Refinish or Restore Furniture?

Determine if a piece needs refinishing or restoration of the old finish. If it's painted, get out the refinishing supplies, but if it's just grungy looking, try cleaning it first.

Antique Furniture

There are lots of cleaning supplies for antique wood furniture, one good one is Furniture Cleaner.
IF THE FURNITURE IS ANTIQUE, always remember that THE LEAST YOU CAN DO TO IT, THE BETTER IT IS and the antique furniture will hold a much higher value with the least change.

If the old finish is intact and not worn thin, then leave it. If it has worn thin in places, then leave it and add more finish over the old to preserve it.

Polyurethane is not a good furniture finish, it's a plastic coating. NEVER put polyurethane on antique furniture, because you'll never see antique polyurethane for many years to come.

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Dye Powders
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When your stain almost matches the old color,but not quite, you can make a perfect match using these dye powders.

Antique Restoration

Hutch With a Chicken Manure Finish

Some long time customers brought in a hutch all covered with chicken leavings. While closing an estate the wife went to the chicken coop and saw the hutch and remembered it from when it used to be in her grandparents house.

We started restoration of the antique by exterminating bugs with a commercial bug spray, then took a spray bottle of water and softened the chicken manure and scraped gently with a plastic scraper until the big chunks were all gone. We continued antique restoration with paint thinner and 0000 steel wool to clean the remainder of the manure from the nooks and crannies and pores of exposed wood (drawer sides and interior).

We used a liberal amount of lemon oil on the exposed internal wood and as a final cleaning on the exterior, we used a medium walnut color oil stain (We had determined as soon as the wood was exposed that it was walnut) and 0000 steel wool.

Most of the old finish was still intact and we discovered it to be compatible with lacquer so we put several coats of lacquer sanding sealer on, sanding between coats, and several coats of lacquer. We finished the job by rubbing with 0000 steel wool and a good buffing with a soft cloth.

We always use gloss lacquer and rub down the gloss with 0000 steel wool. It gives a real nice sheen appearance.

The lady remembered the hutch as appearing the same as it was in her grandmothers house.

During the cleaning process of the antique furniture restoration we discovered a name and a date in the 1800's written in pencil on a drawer side. The lady remembered the name as a friend of her grandparents, who had made the hutch for them as a wedding present.

During the whole process the only time sandpaper was used, was on the sanding sealer. What little grain that was raised from water laid down quite well with the 0000 steel wool and oil stain and a few little hairs that did stick up were sanded off with sanding sealer protecting the wood.

Antique restoration was gentle, but thorough, and brought a fantastic piece of antique furniture back to life.

Restored Antique Furniture Brings Joy

We heard many stories related to furniture pieces that we did, both antique and newer, and saw many tears of joy over pieces which we restored that people thought were totally beyond restoration.

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