by Frances Stanford

Created on: June 22, 2009   Last Updated: July 14, 2009

Experts will tell you that to restore antique furniture diminishes the value of the piece. However, each piece should be evaluated on its own merit because some pieces may need to be restored if you want to display or use the furniture. A good place to start before you attempt any restoration is to find out the approximate age of the furniture and its worth. It is quite possible you may be the owner of a piece of furniture that has historical significance and by restoring it you will actually be doing great damage to it.

For a rare and original piece of furniture, you have to take a look at the existing finish. Even if you decide to restore it, it is important to retain the finish as much as possible. It may be possible to give the furniture a good cleaning and waxing to give it a rejuvenated look without harming it in any way. Start by inspecting the finish to determine if there are any flaws and whether or not these flaws are serious. The original finish was intended to make the furniture look good and also to provide a protection for the wood.

Painted furniture was very common in the past and just because you have a piece of furniture that was painted does not mean it isn't valuable. It is quite possible that what you see as deteriorating paint may add value to the furniture and you should not do anything to restore the finish.

There are some tips you can use, though, to help you decide whether you should restore a piece of antique furniture. For example, if the paint is flaking off, then it is probably best to scrape off the paint to keep this from happening. If you can find the exact color of paint that was used, you can repaint the furniture to make it look like it did when it was new. Other tips include:

Restoration may be necessary if the cracks in the finish extend all the way through to the wood. Neglecting this could cause further damage that would cause the wood to deteriorate and lower the value of the furniture. If after you clean and wax the furniture the finish is still sticky, then restoration may be a good option. You should consider refinishing if the original clear coat has turned dark and is preventing the true color of the wood from showing through.

Furniture that has unsightly blemishes after it has received a good cleaning could benefit from refinishing. It is important to keep in mind that perhaps these blemishes actually add to the value of the piece and that by removing them you could be lowering this value.

Before you attempt any restoration or touch-ups of antique furniture, you should consult with a professional about the value of the piece and the best way to go about restoring it so that you can retain the value.

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