Friday, November 12, 2010

How do you refurbish an old antique table?

My mom painted the legs a horrible green color about 10 years ago. Is there any way to get that off? Its one of those old tables with the cast iron claws, its a beautiful table and I just want it back to its old condition.How do you refurbish an old antique table?
Hi...... ok you need to get the paint off without lifting the origional finish....

Do you know if the paint was latex based or oil based....

Go get a bottle of white spirit. This will take a long time but you may be able to save the finish.... DO NOT USE SAND PAPER EMERY PAPER SANDER OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT!!!

Ok... get a rag pure some white spirit on it and wipe one corner of the table.... if you are lucky the paint should start coming off.. Ok what you might see... is that tthe paint lifts or blisters using your fingers peel the paint slowly... its amazing how much paint you can remove this way.... move slowly accross the table... Do not rush and dont over do the white spirit you dont want to damage the origional finish under the paint..........

Have a bottle of OLD ENGLISH LIQUID when you have all the paint removed soak the table top with oald english liquid .. ( Origional is the best). coat the whole table to legs and every were thats wood with this. Do not use varnish or stain... just use the old english You will be supprised on how good it will look..How do you refurbish an old antique table?
ohh wish she hadnt - but take the paint off with paint thinner - cant say it will be original but the less work done on an antique the better -
Apply ';strip eze'; gel available at hardware stores



Scrape off with a SHARP scraping tool. I like the ';T'; top kind, easy to keep sharp with a bastard file.



Sand: 80, 100, 120, 220 gritt, following the grain.



Stain or oil (linseed, turpentine, parafin mixture, no varnish or sealer required)



Varnish, sanding with 220 gritt between coats.



Fun project, need help?
If you're not trying to preserve it as an antique, I'd recommend Citristrip or ReadyStrip. Latex paint is pretty easy. Get a plastic scraper and wait until the stuff is almost dry (3-4 hours). I should come off fast.
My suggestion would be to take it to an antique dealer and ask him for a resource - There's nothing worse than a remuddled antique.

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