Baby Boomer Furniture Restoration

While I was working for a large IT company in Kingston, New York, I had a friend who worked with me in the same department. We got to talk during lunch and he mentioned that his wife has plenty of free time at home, so she picked up furniture restoration work to fill up the time.

She would drive to an old and used furniture shops around town and pick up an old furniture she likes. Then she would bring it back home and start to restore it.

Furniture restoration is a process whereby you want to determine what the original finish on the piece was. Certain finished require certain removal techniques in order for you to be successful in your restoration project. If you use the wrong removal technique, you risk causing a great deal of damage to the furniture.

If the antique wood furniture has been painted, you will be able to tell easily enough. However it can be a little more difficult to differentiate between varnish, shellac or lacquer.

If you are having a hard time determining what the finish is, you can do a small test using denatured alcohol or lacquer thinner in an inconspicuous spot to help you find out what type of finish it is. Once you have determined the original finish, you are ready to start with the actual restoration project.

Cleaning the Furniture

The first and easiest step to restoring your antique wood furniture is cleaning it. You’ll be surprised at what a good cleaning can do for your piece. Things that you may have mistaken for worn out finish may actually just be dirt that has accumulated over time, or a wax build up.

To clean your antique wood furniture, you will need to first buy a wood cleaner. An oil-based wood cleaner and conditioner is the best type of cleaner for you to use. You can buy these cleaners in many different places, specifically hardware stores or furniture stores. These oil-based cleaners will help clean off tough layers of accumulated dirt and wax.

Following the instructions provided by the manufacturer on your cleaning solution bottle, gently start to clean the antique wood furniture with a soft cloth. After allowing the piece to sit for the length of time specified on the bottle, wipe the cleaner off with another clean, soft cloth. You may have to repeat this process multiple times in order to properly and thoroughly clean your piece of furniture.

Next, The Refinishing Process

If your wood furniture is badly cracked, you may have to do what is called reamalgamation. Reamalgamation is basically the act of repairing a marred finished by almost liquefying it and smoothing it out so that the finish dries solid and unblemished.

It is actually a quite easy process to perform and can help a great deal in reducing the need for an entire finishing job. You can purchase a pre-mixed amalgamator from the store and follow the directions on the container to properly reamalgamate the wood.

If you are going to be refinishing the entire piece, you will now need to sand your wood for staining. Using a low grade sand paper, gently sand the entire piece of furniture, making sure that you do not rub too hard. You do not want to create grooves in the wood from the sand paper.

Once you have finished sanding, use a clean, damp cloth and gently clean the wood to remove any dust from the sanding process. Allow the piece to sit and completely dry so that the stain or finish does not trap any moisture in the wood. Now you are ready to begin re-staining or re-finishing your antique wood furniture with your choice of stain or finish.

Once you have stained or finished you piece of furniture, gently buff the surface with a No. 0000 steel wool. Allow the piece to try for a few days, and then buff again lightly with your steel wool.

For the final part of your restoration process, use a hard paste wax and polish the surface until it shines. If you choose to paint your furniture with enamel, make sure and seal the paint with a clear top-coat.

This is something like carpentry. It requires some manual skills, so you do need to have some passions for this work.

Some Payback

You should get at least 10% profit from the sale of your furniture product otherwise you need to review your restoration process and sales promotion. Today it is much easier to market this type of products. You have eBay and other websites you can advertise. You also have your local paper as another option.

This is another indirect approach. Once you have accumulated enough money, consider real state rental units. You may also want to do both and that is fine too.

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