Project: restoring Grandpa's chess pieces

I keep coming back to look, I LOVE the knights!!!!!

 In the US that's called a period.

"There, their, they're" confusion is a pet peeve, especially when I am on mine.

A full stop is what you get when you slam on the brakes.

Your and you're drives me up the wall too.

Nothing personal

They look fantastic, maybe consider giving them about 4 coats of laquer (from an aerosol can) and they would be good for another 50 years!

Well done Sir, I was sure paint remover would have destroyed the black pieces.

As for naming the Knights:

Black - Midnight Sun

White - Desert Orchid

People in to Horse Racing will get those names

Again, great job restoring Grandpa's pieces! I am sure he would be so proud!

I agree, It drives me insane.

But my biggest gripe is:

Their (Their game was incredible)

They're (They are taking the piss letting the clock run out)

There (Did you see the Checkmate on board #1 over there)

Old Grandpa grammar Nazi, that I am.

Actually, it's Madam

I'm quite happy with the result so far, too :-)

I'm currently leaning towards oiling or waxing them...

I get the same gender mistakes all the time.  My name is androgynous.

I am so sorry  

By now, Grandpa's board has made its way to me :-)

It's ... um ... generously sized, with a field size of 5,6cm / 2 1/4'', which is probably a bit too big for his pieces from this thread.

It's got a few stains which can be wiped off easily, and one of the edges is missing.

The interesting thing is that he inserted two pieces of light-colored veneer the wrong way (c6 & d7) which apparently bothered him a lot, but I think it's kinda charming

You want me to move THERE!?

Hahaha, I was thinking about your pieces and the board just this morning!  The board is a little large but I'm sure you can "freshen it up" a bit and it'll be a great companion to the pieces.  Have you decided on how to proceed with them?

I've chosen a liquid wax I'll treat them with  

I'll get started on that as soon as things get quieter after the holidays.

I wish I had seen this earlier, and I didn't read through all the suggestions, so I hope I don't repeat what others have said, but I was in the coatings business for nearly all my adult life and I have a couple of bits of information that you may find useful. Mostly though, I'd probably just clean them and leave them alone.

You said these are not expensive pieces, but even if they were I would urge you:  do not use paint stripper on either the pieces or the board. Most paint strippers in the US are weak due to environmental and health regulations and they contain a good slug of water in lieu of the solvents they used to have.  Since the strippers work by the strong chemicals remaining in contact with the coating for fairly long periods of time, that water mixed in could damage the wood.  This is no big deal on, say wood work, when you can sand down the damage, but the black pieces and the squares on the board are coated with something, too and you can't control the paint stripper to take off the varnish and not the coating on the squares or the black pieces. Furthermore on the pieces, no matter how long the stripper is in contact with the piece, there are tight areas where the coating will not be removed unless you want to get some kind of pick and spend a lot of time with each piece. And then you might have to repaint the black pieces. 

There used to be on the market (I ended up in the industrial end of the business and lost touch with what is and isn't available on the retail market) a few coatings products that you rub onto a prepared, but not necessarily bare surface.  This would require some cleaning preparation, but the finish would be really nice if you take your time and follow the instructions.  I don't think this would work well with the pieces, but you might end up with a really nice board without spending half a lifetime on it.

Whatever is on the pieces, lacquer or varnish, it is doubtless fast drying for production purposes and they were sprayed on. Nitrocellulose lacquers have little solvent resistance so even recoating with a clear coating from a spray can is risky since the fast drying and strong solvents could damage the original coating. It's been a long time since nitrocellulose lacquers were the "go-to" coatings in even the low end industry in the US, but you said this belonged to your grandfather so anything is possible. And if the pieces and board were manufactured in a nation with little or no environmental controls, lacquer is a good possibility.  

If they are varnish, and I wanted to refinish them, I'd clean them up, let them dry, and buy a spray can of varnish and just recoat them. If you have an air brush, that's even better.  Go by a fast drying coating and use it. You can do the same with the board, but test a small inconspicuous area to make sure the solvents in the product don't "lift," i.e. dissolve the coating and make a mess.  Practice before you coat the pieces. 

You can spray the board, but you need some technique to coat the board properly.  You don't just wave the can or air brush or spray gun around hoping for a good result. Ask someone at a paint store for help. 

Clean, clean, clean before you recoat.  There is a sayin in the biz, "Coatings don't stick to dirt."  Actually they do, but when the dirt they stick to comes off the surface, the coating comes with it. 

If you are feeling virtuous, look around for a powder called "rottenstone." It's cheap.  Its super soft and ash-like and although it is technically an abrasive, it is used as a polish on finished wood.  Use the product with whatever oil is recommended usually some kind of mineral oil, mix it with the rottenstone and get it on the board with a clean cloth.  Use small circular motions to rub the board with the rottenstone/oil mixture. Wipe it down with alcohol to remove any residue. The pieces are too small for this. If you do it right, the board will glow. If the coating on the board is varnish and not lacquer or shellac (highly unlikely), water can be used in lieu of the oil, but I think oil does a better job. 

Good luck.  

Sorry to post and run, but I gotta do New Year's Eve Raclette with the family now.

Have a Happy New 2021, everyone <3

Sure enjoy your day...

@Observer1224, the voice of an expert, thanks very much!

@Observer1224 thank you so much for your detailed advice  

On the pieces I already used a German product called Molto Lack Ab which claims to be able to get *anything* off.

It's got the texture of pudding, gets into every corner, and -- and this is my favourite part -- while drying it hardens to a rubbery texture which can be pulled off in large chunks!

(I'm so happy with this product that I might restart another old project: I have an old chair with lots of woodcarving that someone painted with some rubbery paint(?). I tested "normal" paint stripper on it, but getting *that* stuff out of the carvings was a complete mess. I might try the Lack Ab on this, too)

Afterwards there was a bit of a slimy residue which I scrubbed off under water. If you look at this post on page 3 you see the result, which I am quite pleased with <3

I'll oil them for protection and to make the wood look a little less dry.

The board will mostly stay as it is. I'll wipe off the stains and maybe give it a gentle polish. But since replacing the missing edge is beyond my skills, it will remain missing until I think of a better solution.

So, I just treated the pieces with the first coat of Osmo TopOil, and they already look a lot less dry and dead

I can't wait for them to dry

Very nice!  Those look great!