Way back in late 2013 I had spent a hard 3 days sanding the old and yellowed varnish off the walls with a belt sander. Moving a belt sander up and down above my head head hour after hour while pressing down on the surface had taken me to the limits of character building. The sealing would be much easier but would still take planning and effort.
After months of dithering I decided to give Danish Oil a go instead of varnish. Danish oil is a mixture of oils and a bit of varnish that is designed to soak into the wood instead of forming a hard layer on the surface of the wood. It has two big advantages: (1) It is easy to lay, with either a brush or a rag (2) re-coating in the future can be done with a light sanding and application with a rag.
The first step was to clear the room. Down went the curtains and the cuckoo clock, large speakers, and chairs. The only thing that I left in the room was the dining room table. I also removed the covers of the light and power switches.
After some last minute filling and spot sanding I cleaned all of the walls with a rag soaked in mineral turpentine. The next day I brushed on a layer of Cabot's oil based jarrah wood stain, allowing it to soak for about 5 minutes before wiping off the excess with a clean rag. Then over the next 2 days I brushed on 2 coats of Cabot's Danish Oil, leaving the coats to dry without wiping them with a cloth.
I allowed he walls to dry for 2 days then yesterday restored everything including the swinging doors to the sitting room that had been stored in the garage for almost a year.
The cuckoo clock, by the way, is a legacy of my wonderful neighbor May Ellison who passed away less than a year before my return to Australia. The clock is a representation of over-the-top kitsch. It has animals carved around its edges, with an animal with antlers overseeing everything from above. I told Reg that the only thing missing was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Brenda and Stephen had it at their house for a while but found the competition between the 2 cuckoo clocks in the house a bit much so they gave it back to me. I mounted the clock on the dining room wall and have grown to like the sound of the cuckoos throughout the house as well as the sight of the three cuckoos announcing the hour and half hour in unison. Part of the definition of kitsch involves the word "sentimentality" and let's face it, for better or worse there is a dimension of sentimentality in my character. May Ellison loved childish and playful things like garden gnomes, and the cuckoo clock will be a reminder of her and her husband Joe, who was an intelligent and erudite man.
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