So you have an old trunk, and you don't feel like spending the five hundred or so bucks it would cost to have us or some other refinisher scrape the skin off our knuckles, breathe in turn-o-the-century dust, and expose ourselves to hazardous, highly flammable stains and finishes, not to mention spending all those fun hours bent over in unnatural positions trying to bend nails over on the upper-inside-top of the inner lid....what are we doing in this business anyway?
We get a lot of e-mail from people asking questions about how to do this or that, so we thought putting a page like this together might help you, and save us from answering 60 messages a day, when we should be feeding the goat and reading to the kids. Children, I mean. This page won't answer all of your questions, but it will get you started. Then, if you're still hung up, you can e-mail us about the details. We promise we'll do our best to answer, if you promise to be a bit patient until we get a chance to respond.
Start in on your refinishing project by trying to figure out what kind of trunk you have. Ask around, or e-mail a picture of it to us. Look for any markings on the trunk, not on the lock (that just tells us who made the lock, not the trunk) and do your best to decribe it in the e-mail. Don't expect any miracles. Your picture will be too dark, we won't be able to tell the trunk from your foot and you'll get mad anyway when we tell you we can't see the darned thing.
You can also ask a local antique dealer about it. If they tell you it isn't worth a flat squirrel, then you know you have a priceless rarity on your hands, or, if they say they can take it off your hands so you don't have to bother taking it to the dump, kick 'em and run. Take the trunk with you.
Get Started Right Here...
- How to Remove Canvas From Your Trunk Plus how to fix up the wood beneath to prepare for applying finish.
- How to Remove Rust and Other Miserable Stuff Cough, hack, wheeze... Get ready for war.
- How to Deal With Odors In the trunk, I mean. I'm not talking about your in-laws here. Age old tricks to purge rotten scents.
- How to Attach Parts to Your Trunk Secrets of nail bending revealed! Thrilling!
- How to Fix Up The Inside of Your Trunk Presents several options for your prized project, including burning it.
- Here's What to Slap on the Trunk for Finish You're almost done, but want to glop the goop to the wood. Here's how.
- Learn More About Who Made Your Trunk! Info on trunk manufacturers and production history. Gadzooks!
- Get Some Parts to Spruce it Up! We make and sell several types of replacement parts for old trunks and boxes.