Cleaning and Maintain Wooden Tea Tray (Cha Hai)

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Victoria
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Sun Aug 09, 2020 4:08 pm

DailyTX wrote:
Sun Aug 09, 2020 12:46 pm
Victoria
I haven't tested the finish/glaze to be sure, I have narrowed down to either urethane, varnish, or lacquer. The finish is still in usable condition, so I think re-finish the tray will be a project later down the road due to the tray has inlay of what I believe are bronzes, coppers, and shells. I did re-finish cabinets, tables, sculptures before, but I have never re-finished a piece with inlay. I'll need to do more research to see how to preserve the inlay. As for tea session, I use mostly Yixing pots, and this tray is perfect for wet session. Here is a photo of the tray, it looks a bit shiny because I haven't wipe down the cleaning oil. For cleaning oil I used this product:
Your tray looks really great already just with oil. I would have recommended again Bailey Lemon Polish, even though it’s partially mineral oil, it has other added undisclosed ingredients, plus the lemon scent. Hopefully the lemon scent goes away quickly. Pure tung or mineral oil is better option and food safe. Since you have oiled the surface, if you ever want to sand and seal you’ll need to use acetone to strip the surface of any oils that didn’t penetrate the surface. With those inlays you’re probably better off just applying mineral oil once a year or as needed. The wood looks like mahogany which is very durable. On the center Island you could just use a loofa coaster if you prefer separating the teapot from the wood.

This video shows how to identify what finish was used on wood, step by step.
DailyTX
Posts: 882
Joined: Wed Jul 03, 2019 4:43 pm
Location: United States

Mon Aug 10, 2020 1:47 am

Victoria wrote:
Sun Aug 09, 2020 4:08 pm
DailyTX wrote:
Sun Aug 09, 2020 12:46 pm
Victoria
I haven't tested the finish/glaze to be sure, I have narrowed down to either urethane, varnish, or lacquer. The finish is still in usable condition, so I think re-finish the tray will be a project later down the road due to the tray has inlay of what I believe are bronzes, coppers, and shells. I did re-finish cabinets, tables, sculptures before, but I have never re-finished a piece with inlay. I'll need to do more research to see how to preserve the inlay. As for tea session, I use mostly Yixing pots, and this tray is perfect for wet session. Here is a photo of the tray, it looks a bit shiny because I haven't wipe down the cleaning oil. For cleaning oil I used this product:
Your tray looks really great already just with oil. I would have recommended again Bailey Lemon Polish, even though it’s partially mineral oil, it has other added undisclosed ingredients, plus the lemon scent. Hopefully the lemon scent goes away quickly. Pure tung or mineral oil is better option and food safe. Since you have oiled the surface, if you ever want to sand and seal you’ll need to use acetone to strip the surface of any oils that didn’t penetrate the surface. With those inlays you’re probably better off just applying mineral oil once a year or as needed. The wood looks like mahogany which is very durable. On the center Island you could just use a loofa coaster if you prefer separating the teapot from the wood.

This video shows how to identify what finish was used on wood, step by step.
@Victoria
Very cool video, information aligns with what I read online. The tray looks nice just with oil, so I’ll just maintain it with oil once a while until I have to redo the finish.
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