Vadim
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Vadim November 24, 2018
To this day, many houses still have Soviet coffee tables, dining tables and desks. The design itself is made soundly and with high quality, but the years have not been kind to the appearance. Let's look at 10 ways to restore such furniture at home, and craftsmen will receive a master class on restoring tables with their own hands.
It is quite possible to restore old but good furniture at home.
How to restore a table
Restoration is carried out in several stages - this is preliminary repair of the table (if there is a need), cleaning the surfaces from dirt and old coating, priming, painting, applying a protective layer, decorating. First you need to immediately prepare all the necessary tools and materials so that restoration work proceeds as quickly as possible.
The table restoration process occurs in several stages.
Selection of tools
Every homeowner has their own set of basic tools and materials needed to carry out home repairs. The necessary tools for restoring wooden tables can be found in any closet:
- Sander;
- sandpaper;
- sanding material;
- rubber spatula;
- roller;
- brushes (or spray gun).
To restore the table you will need a grinding machine and other materials.
For repairs and restoration you will also need putty, woodworking products, varnish, paint, glue, wooden cloth (if any element needs to be replaced), wax, and primer. All this must be prepared in advance.
It is also necessary to prepare means for treating the surface of the product.
Position assessment
Now you can begin to assess the condition of the piece of furniture. To do this, the table is carefully inspected to identify all defects (cracks, chips, broken functional elements). If the furniture is disassembled, then it is worth dismantling the parts. This will make repairs and cleaning easier. After which the structure is reassembled.
Before starting restoration, all defects and damage should be identified.
Dismantling the old coating
Old paint and varnish are removed. The product is polished with a special machine. If you don’t have a sanding machine in the house, they can easily be replaced with sandpaper of varying degrees of hardness. Polishing is carried out along the grain of the wood. Otherwise, defects may form that will be difficult to eliminate.
The old coating is removed using a sanding machine.
This is followed by sanding with sandpaper. All that remains is to remove all furniture dust and shavings and degrease the surfaces using solvents or alcohol.
The surface must be cleaned with sandpaper.
Masking chips and cracks
To mask all chips and cracks, a special putty for wooden surfaces is used. Repairing chips, scratches and cracks is not difficult if you prepare the tools in advance (a rubber spatula that easily penetrates into the recesses).
Cracks and chips are covered with putty.
Once the putty has dried, you need to go over the treated areas of the table with sandpaper with a small abrasive.
The furniture is degreased again and covered with protective agents against pests and mold.
Primer and preparation for painting
If you decide to restore the table top, frame and other elements of the table with paint, then you should take care of preparing the wood for painting.
Priming is done as follows:
- Apply a small amount of primer.
- Distributing the material with a roller or rubber spatula.
- Level the coating to create an even layer.
- Trimming meta transitions.
- Drying of the first layer (from 1 to 6 hours, depending on the composition).
- Apply a second coat and wait until completely dry.
After priming, grinding is carried out to smooth out unevenness and eliminate differences.
After priming, the table is sanded again.
Painting
There are several ways to repair antique wood furniture. It doesn’t matter if it’s a kitchen table, a dining table, a coffee table, or a work table. The most popular restoration method is painting. Fast and inexpensive. At the same time, you can completely change the shade of the decorative coating, giving new life to the interior item.
Painting is the easiest way to restore.
To apply the material, use a spray gun or ordinary paint brushes. In addition, aerosol paints are often used. It is important to take care to prevent the formation of smudges during painting. To do this, the product to be painted is placed horizontally. Paint is applied in thin layers. It is necessary to paint in 2-3 layers, it all depends on the saturation of the enamel.
If the tabletop is noticeably lighter than the legs, do not be alarmed. It's quite normal. Since it is in the shade of the wooden top sheet. This effect is also possible in cases with carved products and veneered boards.
Protective covering
The result of decorative painting is secured with a protective layer of varnish or wax. Modern varnish compositions are quite durable. They are used to cover furniture that is used frequently. For example, for kitchen tables. Wax is often used to protect coffee tables.
A protective coating is applied over the paint.
If a varnish is chosen, then it is applied with a brush in one layer. Depending on the chosen composition, it dries within 18-36 hours.
In the case of wax, a special paste is used. It is applied with a cotton swab or brush.
Liquid wax is distributed over the entire surface of the structure. If a solid material is purchased, then it is first melted and then rubbed into the surface.
The surface is polished with wax.
Features of table decor
Paint itself is already a decorative coating. But a flight of fancy takes owners of old furniture further. The following is used as decoration:
- self-adhesive paper (film), characterized by its availability and ability to hide visible defects, and the design is quite bright;
- tiles laid on the countertop, which allows you to preserve the beautiful appearance of the furniture for a long time, protect the wood from moisture and temperature changes;
- tiled mosaic (gives a similar effect as tiles, but allows you to make more original patterns in different colors);
- decoupage from paper, fabric.
