Helpful Tips When Restoring Antique Furniture

FDT Bureau

When an antique furniture piece is restored, it often drops all significance. This is a tough concept for many people to understand. As our current creation adds from the original work from a master craftsperson, this is like brushing a neon moustachio onto the Mona Lisa painting that Leonardo da Vinci created during the 16th century. Our contemporary neon paint may be fashionable, but it would change the craft of a master.

Authentic antique furniture pieces were created over 100 years ago. The wood was taken from ancient trees and will show a diverse design than our quick-growth differences today. Furniture finishes were manufactured through various processes than our mass-produced variations on the marketplace today. As an example, when a real finish is extracted from 1820's Duncan Phyfe table, it can never be restored. A new facade will always be a neon moustache where the old patina of an aged finish should be.

1. How To Handle Antique Furniture With Woodworm

Image courtesy: Love Antiques

Most people panic on the tramp of woodworm holes, but if there are holes, this does not necessarily mean the woodworm is alive or it is spreading throughout your home. Most people can adequately treat their antique furniture themselves unless the furniture is so severely infected, it is structurally weakened. If this is the case then always seek expert advice from a unique furniture restorer.

If the woodworm damage is scanty and there are the typical small holes, then the best thing to do is to purchase a popular woodworm killing solution as these are very beneficial due to liquids.

2. How To Get Bothersome Paint Marks Off Antique Furniture

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There is nothing more annoying than small splatters of rouge on your antique furniture and mainly if you have unintentionally done it yourself. Various colours do various damage, but the initial thing you must do is as quickly as you see any saturated colour on your piece, clean it off instantly while it is still damp and promptly removed.

If it is an emulsion or acrylic paint, then the soundest thing to do is to get a clean rag and put a small amount of methylated spirit on to the cloth. Place the fabric onto the area for a short period, maybe lay the foundation on top of the paint for throughout twenty and then displace the material.

3. How to Remove Oil or Grease from Antique Furniture

Image courtesy: Diynetwork

If you unintentionally drop oil or butter onto your antique tabletop while baking it can look a bit of mayhem but can also mingle in as it is an old piece of antique furniture, so marks are foreseen. There are a couple of things you can do and which one you prefer is reliant on if you desire the mark wholly removed or just intensified in. If you are pleased to see lines on your antique table top and it is just another mark on the top to go with the rest the try brushing over the stricken area and then over the whole head with good furniture wax. Once the wax had time to evaporate and soak into the wood give the top a good buff up with a fresh cloth.

 On the other option, it is still subtle to give to an expert restorer as you can sometimes do more punishment than good if you do not do it correctly.

4. Scrubbing Handles And Parts On Antique Furniture

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Antique furniture has lots of different metal parts like handles, hinges, key escutcheons, tilting bolts, locks, clash moulds, pulls, brackets and castors. These parts are usually made from brass, copper or iron, and if they have dryness and age.  You can use any component cleaner that can be purchased at a supermarket as these are as good as any other laundry product that we have used in the past.

Apply the cleansing solution with a piece of cotton wool or leave the handles etc. to soak in the liquid for 30 minutes and then clean using a cloth or cotton wool. For seriously rusted element use cleaning liquid with fine line cloth.

5. How To Remove Ink Stains From Antique Furniture

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On antique furniture, primarily old desks and bureaux you can frequently see old ink spots.  The sad thing is that the older the ink stain is the tougher is to shift it. There are distinct things to try to transfer ink stains, and not all are insured, and we always recommend working a small area first before putting it all over the piece just in case it reacts badly with the wood. The first thing to try is to put a small quantity of white vinegar with a cloth onto the ink stain and mildly rub. You can also try to rub a small amount of lemon water with cotton wool onto the ink stain.  Try to put a mix of lemon juice and table salt with cotton wool and rub smoothly into space.

6. Furniture Dusting And Cleaning

Image courtesy: Kullabs

Once you’ve finished your wood furniture refinishing or rehabilitation project, it’s necessary to sustain and protect your piece as much as tolerable. This includes daily dusting and cleaning your item and blocking damage.