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Kingsley Greene writes:

I've just finished my first leather-covered trunk restoration project,
and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I had valuable advice
from both DaveC (Tsar of Trunkdom) & MikeM (Clipmeister),
which helped me thru immensely.

The trunk's inside tray was missing one side, which Mike replaced.
He suggested I scan the liner paper, which I did. I then cloned the
image and printed it on 8.5X11" copier paper, which was about the
same weight as the original paper. I used white glue to attach the
new paper to the replacement side, wrapping it over the edge.

The color of the new turned out to be slightly lighter than the
original, but only to my picky eyes. I did the printing on a
high-end printer, and maybe I would have had more faithful
color on an even higher-end machine.

I ran my little ozone generator inside the trunk for about
a week and that eliminated most of the musty odor.

The exterior:
* replaced missing buckles;
* soaked handles in Neatsfoot oil;
* touched up & finished the wood trim;
* painted the metal strapping;
* replaced a missing caster
* patched old screw & nail holes;
* filled cracks in leather;
* glued down loose leather;
* applied 2 coats of an alcohol/Klucel solution.

DaveC suggested the last step.
Fine bookbinders use Klucel to treat old book covers afflicted
with 'red rot', where the leather's surface chalks like old exterior paint.
Klucel is a cellulose based substance, which seals the leather's surface,
preventing further deterioration, without darkening the color
as much as lacquer or other resin-based treatments.
In the application, I used alcohol, so it would evaporate.

A couple of exciting new things learned on this project,
thanks to Groop!

Kingsley Greene
Upstate NY






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