Furniture is not only essentials, but also a way of creating comfort and coziness. Because of the addiction to its appearance and color, it is sometimes quite difficult to purchase a new headset. At the same time, many refer to the lower quality of new furniture compared to old, and therefore are in no hurry to part with the usual furnishings. Many people know that there are many effective ways to eliminate the shortcomings of old furniture and restore damaged surfaces. In addition, its restoration will help not only to maintain the familiar look of the interior, but also significantly save finances in the family. And today we will talk about how to restore old furniture at home.
Repair of wooden furniture
Before proceeding with the removal of external defects, the product itself must be repaired. Check the strength and presence of connecting fasteners, restore stability. If there is such a need, then stick together the spaced parts. It should be remembered that the glue does not harden immediately. Therefore, it takes time for the product to stick together and fix in the grooves.
Attention should also be paid to the condition of plywood. Over time, small bubbles may appear on its surface, and sometimes parts of plywood even break off. Bubbles are eliminated quite simply. You will need wood glue and a disposable syringe. Glue fill the syringe and fill it into the bubble. Some people prefer to fight bubbles with a hot iron, which is also very effective.
Replacing the broken-off part, you should first align the edges, and then cut the required size piece of plywood and fix it with any furniture glue.
Quite often, old objects emit an annoying creak. It is very easy to rid your favorite chair or cupboard of this drawback. You can make cloth pads according to the size of the joints of the fasteners. An equally effective option would be to impregnate creaking spots with hot linseed oil.
In the event that the creak is published by the metal parts of the furniture, they should be greased and tightened more firmly than the nuts. When restoring cabinets, door hinges must be replaced . If the old screw sockets are too loose, they should be driven into wooden corks with glue.
Preparatory work for the elimination of external defects
How to restore old furniture at home? First of all, it must be carefully prepared. All parts must be washed with warm soapy water; places with threads and patterns should be cleaned with a soap-filled brush. The most stubborn places are cleaned using sandpaper “null”. In this case, it is necessary to work extremely carefully, without pressing or rubbing. Then the surfaces should be dried with a soft cloth and left to dry completely.
Removing old paintwork
How to restore furniture with your own hands? Some have successfully used white spirit to remove old varnish from furniture coatings. In some cases, turpentine is required. The substance should be rubbed until the old polish is removed. After that, you need to walk along the surface with sandpaper, not forgetting to remove the resulting dust. Then, a furniture primer is applied to the cleaned surface. It will ensure even application of the next coat of varnish or paint.
Crack and scratch repair
Over time, as a rule, cracks and scratches appear on old furniture, caused by external damage and wood drying out.
How to restore old furniture at home and rid it of such damage? The usual solution of iodine comes to the rescue. They can just paint over small scratches, changing the color intensity.
Deep white scratches can be masked with shoe polish and cloth. And this is the easiest way. You can also mask damage using mastic. It is prepared quite simply. Take four parts of beeswax and three parts of turpentine. Melt the ingredients and mix thoroughly. The resulting mastic is poured into a scratch and polished with a cloth. Chips on furniture can be eliminated using the same wax mastic.
Cracking is somewhat more difficult to deal with, but it is also possible. Small cracks are cleaned with home mastic, and putty can do great with deep ones. Suitable for this and carpentry, and automobile. Only she needs to give the necessary shade. To get the right color, you need to add a suitable water-based furniture paint to the putty.
Getting rid of stains on furniture
How to restore polished furniture? The main problem of the old polished table, for example, are whitish spots. They appear from a hot iron or teapot, once inadvertently set on the surface.
It is difficult to get rid of such spots, since they are caused by a change in the degree of transparency of the varnish. If the damage is not deep, then rubbing the stain with alcohol will suffice. For deep damage, use mastic to polish the car body . A little tool is applied to the stain and rubbed thoroughly with a soft cloth. The abrasive included in the mastic removes the upper damaged layer, and beeswax polishes the stain.
Surface restoration with wax paste
You can make wax paste for furniture restoration yourself, or you can buy it in specialized stores.
Of course, you need to remember that dark wax is used for dark woods, light - for light. If you wish, you can use homemade wax mastic. How to cook it, we have already written.
The waxing process is as follows: a ball is made of wax, wrapped with a soft cloth (for ease of use) and rolled on a restored surface. Wax in this case is applied in a thin layer. Then rub it with a soft cloth, removing excess. And polish the surface.
Staining and subsequent varnishing
How to restore wooden furniture if there is no varnish and paint in some places? Before you start varnishing, you should decide for yourself what you will cover the damaged surface: stain or paint. Both that and other material are presented in a huge assortment.
The only caveat: when using paint after the surface dries, it is necessary to carefully go over it again with sandpaper, removing irregularities. Experts recommend taking alkyd enamel or acrylic paint for painting . The material should be applied in two to three layers, making time intervals for drying.
There are two types of varnish: matte or glossy. Accordingly, the final result will be different. Before application, the varnish is slightly diluted and applied with the first layer. Allow to dry and then wipe with fine sandpaper. The next layer is again applied and waiting for complete drying.
If you wish, you can also use paint in aerosol packaging, but this process is quite lengthy in time. The paint must be applied in at least three layers, and the interval between applications is 10 hours. And if we talk about where to restore furniture in this way, then, of course, on the street. Or in the workshop, just make sure that the room is well ventilated.
Restoration of antique furniture
How to restore old furniture at home, if it is valuable antiques? Conventional materials are not suitable for restoring antique furniture. Here it is necessary to choose gentle means. In particular, special oil. It absorbs much faster and is applied much easier. But it will be more prudent to entrust the restoration of antique furniture to professionals.
Do-it-yourself home furnishings, as a rule, give owners a lot of pleasure and aesthetic pleasure. We hope that the photos of the restored furniture and you will be encouraged to revive the old chest of drawers, and our tips will help you with this.