essay2

Blue Harbor Refinishing ™

(Formerly Hobbithouse Refinishing)

Omahas' Premier Refinishing Shop

Home News Site Map New content Contact

Topics:

About Antique Furniture

To Refinish or not to Refinish?

C.L Booth

One of the most common refinishing questions is, "will refinishing my antique devalue it"? This is a real hot button issue in the antique business and there are no shortages of opinion on the matter. I cannot help but weigh in as I deal with this issue every day, the caveat being that I am a refinisher, and as such, have a qualified bias.

Let's start with those pieces that, under no circumstances, should be refinished. Imagine you own a banquet table, C.1790, built in Philadelphia by a Known cabinet shop. It is in excellent original condition. the finish is very dark, but the grain is still discernible. A candidate for refinishing? Not on your life. Possibly some preservation work might be in order, but the piece is a very important one and should not be altered.

Now imagine that you own a beautiful Oak sideboard, built in the very late Victorian period, say 1895. It is not an historically important piece and is not over 200 years old, but it is, in a word...perfect. No damage, no checking to speak of, original hardware in excellent shape and only enough darkening of the color to give it that beautiful patina of age. Trouble is, it clashes with everything in your house. Your solution...replace everything in your house to match the sideboard. This piece is definitely not a candidate for refinishing either.

Further imagine that you own a lovely Maple blanket chest from the mid 1800's. The trouble is, it is painted a dull off-white with hand painted wild roses and vines along the borders. The appearance is rather shabby but most of the paint is intact. What should you do? Some preservation at most, or nothing at all. Hand painted pieces from this period border on rare and any refinishing, while improving the appearance, will dramatically reduce its value.

So...

A) no historically important pieces,

B) no mint condition pieces and

C) as a rule, no hand painted pieces.

The above is not exhaustive, but covers the most common scenarios. Other pieces that might fall into the preservation category are a 17th century Scandinavian wardrobe, Asian colored lacquer pieces and most any piece built before 1800 with its original finish still intact. While these pieces might be refinished, most would be better served with preservation work to retain as much of their period appearance as possible.

The types of pieces discussed above most likely do not describe your furniture. If it does, then please read no further...you have been blessed with great fortune. The rest of us own the other 99.99% of antique furniture which has survived (by in large) to the present day (and must contend with the issues discussed in the rest of this article). These pieces were most likely built between 1865 and 1935 and were either bench made or assembled from patterns. Excluding those precious few in original, mint condition, the rest are potential candidates for refinishing.

The first question you might ask is: What is meant by mint? Mint condition means that the piece shows no wear-through to the wood, little or no checking, is physically sound and original, and the color has not darkened to the point that the wood grain cannot be readily appreciated. if your piece fails one or more of these criteria, your piece is not mint. In some cases, your piece can be brought up to mint if, for instance, your dresser is wobbly and the drawer joints are loose. But more often than not, A piece that has not been maintained has developed more problems than this and requires more than just preservation.

The second question might be: Will I devalue my piece by having it refinished? This is a thorny question and the central issue of the article. Many people have at one time or another heard the old saw, "If you refinish it, it will loose its value". This phrase is repeated by both collectors and dealers for one reason: To keep amateurs from damaging otherwise marketable furniture. All dealers can relate too many stories regarding a piece of furniture that someone was selling that had been mercilessly stripped (sometimes with a belt or rotary sander!) and a coat of Poly brushed on, or some linseed or Tung oil applied. These pieces look horrible and obviously tampered with. They will require a great deal of skilled labor to undo what has been done and bring it back to marketable condition. Dealers and collectors generally run screaming from these pieces.

A professionally refinished piece should have look and feel very close to what the piece looked and felt like on the showroom floor, showing only enough imperfection to reveal its age and clearly distinguish it from a reproduction. If there is checking shadow on the veneer, it should be left, if the veneer shows production lines from a dull veneer knife, they can be minimized, but not removed etc etc...Dealers dream of these pieces and so do collectors. In fact, Professionally restored pieces (excluding historically important items) often command more in the market than unrestored pieces in average to good condition.

But what if you don’t intend to sell it? What if it’s a family heirloom and will remain in the clan ad infinitum? You then have several considerations:

What is my personal taste?

Perhaps you like the old and worn look. Many people strive for a balance between modern and rustic in their homes and find that an old, worn commode is the perfect item for the sunroom. In that case, congratulations. You need to have nothing done to the piece at the least…at the most have the physical repairs made and some preservation work done. Quite often, in the right space, these pieces can add a great deal of beauty and charm to your home.

But perhaps you prefer the look of finely finished furniture and quickly realize that Grandma’s china cabinet will look shabby in any room you put it. Generally, no amount of cleaning up will bring it in line with the rest of the furniture in your home. Expect to spend some money getting it up to speed. A real professional will spend time discussing all aspects of the job, including your preferences and the best options for the cabinet. Few things look better than a professionally restored antique. Quite often whole rooms are designed around a single piece.

2) How am I going to pass it on?

Silver Bay Trading Co. ™

Report broken links here

View Ryans Baby pics Here