All this debate about the merits of various finishes prompts me to open a new thread about something that has been bothering me for a long time. There are a few very high-end furniture makers whose literature boasts about the fact that they finish their furniture with linseed oil and wax. This finish, it would seem, might look good, but hardly protects the wood at all, and would require regular maintenance, something that few of my customers are interested in. Yet, these companies get really high prices for their pieces and are regarded as the epitome of craftsmanship by lots of people. Am I missing something here? How do they get away with it?
Bob K
Replies
First, they sell in large part based on the cachet of the name.
Second, the customers they mostly sell too, while often "high maintenance" customers in terms of customer service, they are often very light on the wear and abuse problems. They don't do the maintenance themselves, but have a "man" who takes care of the furniture, either the new Moser, or what they grew up with, the old antiques.
Perhaps even the fragile finish generates a stream of service income, as long as the sellers reputation is sufficiently strong that blame for any damage can be pushed back to the customer. (Sam Maloof gets to refinish and repair his rockers, basically on the schedule determined by when the next generation inherits them and wants them spruced up.)
This finish, it would seem, might look good, but hardly protects the wood at all
I agree BUT so easy to FIX!
WG,
You are so right. As I pass down the high street and glance in the furniture shop windows, I sometimes find myself admiring a design but always pulling a face at the grotty finishes. So often they look like someone has melted a plastic sheet over everything.
Oil and wax look good if done well. Nor are they as easy to apply as spraying on those melted plastic sheets, if you are a furniture factory.
And when the plastic sheet stuff is scratched or glass-marked, fixing is likely to require a total sand-down and respray.
Historically, fine furniture was french polished. This is even less durable than oil/wax and requires an expensive expert to fix damage. But it looks good and is fixible without that "start again" factor.
Oil and wax can give a patina more pleasing to the modern eye than FP but is also easily fixable, as you point out - even by Mr and Mrs Average Furniture Buyer. Liberon and others publish easy how-to pamphlets just for them.
Lataxe
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