents to the left of the sticker residue here...



Or will it damage the finish, and then the finish will have to be redone on the whole rail?
 
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