Restoring old furniture back to its original state is not a simple and quick thing to accomplish. However, with enough effort, you can get back the aesthetic value of your furniture through repairs and modifications increasing durability. Whether you are repairing an old dresser, sofa, cupboard or cabinet, you need more than a facelift to bring it back to its glorious nature.
Other types of furniture such as antiques are more complicated and require a lot of time to restore but with the right process, tools, and products, you should be able to repair them. Use the below tips to guide you through repairing your old furniture.
Check the finish
Check the finish and determine the type of old finish since some finishes are not easier to recognize and applying the wrong coat might make your furniture not to appear uniform.
Finishes like lacquer among many others cannot be easily recognized. In order to know which type of finish was previously applied, test the wood surface by applying some alcohol to a hidden part. Finishes such as shellac come off with alcohol while lacquer does not and only comes off with a lacquer finish.
Cleaning
With regular cleaning and the best maintenance, some furniture can be restored even without undergoing any tough process. Options that one can use to clean furniture include using oil- based wood cleaner to clean the dirt and wax on furniture surfaces or a mixture of warm water containing liquid detergent which is applied with a smooth cloth. The surface should then be cleaned with a dry cloth to avoid the furniture getting wet.
Flaking
Before restoring furniture to its original state, the old finish needs to be removed so that the wood will absorb the new stain and give it a smooth and glossy look. Use a stripper to strip off the old finish removing it from top to bottom. After giving it around 20 minutes the surface should be easier to scrape off using a stripping tool. Apply more than one application in case one does not remove the finish.
Apply safety measures
Repair old furniture ensures the use of chemicals and tools that might put your health at risk. Due to this, the necessary measures and caution should be taken by using proper tools as well as wear protective clothes such as gloves and eyewear in case of chemical splatter. The smell produced by some strong chemicals can also be very dangerous when inhaled. Ensure that the area you will be working on is well ventilated.
Reamalgamation
Once applied, finishes might form cracks which give the furniture a bad look. Reamalgamation involves the use of a solvent to remove any scratches or damages on the furniture surface. However, finishes like varnish cannot be amalgamated so ensure that you know which furniture finishes your old furniture had.
The solvent is applied to the surface using a brush and as it dries; it makes the furniture look shiny. For extra shine, buff the surface using steel wool rubbing along the grain of the wood and finally apply a hard paste wax.
The above tips not only apply to wooden furniture. Other materials like locks or hinges which are part of furniture pieces like iron, brass or copper. Use a metal cleaner for metallic pieces. Get in touch with a Top Upholsterer for more guidance.
Be the first to comment