I am not a big fan of the term Sprint because it connotes the idea of hurrying through. Both Extreme Programming (XP) and Scrum have the notion of time boxing. I mean shoot, one might end up with a 2 thousand dollar telescope box. But hey !, On the other hand if using linseed oil gives a bar stool a value of over a grand, it just might be worth removing the hardware and sanding down that telescope box. Well, I dunno how well that linseed oil would work over top of the original finish, hence the suggestion of just smoothing things out with a light use of steel wool topped off with some good furniture polish. The last time I checked, Moser's bowback stools were retailing for $1075 each. That's a linseed oil finish on a copy of a Moser bowback stool (cherry and maple) that I made more than twenty years ago. He uses linseed oil almost exclusively, and so do I. Take a look instead at the elegant and pricey (some upwards of $10,000) pieces made and marketed by Thos. īoiled linseed oil isn't just for treating decks and corral planks, it's a superb furniture finish. Linseed oil is the best wood preservative, and in treating outdoor wood like decks and fences, there isn't much out there that can preserve the longevity of wood like linseed oil. Other than that, I personally would stay away from the linseed oil and such. So after the steel wool treatment, just hit it with Pledge or something similar. Since this piece is an indoor piece, a furniture polish or wax would be the only thing I would use unless a decision to refinish was made.

Taking lightly to it with some steel wool will get out some of the lesser gouged scars and more than likely improve the appearance. With that in mind, what do you think about the linseed/tung oil suggestion I've gotten from several people? Or, in the alternative, the 50% polyurethane solution recommended by c? Old, but not a mess is more my goal here right now! But I was hoping to find a happy medium between leaving it be and totally refinishing it, since I don't really want it to look new (especially as I'm not going to touch the scope for now other than to possibly regrease the mount). You're right about the finish - it's pretty much toast. Therefor removing the hardware, sanding out the imperfections and then re coating, is really the only way to go if you want it to look new again. Unfortunately, the photos posted of your wooden scope box looks to me like the scratches (at least some or quite a few of them) are indeed all the way through to the wood. I’m completely happy at how it turned out. After using the Zenith product, I then covered the entire wooden case with a bee’s wax/oil product as also described in that other thread. I suspect it will not have to be repeatedly done. I chose the Zenith product because it seamed to be less messy to use than Old English. After the wood filler dried, I used a wood stain on the filler.Īfter getting the top and bottom plywood in secure shape I then used the “Zenith Tibet Almond Stick” that is described in this other thread. It dries fast, so I had to make certain to level it out shortly after applying the product. I used the edge a Popsicle stick to level out the wood filler before it dried. I’ve used this wood filler on an outside window ledge of my house two years ago and it’s still in good shape. This wood filler comes in a can and has a separate tube of hardener to mix with the stuff in the can. Then after that, I used “Minwax High Performance Wood Filler” to fill in at a few areas needing repair on the bottom of the case and a very few spots on the top near each end of the case. I used carpenters glue to glue the very top layer of plywood down. I had to repair two small section of the plywood on the bottom of my case. Use this link and search for the thread 'Classic Tasco wood case restoration.' A fairly recent thread asking a simular question as this thread does. I'm going to save the link in my favorites.

Programs like scopebox