How to Restore Your Wood Furniture

Wood furniture can last a life time if well maintained

Taking good care of your wooden furniture can sometimes prove to be quite a task. And you do want to maintain them in a nice condition, in order for them to be a decent addition to your home interior. However, if you don’t want to spend money on hiring professionals to do the work for you, you can try coping with the situation yourself by going a bit DIY.

You can achieve your piece of furniture’s former glory by a certain cleaning method. This is the first step you need to take before resorting to more extreme measures. Start with the least abrasive approach and use more aggressive products only if needed. Unfamiliar methods and materials are to be tested first. Do this in a more inconspicuous area.

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Try using a Citrus Cleaner. First, using a rag, rub lemon or orange cleaner and the proceed by using an abrasive pad. Use a citrus cleaner, not oil. However, citrus oil can be employed when trying to remove scuff marks from the legs of the chairs at your home).

A more powerful method is using mineral spirits (the so called paint thinner). First use a rag to wipe the surface and proceed with using an abrasive pad in case needed. Finishes that are intact will definitely benefit from this kind of solvent. Harmed will only be severely damaged and compromised finishes that need to be refinished.

Next, in order to restore the luster, you will have to coat the surface. The methods of beautifing wood finishes are quite a few. Here are just a three of them, in order of increasing difficulty, which will yield the greatest results.

1.Use a restorative finish like Wood Elixir, Restorzit or Restor-a-finish in order to wipe on one fresh topcoat. These products are famous for hiding faint scratches and imparting a uniform, soft, satiny glow. The aforementioned come in various different hues, so, if you are in doubt which color to use, choose a neutral shade.

2.Satin gel varnish. Try applying one, or more coats of it. This product is easy to apply, dries fairly quick and not only does it beautify, but it also protects.

3.Try the water-based urethane or polyacrylic wood finish. It is a kind of topcoat that dries quickly, white in color. It dries to a hard and clear film. Use a painter’s pad on surfaces that are flat in order to apply the right sheen (satin, matte, etc) in fairly thin coats and a soft brush for the areas, which are irregular.

Shallow scratches, which run along and parallel to the direction of the wood grain are a lot easier to hide than the cross-grain scratches. If you are looking for a method to temporarily hide such scratches, you can rub the ‘meat’ of a pecan or walnut along small scratches. However, if you want to act like a pro, you can use touch-up, color replacement markers, sticks and pencils. These are repair instruments that have built in color and sometimes even finish. They come in various wood shades and hues – from cherry to ash to walnut to maple, as well as black and white.

Bio: Ella Andrews is blogger, mother and housewife, who has great flair for home decoration and home remodeling projects. She is continuously searching for sources of inspiration and motivation. Presently she contributes articles mainly on storage and maintaining furniture NW9 related thematic, as this is what excites her most.

Watch this video about furniture restore a finish: