Fast Furniture Fixes
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Mask wood furniture scratches
Furniture refinishers would prefer to have your business, but you can save hundreds of dollars by hiding scratches using one of several inexpensive methods. Drop by the hardware store, and pick up a putty pencil or scratch polish. Make sure it matches the colour of your wood finish. Apply as directed, and presto! The scratch disappears, not your money.
Follow the antique furniture golden rule
Do as little as possible to change the original construction and finish of your antiques. By stripping a finish and putting on a new finish, you can drastically reduce the value of antique furniture. If a chair is a little loose and creaky or a table’s lacquer top is cracking, that’s okay.
Protect fussy antiques without the fuss
Contrary to what the makers of those lemon-fresh, spray-on furniture polishes claim, you don’t need fancy chemicals to clean and protect wooden chests, desks, tables, and chairs, even if they are your prized possessions. In fact, those products can do more harm than good.
A simple regimen of preventive care and cleaning for your wood furniture:
1. Protect the wood from moisture. Use coasters, wipe up spills, and avoid cleaning with water.
2. Dust regularly with a soft, dry white cloth.
3. Wax once a year with a furniture wax—but only if the wood’s finish is intact.
The paste wax, which protects the finish without penetrating the wood, keeps dust from binding with the surface the way car wax makes water bead. Pick a wax that matches the colour of the wood (for instance, a lighter wax for maple and a darker one for walnut). If the wood finish is cracked or rubbed away, skip the paste.
Steam out a dent
A dent on a wooden surface can often be fixed by swelling the compressed wood fibers back to their normal size using moisture and heat. Prick the varnish finish of the dented area several times with a fine pin so that moisture can penetrate into the wood. Then cover the dent with a pad of wet cloth, put a metal bottle cap on top of the pad to spread the heat, and apply a clothing iron on a high setting for a few minutes. Be careful not to scorch the finish. Afterward, when the wood is completely dry, fill the pinholes with a thin coat of fresh varnish.
Furniture refinishers would prefer to have your business, but you can save hundreds of dollars by hiding scratches using one of several inexpensive methods. Drop by the hardware store, and pick up a putty pencil or scratch polish. Make sure it matches the colour of your wood finish. Apply as directed, and presto! The scratch disappears, not your money.
Follow the antique furniture golden rule
Do as little as possible to change the original construction and finish of your antiques. By stripping a finish and putting on a new finish, you can drastically reduce the value of antique furniture. If a chair is a little loose and creaky or a table’s lacquer top is cracking, that’s okay.
Protect fussy antiques without the fuss
Contrary to what the makers of those lemon-fresh, spray-on furniture polishes claim, you don’t need fancy chemicals to clean and protect wooden chests, desks, tables, and chairs, even if they are your prized possessions. In fact, those products can do more harm than good.
A simple regimen of preventive care and cleaning for your wood furniture:
1. Protect the wood from moisture. Use coasters, wipe up spills, and avoid cleaning with water.
2. Dust regularly with a soft, dry white cloth.
3. Wax once a year with a furniture wax—but only if the wood’s finish is intact.
The paste wax, which protects the finish without penetrating the wood, keeps dust from binding with the surface the way car wax makes water bead. Pick a wax that matches the colour of the wood (for instance, a lighter wax for maple and a darker one for walnut). If the wood finish is cracked or rubbed away, skip the paste.
Steam out a dent
A dent on a wooden surface can often be fixed by swelling the compressed wood fibers back to their normal size using moisture and heat. Prick the varnish finish of the dented area several times with a fine pin so that moisture can penetrate into the wood. Then cover the dent with a pad of wet cloth, put a metal bottle cap on top of the pad to spread the heat, and apply a clothing iron on a high setting for a few minutes. Be careful not to scorch the finish. Afterward, when the wood is completely dry, fill the pinholes with a thin coat of fresh varnish.
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