Do-it-yourself restoration of wooden figurines

Throwing away old furniture is financially expensive, and it’s just a shame if it’s as valuable as a memory. Many craftsmen try to repair damage on their own, without turning to the services of specialists. In most cases, home furniture restoration can actually help extend the life of your favorite chair or table. Armed with a set of suitable tools, selecting high-quality materials and clear instructions, you can repair a chair, reupholster an armchair, or modernize your grandmother’s old secretary without any extra labor. Even if you lack the proper skills, you can still achieve success if you approach your work responsibly and painstakingly.

In what cases is it necessary

It doesn't always make sense to restore furniture. If the frame of the product is completely loose, the working surfaces are severely deformed, it is simply impractical to bother with repairs. However, when the damage is minor and the furniture itself is still relatively new, you can try to restore it yourself. The purposes of restoration may be:

• restoration of the original appearance;
• significant improvement in functionality;
• updating and changing the design;
• extension of service life.

You can carry out all restoration activities yourself at home or turn to the services of specialists. The first method seems more convenient and cheaper. But here it is worth understanding that not every piece of furniture can be repaired yourself. To work with antique cabinets, chests of drawers and tables, you will need a professional furniture restorer who has numerous chemical compounds, consumables, and tools at his disposal.

The main advantage of restoring broken furniture is the ability to give old things a completely new look. For this purpose, surface finishing is used using a variety of techniques: decoupage, lamination, veneering, engraving or carving, mosaic coating. This way, the master will not only give a second life to an old product, but will create a new, designer item with original decor.

Do-it-yourself restoration also has its disadvantages. First of all, it costs effort and time. The lack of a dedicated repair facility can also make DIY restoration much more difficult. Most chemical compositions for painting, polishing, and varnishing are “toxic” and can cause severe allergic reactions. To avoid negative health consequences, it is recommended to do it yourself when restoring furniture made from chipboard or any other material in the garage or directly outside, if the weather cooperates.

If the furniture has a complex design, for example, an antique chest of drawers in the Baroque style, you should not undertake updating and repairing yourself.

Restoring original appearance

Improved functionality

Update and redesign

Extending service life

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Stages of work for different types of furniture

The stages of work and their sequence depend on the type and, accordingly, the characteristics of the damaged furniture. It is easiest to restore cabinet varieties, but restoring soft sofas and armchairs requires certain skills and equipment, so it is not always possible at home.

Design features of furniture gas lifts, nuances of selection and installation

Soft

Basically, the process of restoring upholstered furniture comes down to replacing springs that have become unusable upholstery. Upholstering a small chair at home is quite possible. However, if we are talking about a large double sofa, it is better to entrust the task to a professional. Brief algorithm of actions:

1. Disassemble the product into parts using a screwdriver or mallet.
2. Unscrew the sides, collecting all the fasteners in one box (this will simplify the assembly process in the future).
3. Remove the upholstery by removing furniture staples.
4. Remove the rollers.
5. Find the springs under the foam layer and replace them (if necessary).

Next, the sofa or chair is re-upholstered with a different material. The next stage is strengthening the frame of the upholstered furniture with your own hands, after which the structure is reassembled.

To reupholster upholstered furniture you will definitely need a furniture stapler. In some cases, it can be replaced with special wallpaper nails.

Disassemble the product into parts

Remove furniture staples

Replace springs

Remove old upholstery

Cut the fabric

Update filler

Cover all parts with new fabric

Assemble the structure

Kitchen

The main goals of restoration work in this case are to strengthen the frame, which is responsible for the reliability and stability of the furniture, and to give an aesthetic appearance to facade surfaces. The task can be easily completed at home, without the help of specialists. Possible works:

1. Dismantling old fittings (handles, door hinges), installing new ones.
2. Replacing guides in kitchen drawers.
3. Decoration of the facade with textiles or self-adhesive film.
4. Elimination of minor scratches and minor cracks, chips and shallow dents using soft wax for furniture restoration.
5. Treating the painted surface with stain or varnish.

The facade to be repaired must be completely disassembled: remove the glass, unscrew the fittings. If MDF film is glued to the surface, carefully remove it too.

