Any furniture experts on board?

[ShooShooBaby]

i asked at the hardware store, and the woman said it should be fine to wipe it down with a damp cloth and a mild detergent.

the restore-a-finish isn't going to work, i realized... my vanity is made of different woods on different parts, and is inlaid with other types of wood! no colored treatment for me! i'll probably just clean it as best i can and use one of the oils they recommended.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Nah......go with the -lightest- color of wood on the vanity.....match that....and use it on all of it...

mine has varying colors, although not as obvious as yours, and I just picked the lighter color of the two or three that -could- have been right....

its not -quite- as colored as say hair dye or paint....where copper is not auburn.....as long as you arnt using a -darker- color on the wood it should still help it out.

 

[kcroadrocket]

since this is my first post, i'll try to give you a little advice from a 64 year old guy who has done wood refinishing most of his life.
first thing, most people at hardware stores know nothing about what products will do what or even how to use them correctly. my advice would be to see if you have a furniture products supply house near you. they deal in their products exclusively and know what is compatible with what.
i've never used the Howards, but have refinished many pieces from people who have used it or simuliar products and found that in a few months (or less if used in a heavy traffic area) it's in need of another treatment. i do hand rubbed lacquer finishes and with it, a sealer is applied first, then a topcoat...eqivulent to what you find on new furniture but without the hand rubbing process...unless it's VERY expensive furniture.
i have many customers ask if they should refinish an antique piece and my answer is always "it's up to you, if you're going to use it for everyday furniture, i'd recommend it for the protection value it affords".
as a hobby, i have also restored many of my own antique vehicles and i guess i acquaint that with furniture at times. when i see a rusty piece of metal on an old car, i know it has to be replaced, or it'll just get worse. same with furniture, if it doesn't have some protection, it will eventually rot away.
sorry for the long post. i love this site.
bud

 

[Dr Doran]

Lovely to have found this thread. I have many questions abt antiques and finishes and such, and didn't know if there was a thread like this. I will be posting shortly.

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Just to clarify things, Howard's does not strip and refinish a piece.

It is a kindler gentler first try at making the piece look better -before- resorting to the massive work involved in complete strip and refinishing.

It is -always- worth trying the Howard's first, and seeing what a difference it makes in things without -major work or cost-



http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=23885&page=3


shows you the difference it can make on pieces, without stripping and refinishing.


Obviously, if you have a piece that has been insured or estimated at a certain value etc....and is priceless, then even I would not suggest doing anything yourself. However, most of us buy nice but not -museum- pieces. In these cases, Howards is a -fine- approach and way less damaging then stripping and refinish.

 

[Miss 1929]

It's great stuff, it just sort of re-arranges the finish that the piece came with.

 

[Warbaby]

I'll cast my vote for Howard's as well. I've used it for many years on a lot of antique furniture with consistantly great results.

 

[Dr Doran]

However, most of us buy nice but not -museum- pieces. In these cases, Howards is a -fine- approach and way less damaging then stripping and refinish.

Actually, I don't buy anything. People give me their trashed antiques. And at this point, I have a house full of antiques from these donations. Almost all scratched, dented, stained. I'll use the Howard's and I'll see what I can do.

 

[ShooShooBaby]

alright everyone.... i went and talked to the local hardware store lady, and she told me to just wash it down with a damp rag with a tiny bit of detergent, and go from there. so i did, and then i just used some Old English lemon oil i had laying around. i am THRILLED with the results!! except for some major damage around the edges and some minor wear on the rest of it, it looks AMAZING. perfect for my busy, klutzy, cluttery lifestyle! i just can't believe this piece lived in an abandoned house for the past 15 years. here it is, in a ridiculously large pic so you can see the details:

 

[Dr Doran]

Stunning, Shooshie.

 

[ShooShooBaby]

thanks! i was flabbergasted at the results. not bad for $60, eh?

 

[Miss Neecerie]

Its fab......

Hooray for lovely and cheap new furniture!

 

[Decodence]

I cannot believe you found a piece like that for $60. That piece would be ten-fold or more around these parts. Jealous of your wonderful find.

 

[zaika]

shooshoo...it sure cleans up well!

 

[Laura Chase]

I have a little question, when do you guys think this set is from?

I can probably get it for around $200. It's not exactly what I imagined, what I had in mind was more something like this or this vanity ShooShoo posted in another thread, with a round mirror and rounded corners, like the ones ShooShoo's vanity has (it's amazing!).

I also don't quite like the handles. But nice looking furniture from this era are difficult to find in Denmark, usually they're very bulky and this one is the first vanity I've found that looks elegant.

 

[ShooShooBaby]

laura, i'm not sure the age, but that is a beautiful piece!! i love the curvy part on top! do the handles look original? if not, maybe you can swap them out. i don't know what $200 is like in your money but over here that would be a fair price!

(oh, and the vanity in the link isn't mine... it was just in an antique store and i couldn't NOT take a pic. my new vanity is on the previous page of this thread though!)

 

[Laura Chase]

laura, i'm not sure the age, but that is a beautiful piece!! i love the curvy part on top! do the handles look original? if not, maybe you can swap them out. i don't know what $200 is like in your money but over here that would be a fair price!

(oh, and the vanity in the link isn't mine... it was just in an antique store and i couldn't NOT take a pic. my new vanity is on the previous page of this thread though!)

Oh whoops, yeah, I guess I wasn't very explicit when I wrote that, I know your vanity is the one in this thread, and I think it's amazing.

I don't really think the handles look original, but I'm not sure (anyone?). I was thinking I could find some bakelite ones on eBay and replace them, if I decide to get it. I love the curvy part on top too, I think that's the best thing about it.

I'm curious about the age, I'd guess 30's, but that's really just a bit fat guess, I'm at loss when it comes to 20th century furniture.

 

[Argee]

Figured I ought to bump this thread rather than start a new one on the same subject. My girlfriend and I just finished repairing and refinishing this Kitchen Hutch. It's shellacked. Anyway, we're stumped as to when it dates from.

It's got handles made of some kind of plastic, the door latches are ball catches. The door on the right with the handle on top and hinge on the bottom opens into a metal box (open on the top to the underside of the counter-top). The center door on the hutch also swings down.

one last detail, here's the remains of the label on the back:

the remaining letters look like "öbel-Boe"

There's also the words "Tischler" and below that "Meister", readable lower down. So some sort of German connection there.

any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[BinkieBaumont]

"It looks late 1940's by the look of the etching on the glass"

 

[MPicciotto]

"It looks late 1940's by the look of the etching on the glass"

I'd go with late 40's as well. My reasoning is its has a lot of exposed plywood. Plywood during WW2 and immediately after was a wonder product. Later it started being covered in veneers again like it was pre-war. Also the handle types makes me thing of 40's.

Matt