$6 Lensboard for the 'dorff

Hello! My $6.00 Deardorff lens board arrived yesterday, it was one of those lat e night e-bay affairs. It appears to me to be an original mahogany 6"x6"----not a generic plywood. The reason it went for so cheap is probably because it was p ainted red(!) with a blue bulls eye (!!) around the opening which incidently is the correct size opening for my "spare" lens, a 14" APO Artar in an old dial se t compur, thats why I bid on the thing! About a minutes work with Jasco paint r emover and the paint was loose, revealing the original mahogany. Not wanting to leave the paint remover on any longer than neccesary---I was concerned about th e glue being softened---I scooped off all the paint and got the remaining paint remover off. Unfortunately much of the original finish came off as well. Does anyone know what type of finish Deardorff used on thier cameras so I can refinis h my lensboard correctly? I tried the Deardorff Historical Website which refers to the finish as being lacquer but it dosen't seem to me to be the garden varie ty laquer I'd get at the hardware store. As always, I'm grateful for your thoug hts and opinions

Be careful with lacquer, John. In the future, 3M makes an excellent LOW-volatile, LOW-odor product called SAFEST STRIPPER. Good luck.

My dad was a furniture maker back in the old country. Much of his work was finished using cellulose lacquer. The stuff was nasty to say the least and without a doubt highly toxic. Anyway, the way it was applied was like this:

First you had to have a dust free environment. Then after sanding the surface extremely smooth the first thin layer would be applied (with a good brush), going with the grain. After the first coat had completely dried the "nubbies" were scaped off with a flat piece of steel - without taking off the layer of laquer. Then a second coat would be applied - after cleaning the surface for dust. Again, after drying the "nubbies" were scraped off. A third coat - usually the final one - would then be applied. For a hign gloss surface the laquer would be left as it was. For a semi matte finish the surface would be rubbed down with very fine steel wool...

From what I remember from my old Deardorff the surface appeared to have been lacquered and then finished with steel wool...

If you use lacquer do use a mask intended for toxic fumes...unless you have plenty of brain cells to spare...

Thanks for all the tips on laquer. On good days I'm borderline as far as the brain cell matter goes. Maybe a good tung oil finish will do the trick? Or perhaps shellac?