Best Finish For Antique Oak Furniture

There are few structural issues you can t repair and few cosmetic ones you can t address with wood filler stain and a fresh coat of finish.

Best finish for antique oak furniture.

Decide whether the old finish should come off or if a thorough cleaning will do. This finish looks best on red oak. Seal with shellac and scuff sand when dry. Apply a paste wax to the furniture after the final coat is dry.

Spraying the finish over the glaze is best since this will minimize any removal of the glaze. Use a dark wax on the dark finishes and apply with 0000 steel wool. Perhaps a rejuvenating coat of varnish will bring it back to its original luster. As far as maintenance is concerned wax finishes are best polished with a dry cloth or a little additional wax.

Buff the wax as soon as it hazes over to leave a soft sheen. If cleaning an unpainted piece hand cleaner containing pumice used with a toothbrush to get into crevices works well. Trans tint honey amber dye to the bare wood and let it dry. Determine if washing or stripping the finish is best.

Step six waxing. This is a classic oak finish familiar to any antique lover. For the other finishes that have a hard surface a little lemon oil preferably with beeswax will brighten and deepen the color. Finishes on antique wood furniture.

The glaze layer darkens the open pored earlywood and contrasts beautifully with the brownish gold latewood. Sometimes the wood doesn t need its existing finish stripped away. Deciding when to refinish antique furniture.