How to Restore Old Wooden Furniture

Old or antique furniture can have sentimental value. Furniture might have been passed down to you from your grandparents, which can add meaning and importance.

For some people, having a love for antiques is enough to buy old furniture to give their home a vintage touch. Most old wooden furniture will usually have wear and tear. However, you may come across some that completely need restoring. If you’d rather restore the furniture yourself, here’s what you can do for an efficient restoration.

Ensure you have the necessary equipment 

With every carpentry project, you will need to ensure that you have the necessary equipment, such as:

• Work gloves
• A dust mask
• Paintbrushes
• A proprietary chemical stripper and stripping tool
• A wax polish/furniture wax
• A wax and polish remover
• Fine steel wool with a 0000 gauge
• A sanding block and fine glasspaper
• Wood dye
• Wood restorer/finishing oil
• Lint-free cloth and tack cloth

Prepare to strip the furniture 

Stripping furniture is important in restoration, but it’s ideal to do this outside since it can be chaotic. If you can’t, ensure that your floors and furniture are covered and make sure there’s good ventilation. To avoid damaging the body of the furniture, cover it with a plastic sheet, except for the section you want to work on. After you’ve prepped, apply the chemical stripper using a brush.

Let the layers dissolve 

The next step is to leave the chemical stripper on the furniture for about 5-30 minutes until it has dissolved the finish, which is a mixture of polish and old varnish. However, this will depend on the thickness and composition of the finish. If you find that the chemical stripper hasn’t removed the layers, re-spreading the paste will fix the problem.

Neutralise the chemical stripper 

Using a pad of steel wool dipped in wax and polish remover, neutralise the section you’re working on by following the grain of the wood. However, ensure that you carefully read any labels or instructions before using chemicals. If you fail to neutralise the stripper, it may reactivate, making restoration difficult.

Clean the section 

The next step is to clean the wooden section you’re working on by wiping away any residue. You should then leave the furniture alone for 24 hours. To keep yourself busy, clean away any dirt and old polish on other areas of the furniture, but remember to use a pad of steel wool soaked in wax and polish remover.

Smooth down the wood fibres 

After 24 hours, smooth down the wood fibres raised during the stripping process. This can be achieved by using a sanding block and fine glasspaper. Afterwards, shake the plastic sheet to remove any dust that may spoil the furniture. When this is done, wipe the section with a tack cloth.

Search for any areas with bleached wood 

There might be bleached areas of the furniture from too much sun exposure. To tackle this problem, ensure that you have wood dye in the same colour as the furniture. Use a brush to apply the wood dye, wiping any excess with a cloth.

Apply finishing oil 

When the wood dye is dry, apply finishing oil by using a brush or a lint-free cloth. Leave the oil for 10 minutes and then wipe away any excess before it turns sticky. You should then wait for 5 hours. After 5 hours has passed, rub 0000 gauge steel wool onto the wood. This is a flexible and ultra-fine steel wool with a grade of 0000, and is used to cut back between coats of oil, paint or varnish finishes. If you want the furniture to have a lot of sheen, apply another coat of finishing oil and repeat the process. This will result in greater durability and sheen.

Apply wax polish/furniture wax

For the final step, apply wax polish/furniture wax onto the section. Wait for an hour and then polish it using a lint-free cloth.

These are the steps you can follow if you want to restore old furniture, which hopefully makes the process easier for you. For others, this might be a difficult job, so hiring a carpenter might be the best option. For our carpentry services, take a look at our list here. If you’re interested in buying antique furniture, sites such as Barnebys can help you search. Alternatively, you can browse through our list of furniture shops here.