Restoration of a storage chest.

Hello all,  following is what was done to salvage a WW2 Seabees Sea chest with rope handles.

This item was posted in November under “latest finds…”. It was suggested that I not mess with it in the interest of preserving its originality.   Still, I decided to mess with it because of its poor condition.

       This ww2 Seabees sea chest was retrieved from a dank garage at the estate sale of Michael Siliwono who had served as a U.S. Marine sergeant during the Korean War. He earned three Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star,  Presidential Unit Citation and the U.N. Service Medal while squad leader in the first division. This is really irrelevant except to acknowledge a veteran’s passing as the sea chest belonged to F.C. Iannuzzi. I guessed his name was Frank (what else?)  and came up with Frank Charles Iannuzzi (1924- 2016) who served with the Navy in WW2 and is buried with his wife in Riverside, CA.

       The chest is emblazoned with the man’s name in movie title letters, a Seabees decal on the lid and a large decal on the front below the hasp. The Seabee character is the original 1942  graphic which dates the chest.  Mr. Iannuzzi may have joined the service at 17 in 1943, I think. The chest is 30”’ x 16” x 13”, made of plywood and had been finished all over with  “3 lb. orange” shellac which has now oxidized to a dark shade. This is what happens to old shellac.  I happened to have a 28 yo can of the stuff and it is the same color. The finish was particularly thick on the lid where it showed the clear imprint of canvas pressed into it.

         As found on Nov. 10, 2023  the item suffered from a crazed, abused and  oxidized finish which darkened the entire surface including the decals and name. It had bottom rot which softened the wood below whatever had sat on it . Some nasty unknowns were stuck to the base inside.  Of course, mildew. The plywood was sprung and split at all corners. The lid’s rusty hinges were sprung due to splits around the brass screws. The top hasp was missing. Rusty nail points poked out at various places. The back inside rail fell off. The large decal in front had moisture damage to the bottom 25 %.  Small pieces just dropped off. It had rope handles on each side added after other handles were removed because,  I believe, they stuck out. So, then rope.   It was the best thing I had found in the year.

          The work done included removing the the lid and hinges. The hinges were treated with Evaporust. The chest was cleaned out in and out with Simple Green cleaner. Congealed goo was scaped from the insides, too. Then, a liberal dose of Lysol was applied to kill mildew.  The dry rotted plywood inside was lifted up and the layers reglued with Titebond II and weighted down while drying. The plywood sides were glued and clamped to square them up and reglue the split sections along the top and around the hinges on both the lid and bottom section. Quite a bit of polyurethane was used inside to deal with the rot in the bottom.

            Before tackling the outer surface the decals were carefully cleaned with Simple Green. The lid decal and paint was stable and withstood this well. The large decal on the front was quite fragile and could only be cleaned lightly. Even so, many small bits came loose and were lost. It was decided to clear coat the large  decal with polyurethane at this point to stabilize it before proceeding further. When dry the image was much improved. I might have used clear shellac but shellac can darken over time. On the other hand I have a humidor refinished in polyurethane in 1971 which is still exactly the same.

            The general surface was shellac. I assumed the original color was that seen on the inside lid and strove to match that. The sides had a fairly even coat of shellac so they were all treated the same way. I started with a sanding block and 100 grit sandpaper. Next came rubbing with 000 steel wool dipped in denatured alcohol. (gloves and good ventilation required). This helps remove scratches and smooths the old finish by moving the shellac around. After drying,  rubbing with dry 000 steel wool smoothed  the surface. Then, 0000 steel wool brought out the finish further.

            The lid was different.  The shellac on top was thickened and congealed in many spots.There was an imprint of canvas on these thick areas that while nifty would interfere with my goals for this piece. I wished to bring out the pattern of the plywood surface while preserving much of the original shellac.

         Beginning with 60 grit sandpaper the thick areas were sanded down. Then came 80 grit and then 100 grit for the entire surface but not the lettering. Then came the 000 steel wool dipped in alcohol as above, etc. The plywood pattern became visible while all the dings, dents, abrasions and even the canvas imprint remained. Was never able to eliminate the canvas pattern and did not want to.

           The chest was reassembled with its original screws . hinges and rope handles. The finish is mostly original, just thinner. A  piece of cord was added through an existing hole as a lift for the lid. I topped it off inside with original pinups from a Dec. 1941 Esquire. These are in poor condition but salvaged with a clear backing that makes them both useable and removable. The chain was also added to the inside. It came from the cellar of the same estate the chest was from.

           

First off, the chest is yours to do with as you please. 

 

What you have done looks great and hopefully preserved it for another generation. I say, well done. 

Very nice. You did a good job.

A very nice restoration!