Basic Furniture Refinishing

QUESTION: I have a 1930's silky oak drop-door desk that has been in our shed for about 20 years.
It has seen a few cyclones and had a lot of weathering and the doors are off and knobs missing.
This desk holds special memories for me as a young child watching my dad working at it. I’d like to refinish it but have no idea where to begin. How hard would it be for a beginner like me to refinish it?

ANSWER: Your desk sounds like the ideal piece of furniture on which to learn about refinishing furniture. For many beginners, refinishing seems easy, but it’s far from it. First you need to decide if the piece needs to be completely refinished or the original finish preserved. Your desk sounds like it may fall somewhere in between.



It’s only been within the last 20 years or so that refinishing products have appeared that make the job less intimidating. However, most people think you have to strip off all the old finish before applying a new one. That all depends on the condition of the piece.

You piece sounds like it’s been through some tough times. Before you do anything, you need to evaluate it. Has the finish been mostly removed by weathering or is it spotty. If it’s the former, then you’ll need to sand it following the grain of the wood with fine to medium grade sandpaper. If it’s the latter, you may be able to just clean it up and apply a new coat of varnish. With refinishing, a little effort goes a long way. The nearer you can keep your desk to its original condition, the better.

Let’s assume the worst. If the finish has mostly been removed by weathering, you’ll need to remove what remains with a good varnish remover. Be sure to buy one that’s water soluble. Even though this takes longer to achieve the results you want, the fumes are mild and cleanup is easy. When using a remover, always brush it on with the grain of the wood. Do a little section at a time, turning the piece on end if necessary to make it easier to apply the remover. Scrap it off with a putty knife, and be sure to have a roll of paper towels handy to wipe up the excess and stripped varnish or paint.

After you’ve completely stripped your desk of its finish, lightly sand it with fine sandpaper. Wrap the sandpaper around a wooden block for support and sand with the wood grain. Be careful not to over sand----just enough to smooth the surface. After you’re finished sanding, wipe the desk with a damp cloth to remove all the dust. Do not get the wood wet.

Once you have prepared your desk for its new finish, let it rest for a day to make sure the surface is thoroughly dry. Dust it off with a dry cloth to make sure it’s clean, then begin to brush on a new finish using a soft-bristle brush and a furniture finish called tung or Chinese oil. Several manufacturers make this, including Formbys, and you should be able to buy it at your local hardware or home center. Apply the tung oil or a piece of white tube sock or other soft cotton material going with the grain of the wood.. The first coat will soak into the newly stripped wood. Let it dry 24 hours, then sand lightly with fine sandpaper. Dust it with a damp cloth again and let dry. Apply a second coat of the tung oil and repeat the process, except this time rub it with 0000 steel wool after it dries. Dust off again and apply a third and final coat of tung oil, but don’t rub with the steel wool this time.



The advantage to using tung oil is its rapid drying capability. Though it will feel dry to the touch in an hour or so, be sure to let it thoroughly dry for 24 hours. And don’t apply it on a humid or rainy day. And here's a tip: Wrap your application cloth in plastic wrap or put it into a Zip-Loc sandwich bag and place it in your freezer. Take it out 30 minutes before you're ready to apply another coat, and it will be ready for you.

Be sure to tune in next week to learn about preserving the finish of a piece of furniture that isn’t in such bad shape.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Articles section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the over 30,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about  world's fairs in the 2020 Summer Edition, online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques and More Collection on Facebook.

Preservation vs. Conservation

QUESTION: I have several pieces of antique furniture that need some tender loving care, but I’m not sure how to go about it. Can you explain the difference between preservation and conservation? And can you give me some tips on how I can take care of my pieces?


ANSWER: Preservation involves keeping an object from destruction and seeing to it that it’s not irreversibly altered or changed. In conservation, on the other had, the goal is to preserve the maximum amount of the original material, in as unaltered a condition as possible.

Furniture conservation and restoration can be divided into two general areas—structure and finish. Structure generally relates to wood---solid, joined, and veneered. The finish of furniture can be painted or varnished.



