Refreshing finish on C27 case

[captouch]

What do you all use to refresh the finish on an old case. This is a pic of my C27 case:



I have and can use Howard’s, but a friend who refreshed another McIntosh case years ago that also showed little grain and seemed tired used (I think) laquer thinner to make the grain come through more and it seemed less like a temporary fix that would need to be redone occasionally and more like a true reconditioning that would last years without further treatment.

What do you all do when you run into a case that’s just old like this?

 

[lbcgav]

I usually strip and refinish with something like Sam Maloof's poly/oil finish.

 

[Refugee]

If you use lacquer thinner, be careful. It can cause the glue to release or raise the grain. I have used it with 000 steel wool to get the old finish off but follow up with dry paper towel immediately and give it time to dry between subsequent passes. If you go back with lacquer, do it outside with a mask - its nasty stuff. It does dry really fast and leaves a very durable surface. You can get it in a spray can with some choices of tint. It has been a long time but there were some products i found that were sold for guitar finishing. Good luck - there are many ways to skin this cat.

 

[captouch]

If you use lacquer thinner, be careful. It can cause the glue to release or raise the grain. I have used it with 000 steel wool to get the old finish off but follow up with dry paper towel immediately and give it time to dry between subsequent passes. If you go back with lacquer, do it outside with a mask - its nasty stuff. It does dry really fast and leaves a very durable surface. You can get it in a spray can with some choices of tint. It has been a long time but there were some products i found that were sold for guitar finishing. Good luck - there are many ways to skin this cat.

What would you do personally on this case? Someone recommended naphtha first to see how it looks after cleaning with that and then go from there.

 

[Refugee]

I would clean first - naphtha is probably good (but try it on the back corner first. Put the solvent on the rag, not the case. back wipe with dry cloth after each pass. let dry for a bit. Then use stain or a dark brown marker for small scratches. Then i would probably see if i could get away with a hard wax and some elbow grease buffing. Really hard to say as I do not do this often.
Less is more, to start. Never start on the top - always on the least visible area.
Then get more aggressive after if that is not enough.

 

[techguy0192]

I would recommend Howard Feed-N-Wax. It has been a few years since I had McIntosh with a case, but I'm reasonably certain that is what I used. That said, I have had very good results using it on speaker cabinets. IMO, the case you have doesn't look bad.

 

[captouch]

I would recommend Howard Feed-N-Wax. It has been a few years since I had McIntosh with a case, but I'm reasonably certain that is what I used. That said, I have had very good results using it on speaker cabinets. IMO, the case you have doesn't look bad.

Yeah, I do have Feed-n-Wax, as well as Restor-a-Finish in different colors and have used them on speakers and cases as well when they look dry or have imperfections that need to be blended with the rest of the case.

In this particular case, it seems a lot like my 2255 case where it seemed like the whatever clear finish was over the actual stain had either yellowed or become more opaque, obscuring the grain.

So I can make it look more wet/hydrated/shiny with those products, but if I want to reveal more of the grain and wood aspects, I feel like I need to cut through some of that old finish and either partially dissolve or “re-flow” it to make it look closer to how I speculate it looked when new.