Because you have a particular preference for vintage furniture or simply for sentimental reasons, you want to keep your grandmother's old wooden chest of drawers, wardrobe or dressing table at all costs.
So that you can enjoy your old wooden furniture for a long time to come, give it a second wind by renovating it properly. From wood preparation to finishing, discover in this article the steps and tips for renovating your old wooden furniture.
REMEMBER TO PREPARE YOUR FURNITURE FOR RENOVATION
Renovating an old wooden piece of furniture must follow a few steps, starting with its preparation. And preparation means cleaning, stripping, wax removal and sanding.
CLEANING
An old, dirty piece of furniture can easily be cleaned with a damp cloth, a brush or a hoover if your furniture is not too dirty. Then simply sand it down. However, if the stains and dirt are stubborn, other cleaning methods may be necessary. There are products specially designed for cleaning wood, such as Wood Cleaner N100 , which we offer in our shop.
Furthermore, to thoroughly clean your furniture so that it regains its original colour, it is sometimes useful to remove old layers of wax or varnish.
WAX REMOVAL & PICKLING
Before any operation, check whether your furniture is varnished or waxed. To do this, pour a small amount of water on the furniture. If it is waxed, the water will make a stain, and if it is varnished, the water will move.
To remove the wax, apply a wax remover with a cotton cloth and rub in the direction of the wood fibres. Remember to work in small areas. Varnish can be removed with a stripper. After applying the product to your furniture, remove the varnish with a spatula or scraper.
SANDING
Once the furniture is clean, remember to remove any screwed or hinged parts, such as doors or handles, to facilitate sanding. The operation should be carried out gradually, first removing any irregularities, and then you can start smoothing. Remember to use sanding paper with a small to large grit.
If the furniture is to be repainted, apply an undercoat after the first sanding and repeat the operation with a finer sanding paper to ensure that the paint adheres well to the wood. Undercoats reinforce the protective effect of protective products and preserve the colours of paints and stains for longer. The ideal undercoat for this use is Pore Filler Primer BP400.
These 3 steps are important if you want to properly renovate a wooden piece of furniture, they prepare the wood for its colouring and protection.
THE RESTORATION ITSELF
After the preparation stage, let's move on to the fundamental step of renovating a wooden piece of furniture. Once your furniture has been well prepared, you can start small repairs and finishing work. Here you can repaint or apply a new coat of varnish or wax, depending on the desired effect.
In addition to embellishing your furniture, varnish is above all a means of protecting the wood against stains. You can opt for a colourless or stained wood varnish for a matt, satin, lacquered, etc. look. You will find many varnishes on the market. At Anova Bois, we have designed the Furniture Varnish VM500, an ideal colourless protection for wooden furniture. If you wish to opt for a tinted protection, we advise you to use Colour Wood Varnish VBC500.
The wax will enhance the natural shade of the wood. Available in liquid or paste form, wax nourishes, embellishes, maintains and protects your furniture in the traditional way. Enriched with beeswax, it will give off a soft fragrance reminiscent of the furniture of yesteryear.
When it comes to painting, colour is a matter of taste. However, the application will have to follow a few rules. For an acrylic paint or a tint, it is advisable to use a brush. Rolling is more recommended on a smooth surface. Avoid using too much paint. Instead, consider applying 3 thin coats instead of 2 thick ones. You can find our Parquet & Furniture Tint TPM900 which offers more than a dozen different colours.
PRODUCTS TO RENOVATE YOUR FURNITURE
