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Floor Protection | White Rings | Wax and Furniture Care
Our Magic Glue | Customer Service | Sinking Seats | Glass Tops | Guidelines for Furniture Stripping
Used Furniture | Fabric | Upholstery Choices | Fabric Stain Protector
Floor Protection
Wood floors have their own charm, warmth and character. At times they can appear to be very durable, then one day scratches are noticed and no one seems to know why.
Minimizing potential damage from furniture is easy and straight forward. The bottom of chairs, tables, wood items should have glides, preferably hard plastic. They have a single nail shank embedded into the plastic and are easy to install. Every once in a while turn a chair upside down and check the glide to see if it is getting worn. If so, replace it.
Chrome glides were the standard prior to the development of plastic. They too will help protect a wood surface from scratches. However when they wear down, or become rusty, the three pronged kind can be harder to replace.
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White Rings
Occasionally I am asked how to remove white rings from tabletops. White rings are usually caused by wet drinking glasses left on tabletops for hours on end. The white portion is actually damaged finish. Sometimes the damage goes through to the wood, as evidenced when the wood turns dark. Most times, it is just a portion of the finish that is damaged and can be repaired by a handy type of person.
The thing to do is to remove the layer of damaged finish with a mild abrasive such as an automotive rubbing compound. Cigarette ash and toothpaste may work some times, but usually are not strong enough to work well.
An automotive paint store has many different grades of rubbing and polishing compounds from which to choose. It is best to try a mild one first, then going on to a stronger one if needed. Unfortunately, trial and error is the only way to find out what you need.
Be careful to check the results often. The finish may not be thick enough for much rubbing. If you do get through to the wood, then the top will need refinishing. It is not possible to tell ahead of time if the damage is through all layers of finish, once again trial and error is the only way to find out.
After rubbing out the white ring, the sheen is different from the rest of the top, so the entire top will have to be done for a uniform look.
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Wax and Furniture Care
Over the years, many pieces have come into our shop with soiled wax build-up. This dark, sticky substance has taken years to develop. When it does, it tends to ruin the finish underneath.
Atmospheric soil and contaminants are attracted to and caught in the waxed surface building up over time. This occurs when a layer of wax is applied over a previous layer, without the first layer having been removed.
To remove previous waxings, use soap and water. Liquid dishwashing soap, in a pail of warm water and a soft rag is just fine for removing the wax. Wipe dry and the next coat of wax will be over a clean surface, without trapping contaminants.
However, for the effort of waxing, I believe the benefit of wax is minimal. Only in rare circumstances will it help preserve a finish. For example, I restored a desk with water damage from a broken pipe. The leaking water had been unnoticed for several days. The finish damage did not correspond with the puddling of water, as some areas under water were not damaged. After a discussion with the homeowner, it was determined that portions of the desk were waxed prior to the leaking of the water. Those areas had the least amount of water damage.
So wax if you like, just remembers to thoroughly clean off old wax every few years to eliminate trapped contaminants and ugly wax build-up.
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Our Magic Glue
Occasionally, the broken furniture we are asked to repair has been worked on by someone else. Joints and rung holes are over flowing with hardened glue. The attempted repair failed and a customer asks us to use our “magic” glue to achieve the repair.
The real secret to gluing is not the glue, but the preparation and clamping. There are different choices of various wood glues, but if there is not a clean flat surface or if the clamps are not properly applied, the repair will fail.
Applying excess glue to joints is only making more work for the repairperson. The hardened glue has to be cleaned out before regluing and clamping will work. If the joints are coming loose from your furniture, and you have doubts about making effective repairs, call upon your furniture professional.
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Customer Service
Within the first few years of a new furniture purchase, people have cushion fabric become ruined, chair parts break, and so on. Then they ask if we can salvage things for them. Our first response is to try to locate the manufacturer’s customer service. It is not a sure bet that customer service will be able to help, but you never know what is left in some parts bin. While a skilled craftsman may be able to make new parts, we have yet been able to find matching fabric. Parts obtained from customer service are much less costly than someone making them. Over the years, we have had several customers that were able to find customer service helpful, at a savings of several hundred dollars. And yes, we will install the parts obtained from customer service.
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Sinking Seats
Sinking seats in sofas and chairs are caused by either worn out foam or seat supports. Replacing the foam is the easiest and least costly option. In order to make sure worn out foam is the culprit, we have sample seat cushions that people can take home to see if there is any improvement.
There are two main grades of foam, firmness and resilience. HR or high resilience foam retains its feel and ability to bounce back much longer than non HR foam. From there one makes a selection of soft, medium or firm. This is where sample cushions are valuable. You get to choose which is most comfortable. If there is significant improvement to your comfort with the sample cushion, then a much more costly rebuilding of seat springs is avoided.
