How to Repair and Restore Furniture

 

Do you have a piece of furniture you love but is beginning to show signs of wear? The good news is, you can restore it to its former glory. Not only will you be breathing a new life into an old piece of furniture, you will also be saving the item from a landfill. Furniture restoration is more than just a facelift, it entails getting the old furniture as close to its original condition as possible.

                                                             

Safety measures

Before embarking on a repair and restoration project, take precautionary measures to protect yourself from injuries. Wear safety glasses to protect your eyes. If you are varnishing or stripping a piece of furniture, wear a mask which covers your nose to prevent you from inhaling strong vapour. Needless to say you should also be wearing plastic gloves. Ideally these projects should be undertaken in well-ventilated rooms.

 Required tools

You'll need a couple of items to get good results. The specific type of tools you need depends on the type of project you are working on. In general, you'll require a small hammer, flathead screw drivers which will enable you tighten joints, rubber mallet and some sand paper of various grit sizes. In addition, keep a measuring tape, angle paint brush and some wood glue handy.

                                                                                   

Clean the item you want to repair or restore

Clean the item thoroughly before you start working on it. Sometimes a good cleaning and buffing may be all that it requires to get your item looking great again, especially if it has been neglected for some time and has gathered a great deal of grime or dirt. In some cases, you may even need to apply soap and warm water to ensure it is truly clean. You won't get the outcome you want if it is not thoroughly cleaned.

 Undertaking repairs

Check the screws, if they are still in good shape tighten them into position. Tightening screws can fix rickety chairs and tables but you may need to do more than that if the piece you are trying to fix is wobbly or out of shape. You may need to take the furniture apart completely and use clamps to re-glue the pieces. Then, fill small cracks with putty of similar colour and join small breaks with wood glue.

 Refinishing

Refinishing entails taking off the old finish and applying a new one. You can use a combination of chemical strippers, followed by sanding to smooth out any bumps. Sometimes finishes are stubborn to remove. Take your time to get rid of the old finish otherwise you'll end up with having to do more repair work. It is a good idea to give the piece another cleaning before applying a new stain.

 Make sure you have purchased the correct type of stain which you can apply with a brush after cleaning the piece. There are also wipe-on furniture stains which act like brush-on stains but they are thinner so you may have to put on more than one coat. They are often easier to apply than the brush-on stains and they don't show brush strokes.

 Painting

Occasionally the furniture you want to refinish is not worth staining because the wood is damaged. Painting is a good option for damaged wood so you can always paint the surface if that is the case.

 Final thoughts

Repairing or restoring old furniture to its old glory is fulfilling and satisfying. Just make sure that you can undertake the project without breaking the bank, otherwise you will be better off buying a new piece. However, restoring an old piece of furniture makes it usable again and possibly you would have added some value to the item. This will make it possible for you to sell the item and earn some revenue.