Antique Care, Tips and Techniques
Antique Care, Tips and Techniques
Some antiques have some intrinsic value and some have sentimental value, but either way you need to properly car for antiques if you wish for them to survive intact for the future.
Caring For Your Antiques and Collectibles
Almost everyone is familiar with a piece of wooden furniture that, in use, lasts many many years, even centuries. As soon as that piece becomes dis-used -- emptied, and put into storage -- it suddenly undergoes some dramatic changes, including warping and splitting. An understanding of why this is so can be applied to prevent damage to pieces of wooden furniture, particularly those stored in conditions with little or no environmental controls.
No doubt you have a favorite piece of furniture that bears a conspicuous scar from a careless smoker, a guest who didn't use a coaster for his drink, or a pet that doesn't share your appreciation of fine furniture. Every time you see the blemish, it probably rekindles ill will toward the perpetrator and makes you wish you could undo the damage.
Wood Cleaner & Wax Remover dissolves and cleans old layers of dirt, grime, grease, smoke, old wax & polish buildup, fingermarks and other impurities. Wood Cleaner contains No water and will not raise the grain, harm veneers or remove the natural patina of the wood. You will be surprised at the number of pieces that Don't Need Stripping. The Care of Antique Furniture
We cannot live in comfort and apply the most stringent principles of Conservation to our antique furniture. We can and should be knowledgeable of the damaging elements that, if ignored, will hasten the destruction of the organic and some inorganic materials from which our furniture may be made.
How to Identify Antique Wooden Furniture
When you want to refinish old wooden furniture, the best place to look is the family storeroom: Check the attic, basement, garage, or wherever unwanted furniture has collected. You may also discover a real antique or two -- pieces handed down through the family for generations. Other good sources are secondhand stores, household auctions, and garage sales. With furniture, as with anything else, one person's junk is another another's treasure.
How to Identify Antique Wooden Furniture
Visit your local library or bookstore, and you'll find loads of how-to books on furniture restoration. But don't let the seemingly simple directions and nifty illustrations fool you -- some projects are better left to experienced professionals. Just because you have the ability to restore a piece of furniture doesn't mean you should. The truth is do-it-yourselfers -- from novices to those with years of experience on home projects -- simply don't have the same caliber of resources as trade professionals, may it be training, technical skill, tools or an intuitive eye. Here are five furniture restoration projects that should be left to the pros because the risk of making a mistake just isn't worth it.
Tools and Techniques 1600-1840
Fundamental to the understanding of furniture is an interest in the continuities and changes in the use of tools, and the application of techniques to furniture making.
