100 yr. table and chairs refinishing

[John Gibbs]

I have family asking my help on refinishing their table and chairs. The table is in nice shape for it's age, so we are leaving it. the chairs are coming apart from many years of use. The leather seats seem to be in fair condition but the joints are doweled and either loose or broken or just not there. The chairs have been stored in a outside shed and are very dirt with years of being handled, etc. Over the years others have tried to nail some of the joints, etc.
My question is should i completely disassemble them and sand them to bare wood, then refinish them? I need some help as to what you recommend and also what products to use. Thanks john

[Sam Yerardi]

John,

Sounds like you've got your hands full . I would suggest the following approach. The first part being repair, the second, refinishing.

Repair
Document each piece so that on any piece you have to re-assemble, you'll know how everything goes back together. The rule of thumb I follow on repairs is any joint that was 'repaired' previously with nails, screws, etc, must be dissassembled IF those joints are failing or have failed. I try to leave well enough alone. Given the age from your description, these pieces are more than likely glued with hide glue. You can dissolve hide glue with hot water (sometimes warm may work), or with alcohol. If any of the joints were repaired with PVA, use hot vinegar. I warm it up in the microwave. Smells horrible but it works. I usually let it set for 10-15 minutes. As the dissassembly progresses, you may have to keep adding water or alcohol (for hide glue) or vinegar (for PVA). On joints that won't pry apart a smart rap with a wooden mallen or better rubber mallet should knock apart most joints.

Refinishing
To retain the patina, I would suggest using a stripper rather than sanding or scraping. You may have to at some point but the stripper approach will do the least physical damage. It may be easier to strip the piece after it is dissassembled. Once the piece is completely stripped, you can use warm water and soap (dishwashing detergent) to clean the wood and remove all of the stripper. If the piece is oak and there are any black iron marks, you can use oxalic acid to remove them and restore the oak back to original condition. I would suggest getting Bob Flexner's books on repair and refinishing to give yourself a good starting point.

[Steve Schoene]

The slip seats can be easily removed so you don't have to disturb the leather. Then you can disassemble, replace missing dowels and effect other repairs. Then reassemble and carefully clean the surfaces with mineral spirits and with gentle soap and water. If you still want to refinish, first determine what the finish is, quite possibly shellac. If it is you can use DNA to remove the old finish. In fact you may not really need to remove the old finish, but can revive it with DNA "reamalgamation" and perhaps a fresh coat. Once clean, new shellac will adhere quite well to the old.

Sanding is not the best way to remove old finish because it also removes all the age from the wood. You would have fresh wood that would be very difficult to coordinate with the table that you haven't refinished. Finishes that can't be reamalgamated are best removed with paint stripper. Methyl chloride strippers are the strongest, but be sure to do that with serious ventilation--you don't want to breathe it.