How To Give New Life To Old Wooden Furniture

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Finally, the most important tool of all . . . the one you'll need the most of: patience. All the way through every job, work gently (lovingly, if you can).

PREPARATION

Disassemble the table or whatever as much as you can by gentle means. If its joints and screws are solid, that's fine . . . don't maul them trying to get them apart. Any fastenings that are at all loose should be undone. Old glue, etc., can then be cleaned out, and the parts left separated until the refinishing is complete.

STRIPPING

First of all, wash an inconspicuous part of a piece with soapy water to see what comes off. Sometimes "black paint" turns out to be only water stain, and you're home free. (Never wet bare wood, though, or you'll raise the grain.)

No luck with the water treatment? Then flow on semi-paste stripper, heavily but gently, with a rag swab. Wait an hour . . . and when the chemical has raised the paint, push off the coating (large areas first and details later). Please note: I said "push", not "scrape". The object is to remove the paint without hurting the wood. Use as little pressure as possible, rather than trying to force off the softened gunk. The stripper is the real tool, the scrapers only extensions of your hands.

Stripper left on too long becomes gummy, and most of it should be removed between stints of paint scraping. When almost all the old finish is safely in the goo bucket, ease off the remainder with No. 2 steel wool and rub the piece dry with a rag.

Details can be cleaned with liquid stripper . . . but remember that such a preparation "cuts" differently from—and will not leave wood looking exactly the same as—a semi-paste. To avoid streaks, keep the liquid stripper off large, flat surfaces: let it run only into other detailed areas.

Remove softened paint with wooden scrapers, string, and a wooden-handled brush, let the surface dry, and brush any remaining gunk out of the crevices with the toothbrush. (Don't use the tool with liquid stripper, though, or the plastic will melt.)

Allow the article you're working on to dry for a day or more. Then rub it—with the grain only!—with No. 2 steel wool. (This isn't sanding! You only need to cut the glaze left by the stripper.) Finally, dust the piece well with a rag, giving special attention to details.

FINISHING

If the piece you're restoring isn't streaky at this point, good. If it is, either lighten the dark areas with liquid stripper on a rag or treat the light spots with a few drops of stain applied in the same way. Evenness, not perfection, is the goal.

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