Wood Restoration: Steps to Restore Furniture

, iWood Restoration: Steps to Restore Furniture

Have an old fence, or an old desk that you want to replace? Think again. Old wood furniture can be restored to quality and perfection with wood restoration. Believe it or not, many of the wood furniture you own today has been restored from old wood items.

There are many reasons to consider wood restoration on your old furniture. It is cost effective and also a way of keeping something in the family for a long time. Here are the steps you can take to restore furniture on your own and save money from paying a wood restoration business.

1. Safety First

Wear a long sleeve shirt, put on rubber gloves and safety goggles. Wood restoration requires hazardous chemicals and products, so it is important you take these preventive measures. Then make sure to choose an outside place to do the work, so you won’t inhale the chemicals.

2. Identify The Old Wood’s Finish

Apply denatured alcohol to the wood, if the paint clears out, it is shellac coating. Also, if it doesn’t clear out the paint, then use lacquer thinner. If the paint clears out this time it is lacquer coating. If both liquids didn’t cause action, then the old finish is varnish. Pigmented finishes should be easier to identify, and oil and wax can also be identifiable by the lack of shine to surface.

3. Clean It

Scrub the wood with an oil-based commercial wood cleaner. This will remove the layers of dust and wax. If this doesn’t work, then use warm water and liquid detergent. Lightly apply this mixture with a cloth. Once finished, you can dry up the old wood with a soft, clean cloth.

4. Reamalgamation

This process involves using a solvent to buff out any scratches or cracks on the wood. Apply denatured alcohol for shellac or lacquer thinner for lacquer with a brush. As the solvent dries up you will notice there are no longer any scratches or cracks. Finish by buffing the wood with a soft towel. It is important to know that varnish can’t be reamalgamated.

5. Stripping

Apply the stripper from top to bottom of the wood. You will notice the old finish begin to disappear. Use the stripper as necessary and finish off the last 5 percent of old finish with a liquid stripper using a brush. Use the brush to get the corners and apply the liquid stripper again to get the last bits of old finish 100 percent removed.

6. Restoration

First, sand the old wood with a sandpaper, and then clean it using a vacuum and cloth. Choose a finish and apply it using a brush. Make sure to wipe off the excess after letting it sit for five minutes. Second, apply a sanding sealer and let it sit overnight. The next day, sand it again with a 220-grit sandpaper and apply a wood protection liquid.

There you go. Follow these simple rules and give life to an old furniture piece. You will be satisfied by how fantastic the results will be.