Copco Michael Lax Kettle Teak Restoration with Mineral Oil

You might remember that this summer, I scored a Copco Michael Lax designed Kettle for $5 at a church sale.

The kettle was in great shape on the interior, which was unusual because these pieces are often chipped and rusted. However, the teak knob on the lid and teak handle were faded and in rough shape.

The photo above shows the "before" shot.

The wood was very tired-looking and faded.

Using the methods outlined in my Tutorial on Refinishing Wood with Mineral Oil, I rubbed some food grade heavy mineral oil on the handle with a rag. The oil slowly soaked into the wood and I could see an immediate change.

I probably should have sanded the knob down to remove the dark spots, but the richer toned wood certainly helped improve the appearance.

Take a look at the new and improved finished product! Remember from the tutorial that a good cheap tip is to buy mineral oil from your drugstore rather than from a cookware shop where it can cost several times more... You'll get the same great results!

Linking up to Colorado Lady's Vintage Thingie Thursday!

DIY Light Studio Tutorial

I am no expert on photography, but starting up this blog has encouraged me to tinker around with the camera. During the dark days of Winter, I wanted to have the freedom to take photos in the evening when little natural light was available. We decided to read up on making our own do-it-yourself light studio.

Mr. SixBalloons ended up building two models, one of which is made of salvaged plastic white sign board material. We simply taped together the pieces with the white backsides as the interior walls of the photo studio.

Another common style is made with an ordinary cardboard box with the sides and top cut out, covered by some translucent white material. I used some white fabric purchased at a thrift store to diffuse the light.

Taking my Kathie Winkle Corinth Teacup as a subject, I tested out the various lighting situations in the cardboard model as follows:

Light Studio with Diffused Light

Natural Light Only (Evening)

Natural Light, with Camera Flash

Clearly the first photo taken without flash in the diffused light situation worked best at mimicking natural lighting and showing the true colours. The light bulbs do create some glare spots, but it might be worthwhile experimenting with say, two layers of white tissue paper instead of the sheer cloth I used.

Because of the bright and reflective surface of the plastic signboard, I prefer the plastic light studio over the cardboard model. I feel that the light bouncing off the smooth white surfaces diffuses the lighting further, reducing shadows and creating a more natural look. The Primary Bowls below can perhaps show this.

If changing backgrounds is important to you, the cardboard model makes it very convenient and versatile. The table runner I often use as a backdrop to my photos lays easily through the cardboard opening at the top of the box.

The bottom line for me? You just can't beat natural light for freedom when taking pictures. However, I love having a simple home-made alternative that lets me take photos after sundown.

This was a fun DIY project for us, and rewarding because we saved money by salvaging and re-using. The adjustable desk-clamped lamps were collected on various thrifting adventures for about $3 each. We decided it was important to get proper lights and purchased these Philips Compact Flourescent bulbs which output 100w while actually using 23w of energy. We know these will last us a long time.

Refinishing Wood with Mineral Oil

There is an abundance of practical wood items at thrift stores, often in rough shape. They are some of the cheapest used items I've seen!

We couldn't resist purchasing these utensils at the thrift store and trying our hand at restoring their beauty. I think I have mentioned before that Mr. SixBalloons loves restoring little vintage wood items. We found a honey dipper or drizzler, teak bottle opener, and a couple of spoons in pine and bamboo. That cute metal ice cream scoop made its way into the photo too, because of its nice ribbed handle.

The most expensive item above was the teak bottle opener at 50¢. I forgot to take a photo of the wood pieces before sanding but I'm sure you can imagine based on what you've seen in the wild. Simply using some rough grit sandpaper improved the look of these pieces significantly!

Applying food grade mineral oil on wood items in the kitchen is safe and effective. Apparently this is a good way to seal the wood from bacteria and moisture, while preserving its appearance. Using vegetable oil is not recommended, as it can go rancid.

Look at how rubbing mineral oil on the wood brings out a golden hue on the wood and reveals the grain beautifully! We let the oil absorb into the wood overnight and repeated a couple of times.

My best tip is to purchase "Heavy" Mineral Oil from a drugstore. This is safe for consumption and can be used on your kitchen goods. A similar product carried by my local Williams-Sonoma store in Vancouver is marketed towards kitchen cutting boards and utensils but was about four times the price!