Installation of new fittings

Replacing drawer guides

Facade decoration

Removing scratches. cracks, chips

Painted surface treatment

Hull

Restoration measures, as in the case of kitchen sets, come down to replacing or strengthening the frame of cabinet furniture. Home renovation is quite a feasible task. Selecting suitable materials for restoration is also not difficult. The following types of work may be required:

1. Cleaning chips and cracks on surfaces.
2. Adjustment of fittings.
3. Dismantling the frame and replacing its individual parts (if necessary).
4. Tightening loose fasteners.
5. Painting or varnishing.

When restoring lacquered furniture, the final stage can be sanding followed by polishing. For this purpose, special industrial chemical compositions are used. However, sometimes home craftsmen deliberately abandon the last stage so that the furniture retains its noble “antiqueness”. Wardrobes, chests of drawers and other cabinet elements with a patina artificially created on a wooden surface are a very popular design today.

Cleaning chips and cracks

Adjusting fittings

Replacing frame parts

Tightening loose fasteners

Painting or varnishing

Grinding

Polishing

Tables and chairs

In this case, furniture restoration is most often aimed at increasing the stability of loose structures. Additionally, you can carry out “cosmetic” repairs to the tabletop - finishing with mosaics, inlays, self-adhesive film - or reupholstering the soft seat of a chair. An approximate algorithm of actions for homework:

1. Disassemble the table or chair into its components.
2. Repair the frame.
3. Clean and strengthen the legs.
4. Replace the seat or table top.
5. Level and finish surfaces using hard wax, varnish, and paint.

Tips for painting furniture yourself, choosing a composition, stages of work

In the absence of serious damage, the work can be done at home. However, in some cases, for example, if the frame is severely deformed, you will have to seek help from a workshop or even throw away the furniture.

Disassemble the chair into its components

Repair the frame

Clean and strengthen the legs

Replace the seat

Level and finish surfaces

Means and methods depending on the material of the product

The means and methods of restoration depend on the material from which the furniture is made. For work, various chemical compositions (varnishes, paints, oils, glue) and specialized repair tools (markers, wax pencils) can be used. The set of tools and consumables may vary in each individual case.

Tree

The main methods of restoring and repairing the surface: stripping and polishing, lamination, varnishing. Compositions used: stain, paints, PVA glue, primer. Decorative markers for painting on wood can be used as specialized tools. Sometimes consumables such as pieces cut from veneer or vinyl film are required. Necessary tools for restoration: sprayer, paint roller, wooden strip (you can walk it over the treated surface to avoid bubbles).

Stripping

Lamination

Varnish finish

Metal

The main methods of repairing and restoring furniture with your own hands: rust removal, artificial patination, anti-corrosion treatment. Compositions used: abrasive materials (sand, shot), zinc coating, “wash” (rust remover).

If you need welding of metal elements, it is better to contact specialists - this is a guarantee that all work will be performed using professional equipment.

Metal markers can be used as additional auxiliary materials. Recommended consumables: primer brushes, putty. Necessary tools: a torch or a heat gun to clean the surface of the old coating. If the product is intended to be stored outdoors (for example, a country bench), restoration of furniture by painting requires subsequent galvanization.

Rust removal

Artificial patination, anti-corrosion treatment

Veneered and polished surfaces

Restoration and repair methods: replacing the veneer that covers the countertop on the substrate, removing mechanical damage from the surface, applying “patches” to voids that have appeared over time. For the final finishing you will need varnish, and as an additional means - a wax pencil for restoration. The latter is needed to carefully cover up minor scratches.

The list of required consumables includes furniture restoration material intended for filling gaps and cracks. The tools you need are a sharp knife, a steel ruler, a plane, an iron and a soldering iron. To apply the final coat, you will need a brush with medium-thick bristles.

Veneer replacement

Removing mechanical damage from the surface

Applying patches

Final varnish treatment

Textiles, leather, suede

Most often, these materials require replacement; they cannot be repaired at home. However, in case of special value, you can use special stain-removing, washing, and color-restoring compounds. They penetrate into the deepest layers and help effectively remove heavy contaminants: traces of sweat, grease, grease and dirt. The main restoration methods are surface cleaning and patching. As an additional means of restoration, you can use a textile marker. The list of required consumables includes furniture staples. The necessary tool is a stapler.

