The quickest way to destroy the value of an antique is to strip off the original finish. The next best way to take a valuable piece of our cultural heritage and make it a piece of junk is to use modern materials such as white or yellow glue and a poly-anything finish. The original finish can contribute to as much as 80% of the value of a fine piece of antique furniture. It is for those reasons that I do not refinish antique furniture, I restore or conserve the furniture using traditional tools, materials and techniques. Modern materials are fine for modern work but they have no place when dealing with historical objects. It is the job of the restorer to re-create history not to change history.
You can never say that a finish could not be saved, any finish no matter how damaged can and should be restored. Not doing anything to certain objects will contribute to the further deterioration and the finish may need to be at least stabilized. Proper restoration work should not show, the materials should match exactly, the original techniques followed for proper execution and there should be no difference except one of time from what was remaining and that which is restored. It is even possible to strip off subsequent coats of paint or finish and still leave the original finish in tact. That may take a considerable time, but there are only a limited number of antiques so the investment is worthwhile. I have restored and alligator cracked finishes that felt like a bucket of gravel. It took several weeks, most of the time waiting for Moses T's Reviver to work but the finish smoothed out. I have striped off 9 layers of paint and left 97% of the original painted and grained finish; the other 3% had worn off prior to the initial over painting. While over painted furniture is cursed by many, the later coats of paint or varnish actually protected the original finish from further deterioration.
Strip off all the original finish, make repairs with modern glue and wire nail, and don't bother matching the species of wood for repairs and finish with a plastic finish and you have forever changed the history and the value of the antique. There are not any more nineteenth century antiques except for fakes, so when one little bit of history has been obliterated, there is no getting it back. It is gone forever, that little piece of the originating craftsman's work will no longer be around for future study. If a piece of antique furniture had a painted and grained original finish, that is how the person that made it intended it to look like. We have NO right to remove and forever destroy their original intentions. They did not want the wood to show that is why they painted it in the first place. Almost always an inferior grade of wood you are left with a pathetic carcass, its history removed and forgotten.
There is not any damaged object that cannot be restored to its original condition. It can be done if you are willing to spend the money and time necessary and you should be willing to do that in order to accurately preserve history for future generations. If you change history by altering its fabric you are cheating those who will enjoy this object in the future of a complete and accurate historical record. It is a big responsibility and at times it is difficult to convince someone that a piece with its original finish, even though that finish might look awful, is worth more money than that object refinished. When people ask if I refinish antiques, I tell them that I restore antiques and then I attempt to explain the difference, usually with success, particularly when they can see a real monetary value of proper restoration work.
A client once brought in a fine Eastlake Victorian settee in black walnut with walnut burl panels, carvings and fine details. It was in two cardboard boxes and a burlap sack, having been in this state since the 1906 California earthquake, no fire damage, the house just fell on it. Some critter has chewed on one front leg and all parts except one of two fine carved ladies head on the cresting rail was missing, they had managed to keep all the parts together for 80 years. The head was carved in the same black walnut and repairs to the front leg required replacing missing wood. The finish was still in relatively good condition and was restored after the walnut was lightly bleached to match the aged black walnut of the piece. Everything was restored to original condition and because the client wanted to have the settee upholstered and to use it in their home special considerations had to be made. An iron framework was made to go around the inside of the bottom of the seat framework, with a small adjustable leg in the middle to help support the delicate framework of this light settee. The metal frame was made to fit tight and no nails or screws were used to secure it in place. The piece was relatively new when it was nearly destroyed so the lines were crisp, it showed no signs of wear and was in remarkable condition considering it was broken into small pieces. Anything can be restored.
Use original style materials when doing restoration. If the piece has slotted screws with blunt points it is inappropriate to use a Phillips head screw developed in 1935. Blunt screws are no longer available but a usable substitute can be made from a longer slotted iron screw and cut off the gimlet point. Brass screws are very rare on antique furniture; even brass plates or hardware was mounted with slotted iron screws.
I could go on and on about this subject, overzealous refinishers both professional and amateur have ruined far too many antiques. While their intentions may have been good, the results are not. Restore don't refinish. Save the original finish at any cost. Match the original materials, don’t make modern improvements, when it comes to antiques there is no improving upon history.
|
|
