Will stripping and refinishing my old furniture ruin the value of the piece? That is another question I get asked often. My answer to that, is if your antique is in good shape and you refinish it, you will decrease the value. If it is in bad shape, and you refinish it, then you can only increase the value. No one wants an old piece sitting in their house, that looks ugly. A lot of people have some old pieces laying around, or in a corner as a decoration. But if it is falling apart and the finish is coming off, then you should have an expert like me to look at it for you. I will be the first person to tell you not to do anything with it, if it looks nice. The fewer changes you make, the better. Maybe it just needs a cleaning or just refurbish it. Try to keep all original parts, and existing finish if possible. If you change hardware on it, then save the old ones and keep them with the piece for value reasons. I know that a lot of people are afraid to do anything with their heirloom furniture, because all you ever hear is you will ruin the value if you mess with it.
Just ask yourself these questions. 1.) Do I really like the way this piece looks in my home, or is it not so pleasing to the eyes? OR 2.) Is this piece going to be for my own pleasure in my home, or am I interested in selling to a collector? If you are concerned with the value, then use my simple rule above. If it is in bad shape, then restore it. If in fair to good shape, then leave it alone. Or just have Dave look at it for a professional evaluation. https://davestouchups.com/ . Sometimes a piece only needs what I call refurbishing. That is a careful cleaning, minor repairs, and touch up, and maybe a light coat of finish applied to the surface. Most people that have old furniture, and are concerned about having it worked on, should keep in mind that an old piece cannot go through time, with out getting a few battle wounds as we call them. Most of these imperfections will blend right into a piece just by restoring the piece. You do not need every crack filled in, or every nick filled in. Just a simple refinishing can make a beat up piece look wonderful. No need to worry about every nick or gouge. Now sure you may think I am biased just because this is what I do. But I sure would not want an ugly old beat up antique in my home for everyone to see. I would want it to look as good as possible for all to enjoy. If you are worried about it's value, then I would call a collector, sell it, and let him or her worry about fixing it up. Because if you are worried about it's value, then that means it is a money thing instead of useful piece of furniture or a nice decoration. I just love hearing on the Antiques Road Show, how they find a drawer with a new bottom on it, and say it lost it's value because it has been replaced. But maybe the drawer bottom was busted so bad and the owner of the piece had no choice, but to fix it so it is functional. Now if it was left broken, then they still would say, "oh this drawer is broken & therefore the value is not as much as it could be." You cannot win. Use your own judgment, and use my rules above to make your decision.
Dave's Touch-Ups, Inc.
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