When simply painting with enamel, you can also play with the decor using figured rollers, tulle, and stencils. Or resorting to coloring the tabletop with different shades and gradations.
When painting, you can take a non-standard approach and play with shades.
Decoration options
Refinishing old furniture is a fun activity and a chance to show creativity. There are many ways to update the countertop of a kitchen or other table: from simple painting to complex techniques. Here are just a few decorating ideas:
- pasting with self-adhesive film;
- decoration with decorative tape;
- creating a mosaic (in addition to ready-made building materials, pieces of ceramic tiles, colored corks, pebbles, broken glassware, egg shells, and shells are suitable);
- decoration with ceramic tiles;
- painting - with a brush, through a stencil, tulle, lace napkins;
- decoupage – pasting with decorative napkins;
- aging (paints, crackle varnish);
- firing a wooden tabletop;
- epoxy resin coating;
- gilding of individual elements using decorative foil.
A great way not only to restore a coffee table, but also to make it an exclusive item is to create a panoramic picture covered with glass on a tabletop with sides. This could be a garden of rocks, succulents, miniature fresh flowers, an abstract or thematic composition. Such furniture will become an exquisite decoration of the room.
Restoring a table yourself is a good way to transform furniture to your liking without breaking the bank. Perhaps after the repair you will want to try your hand at other items. Moreover, handmade is at the peak of popularity today.
Adhesive tape
Mosaic Decorative tape Ceramic tiles Painting
Decoupage Aging Firing
Epoxy resin Gilding
Causes of breakdowns and repair of an old table
If you discover a breakdown of old furniture, you should immediately take care of repairing the table. Of course, you can repair a piece of furniture in a special workshop, but this pleasure is not the cheapest. All repair work can be easily done independently.
If there is a breakdown, it must be repaired.
The causes of breakdowns can be very diverse, ranging from careless use, deformation of mechanisms, ending with old material, environmental influences, termites, etc.
The causes and nature of breakdowns may be different.
The fallen parts are pushed into place and fixed with special furniture glue. In case of breakage and loss of thread elements, small similar wooden blanks are created.
If any parts have fallen off, they are reattached.
If the tabletop has become completely unusable, it should be replaced immediately. This is true in case of a large amount of rot. The new surface is securely fixed with a press. If deformation due to dampness is observed, the product is thoroughly dried. Its elements are set in the desired position and straightened under the press.
In some cases, a complete countertop replacement may be necessary.
Paint it striped
Painting is one of the fastest and most effective techniques in furniture decor. To make it more interesting, we suggest making the table striped. Painting tape will help you get the job done smoothly: paint the table the base color, then stick on strips of tape and apply a couple of layers of a different color. Peel off the tape and the effect is ready. Can be repeated many times to make stripes of different colors and widths. Don't forget to varnish everything to be safe. In the same way you can create zigzags, for example.
Pros and cons of updating furniture yourself
The advantages of restoring old furniture yourself are obvious - saving money and the opportunity to get exactly the result you want, without the advice of experts, designers, etc.
Other advantages include:
- the opportunity to preserve furniture that has family value;
- creation of unique interior items (truly one of a kind);
- high quality results;
- obtaining a durable product.
Restoring furniture yourself has both pros and cons.
But independent repairs and restoration of furniture are not without their disadvantages. This is a labor-intensive process that requires material and time costs. You need to have certain skills in working with wood and knowledge in decorating so that the work comes out neat and beautiful. Despite this, in just 2-3 days (taking into account the drying of the varnish and paint) you can cope with the task. So, there is no need to be afraid of difficulties.
Assessment of the degree of coating wear
After looking at numerous photos before and after restoration, many people are inspired. After that, they try to work on improving their own furniture.
I can say that it is no more difficult than restoring a mirror. But it’s no easier compared to repairing wooden chairs or, even more so, restoring a Viennese chair. We have already talked about these procedures, and therefore I suggest you follow the links and read our materials, leave reviews and share your personal experience.
At the first stage of restoration, it is necessary to visually assess the current condition of the surfaces. The first sign is visual aging. Darkening often appears near threaded connections, the varnish cracks, and a large number of chips can also form. The aging of the varnish and the end of its life cycle are indicated by small meshes on the surface. Yes, small defects do not always significantly affect the overall picture.
But there are also cases when simply removing the old layer and applying a new coating cannot be done.
Consider whether restoration makes sense. If yes, then get to work.
Examples of table restoration and photo ideas for decoration
Paint with chalkboard paint
A table painted with special slate paint will be laconic black or dark green. But now you can leave notes and draw with crayons right on the table. And how much more convenient it is to play board games where you have to record points! The table itself can serve as a field for tic-tac-toe or a gallows.
Cover with film
The film can also be not simple, but slate or even with the effect of a white marker board. A table with a pattern of triangular pieces of film, as in the photo below, will require a little more fiddling, but the result will be very stylish!
