Restoring Beauty & Treasure
And Reconstructing A Life
This article is 100% generated by artificial Authentic Intelligence.
Emerging From The Darkness
We live in a world awash in throw-away goods. Common furniture that used to last a lifetime now goes from store to scrap faster than the hapless electrons in a super-collider. So when I find anything real, meaning it was made before 1972, I get as excited as a cat hopped up on a catnip-infused energy drink.
That opportunity arose when a dear friend offered me this dark and odd looking piece of furniture. It had seen some rough times. So had she. But, before I go any further, I need to tell you how it ended up in my shop and the ten days of intense work it took to raise it from the dead.
(′☉.̫☉`)
It was a dark and sturdy piece covered in shameful amounts of varnish.
Sometimes one has to strip away the surface completely to reveal the beauty within. This is a common practice when restoring old wooden furniture that has been buried under years of shellac, paint, and polishing wax. Refurbishing a valued antique is really an attempt at reversing the unceasing march of time, the exposure to the elements, and the defacement wrought by careless people and unmanaged pets. Admittedly, this can be a daunting task, but well worth it if one has an appreciation for fine craftsmanship, rare and exotic materials, and unique design.
This post has another purpose. Sometimes there are good folks in this world who also need to shed old suffocating and dark layers that slowly grew on them by the actions of cruel and uncaring people. It seems to be my nature to help restore those who have endured such emotional debasement, had their natural beauty sullied, and their soul stultified by senseless grief.
And so it happened that a dear friend of ours managed to get herself in a bit of a pickle. Actually, it was more like she got tossed into the brine and submerged in vinegar. As things went from bad to intolerable, the time came for her to extricate herself from this situation and deepening financial stress. With little time to plan, she had to make the unenviable decision to part with her cherished possessions, including family heirlooms. She had no choice but to strip away everything not essential for survival.
One such thing was a circa 1900’s Victorian Tiger Oak Sideboard Buffet that belonged to her great, great grandmother. She knew that I worked with wood and wondered if I might be interested in it. She thought that perhaps I could use it for some other project and would gladly give it to me.
Our dear friend is quite a bit younger than Kathie and I, so other than having sentimental value, she was seemingly unaware of the treasure hidden beneath the surface. As seen from the above picture, it looks like a drab, strangely built table with damage to the top. The large book was covering several holes, plus due to neglect, the entire thing was coming apart. However, beneath that dark varnish was hiding something that hadn’t been seen in ages.
Time Is The Enemy Of Shellac
Old finishing products, when first applied, look great, but over time they slowly and imperceptibly turn dark, especially if left exposed to direct sunlight. The older the piece, the darker the varnish. Most of us are familiar with old pianos that look as if they were painted black. Most of them are really just covered in a thick layer of varnish. Often small cracks, sometimes referred to as “crazing,” will appear on the surface. Because a piano is a massive undertaking to strip and refinish, and I know this first hand, they usually remain in that “as is” state - forever. This is a pity as most of these fine instruments were made of the most exquisite wood obtainable.
So, much like this antique, the lady in this story had been buried under a dark and oppressive predicament and she found the resolve to put an end to it. This made me all the more determined to do the same and set things right.
The first thing I did was take everything apart - and the first thing she did was go to a residence out of state in order to refocus her energy and break life into manageable pieces.
Once upon a time, back in the years when old furnishings were abundant, some unthinking so-and-so DRILLED A HOLE through the top and mounted some contemporary item such as a lamp. Mercy, mercy, mercy, how could they do such a thing?! I patched the smaller holes but left the large ones in hope of finding accent pieces or baubles to mount in their place, putty would be too obvious.
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The dark had to go, so as I began removing the first layers, lo and behold, underneath all that gunk was not just beautiful oak… But Tiger Oak!
