Expert: Eileen Cronk - 8/19/2005

Question
purchased an old three piece painted bedroom set from berkey and gay. paint is olive with painted florals on dresser and the trifold mirror/jewelry drawer butler piece that sits on top of dresser. pineapple finials on bed and tri-mirror piece were painted a brownish/red. chipping and wear is extensive. other painted areas are quite good with chipping throughout. how to clean it, how to refurbish it without damaging the paint? maybe a job for a professional?
not sure age of piece and believe painting is hand done. do not want to damage the painted surface.
thanks for any direction.

Answer
Hi Carol
Nice to hear from you.
I'm afraid all you can do to this set is a cleaning and live with it if you want to keep the hand painting.
I suppose there could be people out there who would fill all the chipped places and match the paint, but what a lot of money that would cost.
Just use a dish detergent and water to clean. If its really dirty you will have to use a harsher cleaner, but lets hope not.
Hope this helps
Kindest Regards
Eileen