I recently won a NOS puck of Yardley shaving soap w/wooden bowl off of the Bay. When I got the bowl in box I was pleasantly surprised to find that the soap was in fact NOS/unused. The box had 'Dad' written on it which I actually thought was kind of cool. The one downside however was that both the box and bowl had water damage on their exteriors. It appears to me that it was likely stored under a leaky sink.
So after much debate I decided I'd try to clean up the bowl.
First I removed the puck of the precious Yardley soap. Then I very carefully removed the label from the lid. I was able to remove it in its entirety. Once the soap and label were both removed I proceeded to thoroughly clean both the lid and bowl. Once they were nice and clean I let them dry overnight.
The next day I decided I didn't care for the au natural appearance of the unfinished bowl and I was worried that with regular use it would go back to a sorry state.
So I proceded to thoroughly sand it smooth inside and out. Once I was satisfied with the feel of the bowl I proceeded to give it eight coats of varnish.
My last two steps were to replace the label on the bowl and clear coat (Poly) over the label sealing it in place.
Below are pictures of the process from start to finish minus the clear coat. After it dries thoroughly I'll try and come back here and post one last final picture.
So, what do you think?
So after much debate I decided I'd try to clean up the bowl.
First I removed the puck of the precious Yardley soap. Then I very carefully removed the label from the lid. I was able to remove it in its entirety. Once the soap and label were both removed I proceeded to thoroughly clean both the lid and bowl. Once they were nice and clean I let them dry overnight.
The next day I decided I didn't care for the au natural appearance of the unfinished bowl and I was worried that with regular use it would go back to a sorry state.
So I proceded to thoroughly sand it smooth inside and out. Once I was satisfied with the feel of the bowl I proceeded to give it eight coats of varnish.
My last two steps were to replace the label on the bowl and clear coat (Poly) over the label sealing it in place.
Below are pictures of the process from start to finish minus the clear coat. After it dries thoroughly I'll try and come back here and post one last final picture.
So, what do you think?
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