Project: restoring Grandpa's chess pieces

Note: since I wrote this first post, I have successfully removed the varnish and achieved a very pleasing result. The board has shown up, and I just started oiling the pieces. Also, I've explained why leaving them as-is was not an option

Note 2: The project is officially finished

So in one of the last boxes of childhood stuff I found a set of chess pieces my grandpa had given me.

Something happened to the varnish in the past 30(?) years and they got stuck together. Some of them have pieces of felt stuck in the varnish.

Even though they are an entirely average set of pieces (complete with surprised-looking German knights), I'm gonna restore them

I guess Step 1 is going to the hardware store and asking them what product they'd recommend to strip the varnish off the poor things...

The black pieces don't look too bad...

Are you sure that's the best way to go?  Old battle scarred sets have much more character than new ones.  I'd use a cloth buffing wheel to remove the felt and otherwise leave them alone.  The hardware store is probably going to sell you some polyurethane gloss finish which will make them look like a thousand other sets.  What do others think?

They look good, and would be perfect with a good polished wooden chessboard...

Alan, I'd completely agree with you if they showed a lot of signs of being played a lot. But they show signs of being forgotten and melting into each other  which is not something I'm keen to conserve for future generations.

I'll ask at the hardware store about paint stripper, and then I'll see what's under that varnish. I'm a great fan of matte finishes that show off the grain, so maybe a bit of wax will be the solution.

They literally have pieces of felt sticking to them...

Also, they feel sticky to the touch. 

Leaving them as-is is not an option for me

As for the chess board: I'm getting a chess board my grandpa made, which I'm pretty excited about (he passed a last year, I'm getting the board from a relative).

You know where those marks come from, but no one else does.  Usually chess sets are made from wood that doesn't have much grain.  If it wasn't that expensive a set, the black pieces were probably ebonized so you run the risk of getting an uneven coloration with the paint stripper.  I'm no pro though, and there are many on this forum who really know their stuff.  I know you're anxious to get started, but please wait for a few others to weigh in.  I'd hate to see you ruin your grandpa's set.

And again, a good buffing might do wonders for the set by taking away the stickiness as well as the little pieces of stuck felt.

I don't have time to get started until the weekend anyway, so there won't be any hasty decisions

^ This

DO NOT USE PAINT STRIPPER - PLEASE!

Personally I would suggest washing them lightly with tepid water and a touch of washing up liquid first ( a few drops in 2-5 litres) of water and dry them thoroughly with a microfibre cloth immediately , one piece at a time.

 Okay, I'll try that first, thank you for the suggestion

Wait don’t say you’re gonna restore them yourself...you’re going to some restoration centre right?

I think you need to be very strong now  I'm gonna do this myself.

I've restored an old chair that had similar problems, I'm looking forward to this challenge, and I won't spend a lot of money to get a garden-variety chess set professionally restored, even if it has sentimental value.

Good for you, I usually mess things up so... (breaking things is fine, but restoring them is not my cup of tea)

Thank you for the info, Garret!

Actually nitrocellulose is a lacquer, not a varnish, gargraves, but I'm sure you knew that and the wrong word just popped out.

Apparently, both translates to "Lack" in German, so that difference is lost to me

(just kidding, it's possible to make the distinction in German, with technical terms)

I know

It's got sentimental value and I need a project for long winter nights

But it has tremendous sentimental value and thus becomes worth some effort.

Okay, scrubbing them with soap water didn't do much, so I went for plan B.

First, a pawn sacrifice:

It paid off:

I don't know yet whether I'll leave them like that, but in my opinion, it's a lot better than the messed-up varnish.

So I went all in  

BTW, on the bottom of the box, Grandpa had written his address, and by this address we were able to deduce that the pieces are around 65 years old.

Very clean, indeed!  Personally, I'd go for a nice satin finish with a bit of stain to "warm up" the White pieces.  Do you have plans for the board?