Furniture Refinishing

If you watch "Trading Spaces," "Designed to Sell," "Design on A Dime" and other how-to decorate TV shows, you'll periodically see a little yellow can of Howard Furniture Care and Furniture Refinishing products being used in the shows. There's a VERY good reason.

Howard Furniture Care and Furniture Refinishing products are a quick and easy way to refinish furniture without striping.

The following are some furniture refinishing tips to easily get you started refinishing wood furniture, without striping!

So you picked up a piece of wood furniture you want to refinish, like this worn down wood bar stool (photo).

Before you do anything, take a picture of both front and back. That way you won't find yourself looking at a "left-over" piece wondering where it goes...(not that I ever did that, oh, no, not me...)

Next, clean the furniture to determine what, if any repairs and refinishing need to be made. Start with a clean cloth, then apply a furniture cleaner. Don't use water, that will expand the wood. Howard Upholstery and Furniture Cleaner works well, as does Murphy Soap.

Is the furniture finish shellac, varnish or lacquer?

Determining the kind of furniture finish is important so you'll know how to work with the scratches and dents. If you still can't determine what kind of finish it has, apply denatured alcohol to a rag and dab onto a small, wax-free spot. If it's shellac, the finish will start to get soft and rub off. If not, then try lacquer thinner instead of alcohol. Test for shellac first, because lacquer thinner also softens shellac. If it doesn't get soft and come off, then it's varnish.

Often the biggest impact on how wood furniture looks is how it was stored. Wood dehydrates, becoming brittle and dull.

One of the best ways to see the wood condition is to treat the piece with something that re-hydrates wood cells. I've been pleasantly surprised at the number of furniture pieces I haven't had to refinish because Howard Feed N Wax quickly rehydrated wood and returned original luster.

Once the furniture is clean, treat your furniture piece with Howard Feed N Wax so you can determine how many scratches and dents disappear once the wood is hydrated. You may find you don't need to do anything else!

Now that wood has been rehydrated with Howard Feed N Wax, you see deep water, or alcohol rings.

To remove water rings, you have several options. Apply a fine abrasive and lubricant with the wood grain. Machine or linseed oil works well, as does olive oil, mayonnaise, lard, cooking oil, petroleum jelly or paste wax.

For gentle abrasives, try fine steel wool, cigar ashes, table salt or car cleaner/polishers.

For a deeper treatment, try a paste of equal parts boiled linseed oil, vinegar and turpentine. Wipe on water ring and let sit for a few minutes. Rub gently with a soft abrasive with wood grain.

The easiest option is to use Howard Restore A Finish (photo) to quickly and easily remove water rings on wood furniture.

Applied with a soft rag and allowed to dry, Howard Restore A Finish quickly and easily eliminates water rings.

If the water rings are deep, apply Howard Restore A Finish with a Q tip on the rings only; allow to dry. Then treat the whole surface with Howard Restore A Finish.

Another option to treat water rings on wood furniture is to apply a clear coat of Howard Neutral Restore A Finish, as I did on the left side of the bar stool (photo).

Howard Restore A Finish Neutral not only restores wood patina but it also makes a great deep cleaner for those spots that just won't disappear.

After Howard Restore A Finish dries, first apply Howard Feed N Wax and then Howard Orange Oil (photo) to maintain the original patina and keep a lovely soft wood sheen without a haze or build up.

Howard Orange Oil removes previous build up, keeps wood clean and even minimizes dust collection.

Most little bumps, dents and scratches add character to a furniture piece so think carefully before you do anything to them. To repair burns, gouges, dents and cracks depending on the size of the repair, start with matching color felt markers, shoe polish or crayons. Nut meats and plastic wood also work. One of the best we've used is a heated stick of shellac applied with a heated knife or melted into drips. This has to be done carefully so practice first on an underside area before tackling an obvious spot.

Match mark on a painted piece of furniture? Rub a lemon wedge across the mark to remove it.

Drawer sticking? Rub the runners with the end of a candle to make them slide easily. Reapply as necessary.

To preserve the value of the furniture piece, it's best to minimize removing the patina and character of the furniture.

For those furniture pieces that need a little extra help, Howard Furniture Care and Refinishing Products can do just that!

I'll be glad to work directly with you answering questions.

Give me Charlotte a call at 877-598-1908 or email me with questions for free, no obligation information.

"...a note to let you know we are delighted with Howard (furniture refinishing) products. We put off striping our dining room table because we thought it would be hard to do. Howard RestorAFinish made it easy, covered all the water stains and scratches.

We now are using this family heirloom every day again.

Thanks for everything including your help and encouragement. We couldn't have done it without you!" -- Marie in CO