Antiques restoration can be an arduous process if the goal is complete authenticity. This is particularly true for museum conservators. For them, authentic material is the actual original material of the object. For example, a chair with its original upholstery, even if it is faded and shredded, is authentic for the conservator and possesses historic value even though it may not be exhibitable. The same chair can be "restored" and looking as it did when new, with replacement fabric copied from the original weave and colors, and upholstered according to the known design of that particular piece of furniture.

Some pieces of furniture, especially those constructed of harder woods, such as walnut, mahogany, maple, oak, or cherry, may only need to have their surface finish preserved. In the case of furniture made of these woods, there may be enough of the original finish left to restore the piece rather than refinish it.

Before doing anything, study your piece. Is the finish pretty much intact? Does the piece have a nice patina? Is the piece more than 100 years old? If you answered yes to even one of these questions, then you should do your best to preserve the original finish of your piece.

The first step in preservation is cleaning. Furniture gets dirty, even grimy over time. Before you can apply a new finish, you need to get rid of all the accumulated dirt and grease that often make it difficult to tell what kind of wood the piece of furniture is made of. Grime can also hide the fine lines of inlay and marquetry. Believe it or not, using lemon oil, a popular furniture polish, can do more harm than good. Since its made of a light petroleum oil and some paraffin wax, the wood doesn’t absorb it. Instead, it acts as a surface dust catcher.

One of the best products for cleaning wood, especially furniture, is Murphy’s Oil Soap. Today, it’s also in a spray bottle, but in case you can’t find it that way, you can make your own cleaning solution by mixing a capful of Murphy’s in a spray bottle of water. For this, you can use any empty spray cleaner bottle, as long as you wash it out thoroughly first. Since water will loosen any glued joint, and also tends to raise the grain of the wood, you don’t’ want to use very much. An old washcloth will do quite well for cleaning.

Spray the Murphy’s on a damp washcloth and then rub it on the surface of the furniture. Rinse the cloth when it gets to dirty. Have a second wet, but wrung out, washcloth ready to wipe off the Murphy’s Oil solution, wringing the cloth nearly dry after every few wipes. You can also use a green scruby cloth, sold in Dollar Stores, if there’s hard to remove grime. A stiff-bristle brush will allow you to get the dirt out of carved and turned areas. The secret is to clean only a small area at a time–one leg of a chair, one part of a chest, and so on. After you clean an area, wipe it dry with an old face towel. Be sure to wash out all your cloths or use others as you progress, especially on a large piece of furniture. After you have finished cleaning your piece of furniture, give it a final wipe with a clean cotton rag and set it aside to dry for 24 hours.

All this cleaning may cause joints to loosen, so be sure to check the structural integrity of your piece before applying a new finish. If joints need to be tightened or reglued, do so before applying a new finish.

Now you’re ready to apply a new finish. You can either use plain tung oil or a product like Minwax® Water-Based WoodSheen® which is a water-soluble mixture of furniture finish and stain that comes in six colors. For a piece that’s got lots of scratches or marks, it’s best to choose a stain color that complements the wood’s original finish.

The final step is polishing the entire piece using a prepared wax like Minwax, which comes in light and dark varieties. Obviously, use the light for woods like oak or cherry and the dark for woods like walnut or mahogany. Apply the wax with a piece of soft cotton cloth like an old athletic sock and after 30 minutes, polish the surface with an old face towel. One coat should do it, but for tabletops, apply two coats of wax.

Rub off the first coat with 0000 steel wool, then apply the second and polish with the towel. The more coats of wax you apply, the more water resistant the top will become. A light polishing once or twice a year will keep your piece in great condition.

There are no short cuts or time savers to this entire process. The work can be slow and at times tedious, but the results are worth it.

To read more articles on antiques, please visit the Antiques Article section of my Web site.  And to stay up to the minute on antiques and collectibles, please join the other 24,000 readers by following my free online magazine, #TheAntiquesAlmanac. Learn more about antique clocks in the Fall 2019 Edition, "It's That Time Again," online now. And to read daily posts about unique objects from the past and their histories, like the #Antiques & More Collection on Facebook.