Old oak furniture is particularly beautiful
because each and every piece is unique, including the knots within the wood,
the thickness of the wood, the colour and the texture – and if you buy quality
pieces from a company like Lights
and Furniture they'll last a lifetime. Part of the appeal of oak
furniture is that you can refurbish and renovate each piece, adding new stain
or paint or tightening joints where needed – and it's easier to do than you
might think. Want to renovate that beautiful dressing table? Read on for some
advice.
Work out what needs to be done;
Some oak pieces will need more work than others,
so firstly, you need to identify what needs to be done to the piece of
furniture before you work on the aesthetic. Does it have woodworm? Is it
dented? Are the joints sound? Woodworm can be identified by lots of tiny little
holes with dust around them – and you can sort it out by placing the piece into
the deep freeze. Check the joints – are the legs wobbly? If so, the old glue
might need to be scraped off, the legs taken off and new glue reapplied, or you
might need to re-screw the legs back on. If there are any dents or warps in the
piece, you'll need to flatten them out before applying a finish – as wood
warps, get rid of the dent or warping by applying a damp cloth to the dent,
then put the piece of furniture in the sun for a little while. Alternatively,
apply a slightly damp cloth and a warm iron. This way you'll flatten out the
dent – and this means that you can get on with applying a finish.
Remove the old finish;
If the piece of furniture already has paint or
varnish on it, and you want to apply a totally new finish, you'll need to
remove the old finish first! Wire wool should be your first choice – use a
selection of different grades and you should hopefully manage to scour off the
old finish without using any chemicals. You might also want to use different
grades of wet or dry sandpaper. Keep going until the old finish is gone and you
have a smooth base to start from. Finally, wipe any dust or debris off of the
furniture so that you don't get any dust or dirt in the new finish.
Think about what you really need to do;
Sometimes it is actually better to keep a little
character instead of scrubbing everything away – an old dressing table should
look like it has a bit of character, rather than like a brand new piece of
furniture. You want to reflect the age of the piece, so if there are some
unique flaws that add to the look of the piece, think twice about scrubbing
them away. For example, old ink marks on a desk could actually add a lot of
character. If you like, you could add artificial blemishes or marks using a
specially made furniture stain.
Stain, varnish or paint?
There are many finishes to choose from when it
comes to renovating oak furniture – but the main three are stain, varnish and
paint. If you want to stain the piece, choose a warm oak spirit-based stain –
these stains can actually sink through old glazes and in some cases they can
also get rid of water marks. If you want a varnished finish, brush on some
furniture wax using a shoe brush, brushing in the direction of the grain. Wipe
the varnish away using a soft cloth, then reapply and repeat 2-3 times – you
should be left with a soft shiny finish. As for paint, you should apply paint
to furniture that has been sanded down so that the paint has a solid foundation
to adhere to. Apply in very thin layers, so as not to overload the piece with
paint, and wait for each piece to dry before adding a new layer. Some pieces
look particularly pretty with the natural wood showing through, while others
are best totally painted – although it's entirely up to you. Once painted, you
could sand some of the excess paint away for a country-chic finish.
Finally, remember to always sand, paint, varnish
and more in the direction of the grain. Let the piece dry and then take good
care of it! Look after your oak furniture and it will last for years to come.
Interesting post. I know that when I see renovated oak furniture, it really makes an amazing difference. We had our oak kitchen cabinets redone and it saved a lot of money rather than buying new ones.
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