AboutEileen Cronk Expertise Hi..I can answer most questions about the repairing,stripping and refinishing of all your old furniture and wood items(the things we call antiques)I can give advice about what to buy/avoid at auctions/flea markets. I do not give appraisals on antiques.
Experience I have been refinishing antiques for the past 30yrs. While I have taken several courses over the years,I have found that "hands on" learning is the best teacher. Perhaps I can help you avoid some of the mistakes I made while learning.
Question Hi Eileen,
My Grandparents recently past away and I inherited their dining room set. My uncle told me it is antique mahogany wood,however the color on it currently is a gold varnish that I do not like, and looks a little worn. At first, I tried one chair by spray painting and a nice neighbor noticed and said I should strip and stain this wood, so you can see the wood and not paint. So, I went and bought all the materials (stripper & supplies, detail sander, and the stain). I tried to strip it, but it was not all coming off. Then, i used the sander with a medium grain and that also was not working completely. I tried a coarse grain then, but it worried me that I could ruin this wood, so I gave up. I don't have the money to get it professionally refinished, so I am asking your advice. Maybe I didn't use the stripper enough, but my thought process was if it took this long for 1 chair, I still have 7 more, plus the dining room table, hutch and buffet. If the staining process is too time consuming and hard to do, I may resort to painting it, but I would love to keep this nice wood look. Please let me know any advice, thank you for your help!
Sincerely,
Mindy
Answer Hi Eileen
Nice to hear from you.
I think your neighbor is mis-informing you.
First off a solid mahogany dining set will not be painted with gold varnish. In fact it will not have varnish on it at all.
Your set will be a paint grade set and cannot be stripped successfully as you are finding out.
So go ahead and paint it.
Surface prep is the most important step in any paint job so make sure you do not miss it.
Hope this helps
Regards
Eileen(Hey!! we have the same name. I don't often see Eileens).
Regards
Eileen