Next came the hugely time consuming part - cleaning the carvings. To be sure, that’s a hard enough job for me, but our dear friend, she had to clear out all her Earthly possessions and either sell them or give them away, a far more difficult task than many can imagine. So I thought of her every minute that I was grinding away the stubborn old finish.
Three Methods For Cleaning Anything
There are three primary ways in which old material can be excised; chemical, thermal, and kinetic. This means I had to using a variety of stripping agents, solvents, steel wool, sandpaper, a Dremel, compressed air plus huge amounts of tedious muscular effort. Due to the delicate color of the wood, heat (thermal) was out of the question.
As I was doing that, our friend was busying herself by shedding the last vestiges of a person who did her wrong. Despite it all, she has remained strong, resolute, and focused. She is not falling prey to the destructive energy of revenge and petty squabbles over possessions, but instead choosing to keep a positive attitude while she rebuilds her life. Few people are this solid, but this is why she has remained a close friend for many years. She is exactly who she appears to be, a prima facia example of feminine mystique and agency.
Just look at that hand carving! As to the flat surfaces, parts were badly stained, dented and had extensive water damage. There were huge splotches of something nearly impossible to remove, but I did my best. Here is the backboard with mirror removed.
Once completely stripped of the tar-like old varnish and paint, I began sanding with finer and finer grit and down to steel wool… Then the pre-stain…! Then more polishing with #000 steel wool… Then one more coat of pre-stain before staining.
My jaw keeps hitting the floor with each new uncovering of such beauty. I was at this point in the restoration when we learned our friend is coming to town for a very brief visit… YIKES! I was now on a mission to get this finished as a surprise. I worked for no less than ten days on end, from early morning until when most (sane) people are comfortably ensconced in their beds.
Then came a light coat of chestnut stain… The grain just popped right out!
Clean the mirror… Who knows what evil lurks behind the mirror, well, I now know. Over a century of paints, varnish, furniture polish, face powder and lots of other mystery things that clung to the glass like barnacles. The mirror was surprisingly in great shape!
Clear-coat with two coats of satin polyurethane spray and assemble. I decided against covering the holes that were inexplicably drilled through certain parts, instead I opted to begin searching for medallions, baubles, or some sort of decorative part to insert over them. I think it will add charm so long as it isn’t gaudy. Get ready, our charming friend is due tomorrow!
I went in search for something to set it upon and hit the junk shops. Much to my surprise, I found this completely intact dresser for the outrageous price of $12 ! The thing is really cool, yet somehow the two items, being a century apart, it seems to jive. This will be another restoration project in the future. We moved the antique into the house and made it cozy with some relics.
As to the dresser; the slop that was slathered on every square inch of surface was done by a complete amateur and looks like crystallized table syrup. One day I will remove that assault finish glopped onto that $12 junk-shop dresser because it is a “real” piece of furniture and worth preserving. No medium-density fiberboard, no staples, no cheesy fake veneer, just real wood.
“Well,” I hear you asking, “Did she like it?”
Why, as a matter of fact, yes she most certainly did like it, especially when I told her that once she has resettled and her life has been reconstituted, it is hers once again.
I know she wanted to cry, but she can’t. Not yet. That day will come, but there is still more work to be done, more damage to control, and more battles to fight. She knows there are a lot of us giving her all the support we can and will do whatever we can because we know she put years into trying to make a hopeless situation work. She has been damaged by neglect, has weathered the elements of emotional pain, and yet has survived to once again be appreciated and loved.
When our dear friend has completely stripped away the last vestiges of a commitment that only she honored, if she needs a release from all that has been endured, I have some strong shoulders. All of us will be here to help make her whole again. Her inner beauty, grace and dignity will once again be free and it will be my honor to return her family keepsake.
They don’t make them like her anymore, she’s a treasure.
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That’s the sound of an empty tip jar. If you think this post is of any value too you, perhaps you could hook me up with a coffee?
WOW - what a difference. You did an excellent job. Very impressive.
You make it all seem so easy to do, Dave. You are a true artisan!