While we all love fine antique furniture, only the bravest of the brave would attempt repairs or refinishing. This is a specialised field and unless you are happy to experiment regardless, you should seek out a skilled furniture repair technician who works with antiques.
If you are confident in your abilities and wish to do the refinishing yourself, here are a few essential tips.
- Cleaning - Once all chair parts have been removed, you should inspect each one and clean it up, ready for reassembly. This is not a job to be rushed, indeed some would say antique furniture restoration and repair is a labour of love. There’s a lot of satisfaction from refinishing a set of chairs and doing an excellent job and remembering that Rome was not built in a day.
- Disassembly - You are advised to use masking tape to label all the pieces, otherwise you might find yourself in a situation where you have pieces remaining. It is easy to get ahead of yourself when taking something apart, so do use a system that enables you to remember how the chair is reassembled. When looking to acquire antique chairs UK or the dealers in your area are selling, take a cue from homeowners who search online. They go for the reputable antique dealer’s website, where you will find an extensive catalogue of authentic antique chairs at affordable prices.
- Reassembly - This is the time when things can get interesting and gradually, you will see the chair regain its form. There are some ‘how-to videos on YouTube for restoring antique furniture, which might help. Labelling ensures there are no mistakes and use a wooden mallet to knock dowels into joints.
- Removing Old Finish - This can either be done with a paint stripper or fine-grain sandpaper, which might be painstaking and laborious, especially around joints. Typically, antique Victorian chairs are easy to work with and with the greatest of care, you can prepare the pieces for refinishing. Be careful with stripper and if unsure, consult with a furniture expert, as damage could be considerable.
- Removing Upholstery - You should not attempt this unless you are able to refit the fabric and you should consider a replacement using a skilled antique upholsterer. New fabric is certainly functional, while the padding might also need replacing. If at all unsure, consult with an antique dealer, as they would work with restoration experts who are able to restore all forms of antique furniture. You may prefer to leave the upholstery, which is fine.
- Refinishing - A very light rub with fine sandpaper might be required before staining the wood, which should be done with a small brush and might need a couple of coats when dry, a coat of varnish can be added for protection. Keep the chair away from dust while the varnish is drying.
If all this sounds a bit above your station, you can enquire with an antique dealer who would be able to put you in touch with a professional furniture restorer. If you have no previous experience, you might end up destroying the furniture, and antiques are hardly the thing to be practicing on.
