Wood refinishing tips

Upholstery Journal | August 2008

by Gerry Masterman, New Look Refinishing Inc.

When furniture is to be reupholstered, it is often desirable to refinish the wood legs, arms or trim to truly restore and beautify the piece.

Kind of like painting a house without addressing the trim, the job is not really complete and beautiful if the upholstery is new but the trim finish is scarred, cracked or worn. Usually, the finishing is accomplished after removal of the old fabric and padding, so the finisher can get underneath where the fabric will be attached, and so the fabric and padding fibers don’t get into the finish.

Refinishing

If your shop engages in refinishing, then you may already know what works best in your operation. Typically, upholstery and refinishing do not “live” well together in the same space due to the fiber resulting from fabric cutting and padding applications that can contaminate freshly applied finishes. If the two operations are combined, they should be kept well separated. Appropriate ventilation (which is standard for a finishing operation) should be used to keep fibers in the air from landing on wet, finished surfaces.

We use a spray booth to apply finishes, as most professional refinishing operations do, to eliminate brush marks and air bubbles often caused by brush-on applications. We prefer professional grade pre- or post-catalyzed lacquers. With advances in modern chemistry, lacquers are as durable as urethane or varnishes. Wood is hygroscopic material that slightly absorbs moisture from the atmosphere and expands or contracts accordingly, and with heating and cooling seasons. An advantage of lacquers is that the finish is flexible enough to expand and contract with the wood. Many antique and older furnishings may have wood finishes that look checkered, with a pattern of small cracks. This “crazing” or “checking” is a result of the finish not expanding and contracting with the wood underneath. Over time the expansion and contraction cracks the finish, typical of urethane and varnish applications. Modern lacquers swell and contract with the wood to avoid this durability issue.

Lacquers are the easiest finishes to touch up and repair. We use a pre-catalyzed lacquer for standard finishing of vertical surfaces where durability against physical use is not as much of an issue. For items such as table tops, desk tops, doors and other high contact applications, we use a post-catalyzed lacquer, which provides greater durability and a tougher surface that will hold up better against scrapes, scratches and pressure. For repair work however, it is sometimes necessary to determine and match the original type of finish in order to make an effective repair.

Touch up

Often, a piece to be reupholstered may have wood that only requires a touch-up. Other times, there may be scratches or additional damage caused in the handling and upholstering that may require touch-up work. Some upholsterers just use a wipe-on, wipe-off oil to accomplish this. We never recommend the use of such oils, for several reasons. The oil may contain linseed or other drying oils that will damage the finish and dry out the exposed wood. Also, such oils cannot be finished over, so that discoloration—darkening of the oiled area—will occur as the oily surface attracts dirt and contaminants from handling or from the air.

The repair might look fine today, but it will quickly discolor and look as damaged as it was originally. A touch-up marker is better for simply coloring in a scratch and for jobs where the cost or necessity of refinishing is not acceptable to the customer.

The use of markers is a short-term fix. But properly done, the repaired area will be sealed with a finish in order to prevent eventual discoloration. Sealing is tricky. You must match the gloss of the surrounding area, and not produce a “halo” effect, which may be as noticeable as the damage before the repair.

Professional touch-up consists of using a wide variety of products, including cleaners, stains, dyes, fillers, toners and finishes that most upholsterers do not have on hand and are not practiced enough to use properly. Each individual project should be analyzed to determine whether a professional finisher or touch-up artist should be contracted, based on need, budget and effectiveness.

These recommendations have been compiled through my own experiences, and guidelines provided by national trade associations and the Stanford University Library. They are general recommendations that apply broadly to clear finished wood furnishings, and do not apply to painted surfaces or surfaces of other compositions than actual wood or wood veneers. Always remember to test any area you plan to work on to ensure that the products and techniques used do not damage the finish or the structure of the piece. I have refrained from mentioning specific products by trade name or manufacturer, but descriptions of products listed can be matched to products available in your area of the country. I recommend that products to be used in a professional operation be purchased through an industry supplier. Suppliers can suggest products that are suitable for specific applications and projects.

Gerry Masterman has more than 35 years of wood finishing and restoration expertise. He has owned and operated custom upholstery and wood finishing businesses in the commercial and residential markets. Currently, he is a sales representative for New Look Refinishing and D&G Services in New Hope, Minn.

Comments

Comments are the opinion of individual posters and do not reflect the views of Upholstery Journal or Industrial Fabrics Association International.

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  Edwin Northuis

  Apr 23, 2011
  9:34 pm CDT

  Touch up

  I enjoyed your post very much. Heres how I was tought to touch up. First I wipe lightly with denatured alcohol to remove any dirt and oils. Second use the touch up markers like you said. Third use Spray laquar in a can eather toned to match the finish or clear. This seams to do a preaty good job. I'd like to hear your comment on this process. Please don't hold back. I'd like to know if I'm doing somthing that may harm the wood or finish. Thank you.