Hi everyone,
I recently bought a set of dining room furniture (table, 6 chairs and a side board) from a yard/estate sale. It needs work. On the bottom of the chair cushion, it says manufactured by Angelus Furniture, 1927. I am attaching some pictures. Would someone please help me answering some questions?
1) Would you please tell me what style is this furniture?
2) Is this considered an antique?
3) what type of wood is this? I’m guessing walnut but I’m not sure.
4) The finish is really worn out on the chairs, almost down to the bare wood. The veneer is peeling off on some of the chair backs and it will need to be reglued. The big question I have is how I should “refinish” it? I don’t feel like stripping if I can help it because it’s too much work for me. I tried “Restore-a-finish” on some area, but it does not remove the deep scratches. Also on the areas that are bare, it does not cover very well.
I really appreciate any help you can provide me!
Thank you very much!
novice
Replies
No these are not antiques. They were made by a California manufacturer apparently now a retailer, although it looks like there were several reorganizations enroute to the current business. Refinishing will only enhance value, not run any risk at all of hurting value.
The finish is likely to either be lacquer or possibly shellac. You can test this fairly easily. If denatured alcohol dissolves the finish it is shellac, and if lacquer thinner works it is lacquer. The appropriate solvent can be used to reamalgamate the finish and remove a fair portion of old, dirty finish. Judging from the pictures this won't go all the way to satisfactory, but if it gets the basic color satisfactorily even then you can add more of the same finish on top to provide a more protective and glossy finish. However, unless the reamalagmation works well--and it may not--you would have to strip, sand and stain before applying a new top coat.
If you want to remove deep scratches you either have to sand sufficiently to remove them (which also means stripping and sanding) or filling them with something like shellac burn-in sticks during the refinishing process.
I'm not going to venture a guess on the style.
Dear Mr. Schoene,
Thank you very much for your reply. I tried to apply Jasco Furniture refinisher in a small spot and it removed the old finish. I guess this product is not the one to do the amalgamation that you talked about. I'll try the shellac and denatured alcohol.
My guess about the style is that around 1920's in California, there were a lot of "spanish revival" bungalows getting built (my house was one of them). I wonder if the furniture was made for this type of house in mind. Anyway, I liked the furniture when I saw it so I bought it.
Again, many thanks for your help and have a great day!
novice
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