Questions and Answers that we are often asked about refinishing.
Q. How does your refinishing compare to what I could do at home.
A. The home hobbyist surely can do some refinishing at home and many do. We feel that our experience gives our customers a better finished product. You have no mess to clean up and because refinishing furniture is our passion, we actually enjoy, the great deal of time it takes to refinish furniture, with a loving touch. Your antiques are returned to you complete, and beautiful as they can be.
Q. What is Stripping and what method do you use?
A. We do not use solvents at all unless we are stripping paint.
We do not use "dip tanks" nor do we rinse the furniture with water as this can damage furniture.
Our method of refinishing is done by hand.
Q. Is Painted furniture and furniture previously finished with Polyurethane more difficult to strip?
A. Yes, those finishes require the use of our strongest strippers (not available in stores) and with paint; there is always the risk that it contains lead.
Lead paint poses a health risk and we may turn down a job if we feel the removal will be more difficult on certain pieces. We will always let you know ahead.
Q. After you have stripped the furniture what do you do next?
A. The next process is sanding and staining.
Sanding smoothes out any abrasive areas left by stripping and prepares the piece for staining.
Next we apply stain, which is just the color, not the finish. You pick a color right for your taste and the furniture or we try to match the original as closely as possible. Sometimes the previous stain dictates what color the piece will be.
Occasionally a very dark piece will not strip out light. And bleaches are not always the answer. Sanding out the color is a possibility but only if the furniture has mostly straight flat surfaces. If it is carved or has a lot of spindles or curves it may not be possible to sand.
We've come across these situations before, and our customers have been very pleased our methods of handling these areas.
Q. Should refinished furniture be done in a Satin or Glossy finish?
A. Finish types are glossy, semi-gloss, and satin. Whichever you prefer is how we will refinish your piece. However, older pieces look more original in a satin finish.
Glossy or semi gloss finishes are more for modern furniture.
Q. Do you do Repairs?
A. Rarely does a piece of furniture not need some degree of repair. We do most repairs necessary to return the furniture to it's original state though our goal is not to make the piece look new, we feel it should retain some of its older charm. The degree of repair is always discussed ahead of time.
Q. How is your pricing based.
A. We base our price on hours spent, degree of difficulty inherent in individual pieces, for example; spindles, acanthus, baluster, banding, beading or bevels.
Pricing is also based according to the degree of repairs needed, specialty tools required to complete the project as well as materials used for example; stains, finishes, and sandpaper.
Worried about having your furniture refinished?
Will it destroy the value?
Some people have been told that refinishing antiques will destroy their value. Sometimes there is merit in this approach and care should be taken.
It is true that there are antiques that should not be touched, however; these are few and far between.
Museum quality antiques are usually in mint condition in order to be included in a collection. Many times even in a museum piece, wear has taken its toll and in order to preserve a piece it requires some repair. Perhaps the item is a one of a kind, irreplaceable because of where it was built, or by whom. All this needs to be taken into consideration.
You can do your due diligence in finding out what your antique is before having work done on it. And then, never by someone not knowing what they are doing.
When doing museum work we always discuss the degree of repairs that the curator would like to see done and the reason for the repairs. Every piece is an individual concern.
Most furniture, including antiques that come to us for repair and refinishing are in such condition that they would not be displayed, nor kept at all, unless they had some work done on them. Obviously common sense is the best way to choose what to do with your treasured family memento or antique.
It is our opinion that you are far better to have a piece professionally re-stored so that you will enjoy it for years to come rather than either having it fall apart or putting it in a barn or garage where it will further deteriorate.
Remember even museums have many items restored, cleaned and re-upholstered. They take care in the choice of methods used and finishes and fabrics chosen.
The bottom line is that if you have a piece of furniture and you want to enjoy it for many years, have it professionally re-stored. Remove all of that nasty fabric and stuffing's with all of the little bugs and worm eggs in it, re-glue the joints, refinish it, and reupholster it.
At this point it is like a new chair and ready to use and enjoy for years to come.
questions for Brian or Meda