Surface cleaning

Applying patches

Workshop of Elena Zhilina

Furniture restoration workshop of Elena Zhilina Course program Wood painting

Principles of restoration Furniture decorating courses

Workshop by Elena Zhilina Wood species Restoration training Books on restoration

Restoration workshop of Elena Zhilina Restoration training programs Restoration training What is the secret of old furniture? Antiquarian antiquarian

School of Restoration Course program Decoration Antiquarian courses English chairs

For the first time, Elena Zhilina’s workshop was seriously told to the general public in 1996 in the newspaper Antiquarian Vedomosti. The article was devoted to the course of lectures by Elena Zhilina “Fundamentals of Scientific Restoration”, which were then held at the Institute of Knowledge of the Faculty of Expertise of Antiques. Now there is no such newspaper anymore. The institute has long since grown and renamed itself into a reputable educational center. But then, in the 90s, it was practically the first educational institution where one could obtain more or less reliable knowledge about antiques and the market for antique items of decorative and applied art. By that time, Elena Zhilina’s restoration work was already 4 years old.

Further in the collection “WHO IS WHO” in 2013, the workshop at that time was already 21 years old. There were publications in industry magazines “Furniture” and “Forest Industry”. A number of articles by Elena Zhilina herself about the types of wood used in the manufacture of furniture in various historical periods have been published in the Antikvariat magazine. In the October 2008 issue, the glossy magazine Seasons also published a rather respectful article about the workshop.

At different times, stories about the Moscow restoration workshop were filmed and shown on different television channels.

Real recognition came after participating in specialized exhibitions (2006 to present). Elena Zhilina was a delegate to the First (2013) and Second (2018) International Congresses of Restorers, and published the first book “Restoration. Carpenter's Dictionary", 2021. Member of the International Union of Designers since 2006, Consultant of the Department of Furniture Restoration at Moscow Art University named after. S.G. Stroganova, organizer and permanent director of the restoration workshop of Elena Zhilina.

Since 2006, the workshop regularly participates in exhibitions, and since 2009 it has been a permanent participant in the Russian Antique Salon exhibition on Krymsky Val.

How to restore antique furniture

Methods for restoring antique furniture depend on the specific design and material of a particular product. Both partial and full restoration are used. If the product has museum value, repairs are replaced by conservation: maintaining the furniture in the condition in which it is currently located, without modifications or improving the appearance.

What and how to paint furniture, stages of work and useful recommendations

Antique furniture made in Italy deserves special attention. At home, you can only clean the upholstery with non-aggressive chemicals, or, as an option, remove minor unevenness on the wooden surface. It is recommended to dismantle the frame in a professional workshop that has the appropriate equipment for restoration. Fittings that were used in Europe many years ago are difficult to find in stores in our country; they must be ordered.

Sometimes restored antiques lose their value, so before restoring any antique it is worth consulting with a specialist. It may be better to hand over an outdated chair to a museum or sell it to vintage lovers.

Any antique

carved

Self made

Italian furniture

Updating furniture yourself at home

At home, a novice restorer will only be able to cope with the simplest renovation methods, which entail the use of scrap materials. It will take a little time and effort to complete the work, but the old things will be transformed and will become a worthy decoration of any interior. It is easiest to work with Soviet-era kitchen sets.

Another interesting way to restore Soviet furniture with your own hands is to cover the facades with any mineral paint. The new color should be in harmony with the wallpaper, floor and ceiling finishes. This method is well suited for surfaces made of chipboard and MDF.

To independently restore modern furniture, you do not need to have a special technical or carpentry education, just skilled hands, as well as a certain amount of theoretical knowledge. However, inexperienced home craftsmen should not take on the task of restoring expensive antique items; it is better to start with standard mass-produced items.

Entrust the repair of cabinet furniture to specialists

Repairing wooden furniture is a very delicate process that requires the right approach and special care. Working with wooden products requires careful handling and qualifications. Don't waste time trying to do everything yourself. It is simply impossible to carry out restoration without special tools, materials and knowledge!

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