Art Deco Furniture Restoration

Art Deco Furniture Restoration General Tips

First, as with any antique furniture, there are some projects you can handle yourself and others that really require a professional's experience and advanced know-how. Before you attempt any art deco furniture restoration project, evaluate your skills realistically and consider the value of the piece you'll be working on. If you have any doubts, you might want to take it to a professional for restoration. If you don't know of an expert yourself, you can call a local antique store or antique auction house and ask for their recommendations.

• Always start with a light touch whether you're cleaning, polishing, or buffing. It's easier to add another stroke than to undo the last one.
• Don't let leather get too wet or too dry and give it regular (usually six months to a year) treatment with a leather conditioner. In dry climates, condition it more often.
• Most art deco furniture has a very high polish. If you need to remove or restore the polish, it helps quite a bit to know what the original polish was, whether it's wax, lacquer, shellac, or some other material. Try to come as close as you can to the original material and, if it's lacquer or shellac, the original color.
• When you're polishing, don't polish too hard and pause frequently, sometimes even between strokes, to make sure you haven't overdone either the amount of polish or the pressure. Many furniture restorers recommend using a stroke like you're bringing an airplane to the ground and then up again without jostling a single passenger.

Materials

The characteristic glass, lacquer, chrome, aluminum, and highly polished woods of art deco furniture that make it so glamorous also mean that even a small scratch or dent will show fairly easily. Unlike the more romantic Victorian or Art Nouveau styles, even small signs of use often make the piece look shabby rather than giving it that extra antique aura, even for art deco handmade furniture.

A quick look at these materials:

• Glass. Many art deco tables use glass tops and of course cabinets often have glass doors. If the glass gets broken, chipped, or scratched, you may be able to have a piece of glass cut to fit and then to put it in yourself. Examine the piece first to see exactly how the glass is attached to the cabinet or tabletop and how easily you can remove and insert it. If it slides into place, replacing it yourself can save time, transportation troubles, and money.
• Leather. Leather art deco furniture restoration is usually fairly straightforward. Most leather stains can be removed by putting a gentle facial soap on a damp, soft cloth and rubbing gently. Don't let the leather get too wet. After the stain is gone, wipe with a clean damp cloth and apply a leather conditioner. If leather gets scuffed, you can often buff it back to health with a leather conditioner.
• Chrome or aluminum. You can clean these with water and a little bit of mild dish washing liquid. If they get scratched, you can get the right polish at a hardware or auto repair store. Polish very gently with a clean cloth.
• Wood. Wood in art deco furniture is often either highly polished or worked into geometric or human figure decorative motifs. This can make restoring wooden art deco furniture quite challenging. It's often a good idea to practice either on a different piece of wood entirely or on an inconspicuous part of the piece, such as the back side, underneath, or the bottom of a shelf or drawer. There's an exceptionally fine and wide-ranging collection of advice at Antique Restorers.