A little history may be in order.
This table was believed to have been made prior to 1850. It was used in the kitchen until(I suspect) the draw started to fail. The draw sides and draw supports are very worn equally 3/16-1/4″.
The recently deceased owner(80 years old) started to strip the piece to refinish it but for reasons unknown to me stopped at this point. Many pieces of furniture go back to late 1700 early 1800 hundreds. The home sits in Peabody Mass, but was part of Salem at the time of the Witch Trials.
I believe the white showing is the old dried paint remover. The wood is pine.
There are NO sighs of it being painted.
What to do refinish it with. the family wants it back in the home as a hall way piece?
Thanks for any suggestions.
Ron Christensen
Edited 1/7/2006 12:25 pm ET by Ron01960
Replies
Was there supposed to be a picture?
Yes, there was Steve, the cat walked across the desk as I was trying to post them. I have a new program that giving me fits. If I can't get them on today, Ill have my friend the computer guy add them. Sorry for the confusion.Ron
Refinishing antiques ruins their value and can ruin the piece. Since someone started to refinish it, you may need to complete the job; but if not, leave it alone.
To determine what the finish is, find a hidden area to test. Alcohol dissolving the finish means it is shellac. Lacquer thinner (MEK) means it is lacquer, which would not be an original finish (nitrocellulose lacquer was invented by DuPont in the 20th century). If it isn't lacquer or shellac, a clear topcoat is most likely varnish.
Spirits will remove an old wax coating, which could whiten with age.
Good luck, hope to see the picture soon. I nkow what you mean about the cats.
I'll wait to see the picture but most original finishes before 1850 were linseed oil. It was rubbed in and renewed periodically. Sometimes a wax was applied. Over the years it becomes a grimy very dark brown almost black. Finishes were not considered a big deal back then.
Very infrequently, a shellac may have been used but this was very rare.
As suggested, if this is a true antique, I would recommend that it be looked at by an expert.
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