Photo: yvynyl / Flickr

If you’ve got a lovely old piece of furniture you’d like to restore, there are a number of factors to consider before you start hammering away. By drawing up a checklist to start with, you can begin your restoration project fully prepared, knowing what you have to do and how you have to do it. As any seasoned restorer knows, seeing to the repairs in a logical sequence saves a lot of time and money. Read on for some tips.

Furniture restoration in order of tasks

To begin with, the entire piece of furniture should be thoroughly cleaned. This can be done with a very weak water and ammonia solution or with paint thinner. The next step is to remove all previous ad-hoc repairs including wooden braces, indiscriminate nails or wirework solutions. Once you have removed all ‘band-aid’ repairs, you can check the piece for any signs of recent and undesirable decoration.

Check for loose joints, followed by a close scrutiny of the hardware. During this time, look for missing parts or broken bits that will have to be repaired. If the piece has furniture or doors, check for stability and warping. Check the legs and joints and determine if there are any problems with levels and if so, what the cause of the problem might be.

Finally, check for signs of damage to the veneer.

The way forward

Once you have a list of what needs doing, you’ll have an idea of how much time and effort is required to complete your furniture restoration job, as well as what tools you’ll need. One thing to keep in mind though is that if your piece is a genuine antique, be sure not to over-restore it so that it looks new. Keeping the character of the piece will add to its value, while removing all signs of age will have the opposite effect.

Tags: furniture