Due to the higher cost of HR foam, not all furniture manufacturers and/or upholstery shops use HR foam. One needs to rely upon the reputation of the factory or upholstery shop that you will have the quality foam in your cushions.
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Glass Tops
A number of customers like to have glass tops for end tables, dressers, and even desks. The glass does an excellent job of protecting against spills, both water and chemical from damaging the finish. Glass also prevents scratches from getting on the surface.
When ordering a glass top, you will be asked for thickness. Let the glass store tell you the thickness that will work best given the size of your top and the use you expect it to see. You will want all edges to be polished, and corners rounded to prevent against potential injury. Most glass stores will offer small disks to go between the glass and the finished top. This is to allow for a small amount of air circulation necessary to keep condensation from getting trapped under the glass and damaging the finish. While clear plastic disks are popular, I prefer cork disks. Plastic at times will stick to the finish, causing damage. I have yet to observe cork disks causing finish damage.
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Guidelines for Furniture Stripping
Stripper or paint remover works best in mild temperatures, from 60 to 80 F. Use a well ventilated area for your one safety. A basement or heated garage in cooler climates is not recommended. If the fumes from the stripper get into a heating system, they can cause premature damage.
Some stripping instructions advise a person to water wash the stripper residue from the piece being stripped. While water washing is more thorough and quicker, there are negative aspects. Water washing will raise the grain, causing extra sanding, can cause glue joints to fail, and it will change the natural color of the wood eliminating the patina. Solvent stripping will not cause any of the above. Check the label on the container to find out which solvent works best.
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Used Furniture
In today’s economy, used furniture can be a super cost effective way to furnish a starter apartment. But it can be a difficult chore to determine a good buy. Furniture like other hard goods, depreciates horribly after it leaves the store, even high end pieces. Before you go to flea markets and garage sales, do your home work first so you can recognize good bargains.
Go to the furniture stores, high end and low priced, both. Ask about the features of the different pieces. Look at the woods and construction. You should be able to see the difference and recognize features. Next go to the used furniture stores and antique malls. If two pieces are similar in looks, but have a price difference, study each piece to know why.
Now you are ready to hit the garage sales. Hopefully you will be able to recognize a very good piece at a huge savings from buying new. Remember that quality furniture can retain its useful functionality many times over the expected life of lower priced new.
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Fabric
People tend to equate fabric cost with durability. That is not necessarily so. I find there are two general classifications of upholstery fabric. Most common in upholstery shops are the supplier fabrics. They promote lower cost and have some decorative as well as durable designs. The less common decorator fabrics are usually higher in cost per yard, but do not necessarily wear better. These fabrics are more costly because they have designs that are unusual Produced in limited quantities, there are less rolls to carry the cost of development.
The label on fabrics will sometimes have a “wear test” number. Most common wear testing is the Wyzenbeek test. A piece of fabric is rubbed against itself then examined for wear. 15,000 double rubs is considered contract duty with 30,000 double rubs and up considered heavy contract duty. The majority of residential fabrics rate in the 12,000 to 15,000 range.
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Upholstery Choices
When discussing choices about upholstery, zippers on the back of cushions frequently come up. People like zippers because they want to be able to remove the cover for cleaning. That’s not the purpose of zippers. They are used to close a cushion after filling because it is much less time consuming to install a zipper than to hand sew a cushion.
A properly filled cushion is extremely difficult for a non-professional to fill. The filling should be oversize to the cushion in order to have a snug fit, thus the struggle with a cover. Some manufacturers have disabled zippers after closing the cushion to discourage removing the cover.
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Fabric Stain Protector
An after market add-on type of warranty that has proven worth
while for the consumer is a fabric stain protector. This is a product
that the retailer and some upholstery shops apply to the completed upholstered
piece. The company selling the product issues a written warranty
through the retailer. The warranty states for how long the warranty
is in effect, what type of stains are covered and what remedies the consumer
has.
The system we use for our customers is supplied by a firm in Grand Rapids,
Michigan and warranted for 10 years. Their written guarantee lists
what is and is not covered In our case, if a stain
does not come out after recommended cleaning, that stained part of the
upholstery will be replaced under warranty. If the fabric is unavailable,
the company will work with the consumer to find a solution to the problem
up to the amount paid for the item stained.
It’s best to become familiar with the policies of the sources you
work with. I am aware that this type of service can be performed
in the home after delivery of the furniture, but not all providers allow
this. Some restrictions only allow for pre-delivered goods,
others have restrictions on fabric, still others state residential use
only.
How well does the system work? A good number of my customers told
me that they had purchased this program with new furniture. They
were very pleased upon learning that their reupholstered pieces could
have the same protection.
A few years ago after our youngest left the nest, I reupholstered our
family room sofa and applied the stain protector. A year ago one
of the grand children spilled some strawberry pop on the sofa. It
blotted up without any staining. It works!
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