Art Deco Magazine Rack

[thunderw21]

I bought this at a junk shop several months ago. I meant to fix it up a bit but didn't get the chance until recently.

It's old. That's all I know about it. I don't know about the paint, it could be original and as much as I'd like to keep it, it's not saveable. It's flaking off. There were also some nails sticking out and wood chipped off which was replaced with putty.

Here it is after a little work but before I sand and paint it. The 'original' paint.

I'm thinking of repainting it a solid blue like the original blue paint with maroon detailing on the sides of the decorative wood.

Wattaya think?

 

[freebird]

Would love to see how it would look stripped and stained, but a nice blue would look nice as well.

 

[Tomasso]

Would love to see how it would look stripped and stained.

Ditto.

 

[Zemke Fan]

If it were me...

This just SCREAMS high-gloss black laquer to me.

 

[thunderw21]

Would love to see how it would look stripped and stained, but a nice blue would look nice as well.

I sanded it several days ago. The wood is nothing special unfortunately. It's more of a cheap plywood than a hardwood. Probably why it was painted in the first place.

 

[Lucky Strike]

This just SCREAMS high-gloss black laquer to me.

Yes! Or dark red.

 

[The Wingnut]

Both! Overall black lacquer with red or maroon edging.

 

[The Wingnut]

Pardon the fevered workings of a delusional mind, but here's a quick Photoshop edit of how it could look...not complete, of course. I am supposed to be working.

 

[dhermann1]

I'd be very curious to see how it looks stripped. There were some pretty nice plywood pieces made in that era that had natural wood finishes. Sometimes they used the plywood edge as a decorative element. Don't dismiss the idea of doing contrasting tones of varnish on it. Regardless, anything that has contrasting colors will really bring out the deco-ey-ness.

 

[David Conwill]

This just SCREAMS high-gloss black laquer to me.

Agreed. Nothing says "machine age" like wood painted to look like metal. Plus, a lot of wood items that were made to be painted in the first place do not take to stain very well.

-Dave

 

[thunderw21]

Pardon the fevered workings of a delusional mind, but here's a quick Photoshop edit of how it could look...not complete, of course. I am supposed to be working.

Ah, I do like that. The red trim in your edit is just as I imagined it. Great minds and all that...

The idea of a high-gloss black is quite tempting but since I've already repainted it blue I'll try that first. Of course, if I don't like it I can always repaint it black.

Oh, and Wingnut, nice job on the photoshop. :eusa_clap

 

[thunderw21]

Some pics of the work in progress.

Wingnut's photoshop gave me a bit of a guide. I knew what I wanted to paint red but it can be a little confusing at times.

Note that the red looks pink in these photos. I've only painted one coat of red and after several more coats it'll look nice and red.

 

[MrNewportCustom]

I was going to say that the original color would be great and that you could apply the tan with a sponge.

I think the red and black looks great. But before you finish it, use a touch of wood putty on the rough spots and sand it smooth.

For a nail that's sticking out, remove it and then put a drop of oil in the hole. For a hole that small, use machine oil - the kind that comes in a squeeze tube and has a needle-type applicator. Looks like a hypodermic needle, but not as sharp and no plunger. Slide the applicator deep into the hole. The reason for that is to avoid getting oil on the outside of the hole.

Then hammer a nail of the same size and type into the same hole. The oil will expand the wood around the nail and keep it tight, without drying up in a couple days. (Wood glue will work, but it doesn't last as long.) I used to do that repair with stripped out lag bolts on furniture I'd been sent to repair. Worked like a charm and my customers never complained about that bolt again.


Lee

 

[Lumelux]

It's very Paul Frankl but probably not. Love the skyscraper look. Cheers

 

[thunderw21]

I was going to say that the original color would be great and that you could apply the tan with a sponge.

I think the red and black looks great. But before you finish it, use a touch of wood putty on the rough spots and sand it smooth.

For a nail that's sticking out, remove it and then put a drop of oil in the hole. For a hole that small, use machine oil - the kind that comes in a squeeze tube and has a needle-type applicator. Looks like a hypodermic needle, but not as sharp and no plunger. Slide the applicator deep into the hole. The reason for that is to avoid getting oil on the outside of the hole.

Then hammer a nail of the same size and type into the same hole. The oil will expand the wood around the nail and keep it tight, without drying up in a couple days. (Wood glue will work, but it doesn't last as long.) I used to do that repair with stripped out lag bolts on furniture I'd been sent to repair. Worked like a charm and my customers never complained about that bolt again.


Lee

I did something a little different but it turned out well.

I removed the offending nails and filled in the bad areas with wood putty. Then I found similar nails and drilled new holes slightly lower than the originals and put in the nails. The wood didn't crack and it's nice and tight again.

Thanks for the tips, Mr. Newport.