Antique Oak China Cabinet

China Cabinet Before

China Cabinet After

We acquired this gorgeous oak China cabinet and immediately saw its potential. It was in almost perfect condition, with three mirrors, two glass shelves and two wood shelves. It had the original hardware and needed just a little work to expose its original glory.

Of course, as with all projects, I get "before" photos before beginning any project. Luckily, this large cabinet had wheels, which made it much easier to maneuver.

Other than minor scratches, the cabinet needed little other than touch-up and a good cleaning. I carefully removed the shelves, then unscrewed the angled shelving brackets, each made of brass, as well as the original brass handle and put them aside to be polished. The bowed glass door's molding had a few missing nails, so I used my pin nailer to reinforce the tiny 1/4" molding, holding the glass firmly in place. (I love my small nailer!) This process can be a bit dicy, because the molding holds the glass in place, therefore you don't have a lot of space in which to shoot nails, as the last thing you want to do it break that glass! Once that was done, I cleaned the interior glass first, then the exterior, which showed a lot of dust and smudges, likely from being stored.

I then touched up the minor scratches with walnut stain. To finish the surface, I used boiled linseed oil to bring out the wood's natural beauty. Linseed oil preserves the wood by penetrating the wood's pores to add moisture that is lost over time. It also protects the wood from the elements and makes it easy to keep clean. I love working with boiled linseed oil because it's a reliable way to refinish and revive an old, beautiful piece of furniture such as this China cabinet.

I have a system, my personalized method, to clean anything made of brass. I actually use copper cleaner to remove the tarnish with a toothbrush. When it's really tough, I'll use steel wood or an abrasive pad, which helps remove the old finish. Then I use a brass polish to make everything shine. I've found that doing these steps is better than using only brass polish, which isn't strong enough to remove 100 years of tarnish.

After re-installing the freshly polished brass shelving brackets (with new screws), I installed the polished brass handle. Then I carefully inserted the two lower wooden shelves onto the bottom of the cabinet, finally installing the cleaned glass shelves sideways, which were extremely heavy, into their position on the top two levels. After they were securely in place, I used window cleaner again to remove any smudges while installing the glass. When I stepped back and looked at my finished cabinet, I smiled. I was lucky to find yet another treasure, which will find its way home.