Advice on How to Bring This Finish Back

KurtB

KurtB

Kurt
Corporate Member
I wonder if anyone can give me some advice on restoring a finish. My wife and I were at an antique/flea mall over the weekend and I picked up this Nichols and Stone Captain's Chair for $15. Guy was closing up his booth so I got a nice deal on it. Apparently, Nichols and Stone is out of Mass. and one of the oldest furniture makers in the U.S. Bought out by Stickley in 2008. While I'm sure this is no priceless antique, it is very well made and has a great finish on it with the exception of the ends of the arms.

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They've definitely seen some use.

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So my question is, what would be the best way to bring the finish on the arms up to snuff with the rest of the chair? According to their website Nichols and Stone use multiple hand rubbed coats of lacquer and color for their finishing work. I don't want to refinish the entire chair as I don't think I'd get close to the finish that's already there, but I would like to get the arms looking better.

I'm sure there have to be some finishing experts here. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
Phil S

Phil S

Phil Soper
Staff member
Corporate Member
Tape off the arms. Sand lightly with 320. spray a coat of Mohawk vinyl sealer and sand that very light with 400
Spray on a light coat of 40 sheen lacquer and see how it looks. You might need to add just a slight amount of transient dye to the next coat - try to sneak up on the color.
Or
Plan B would be to make a trip to my shop in Raleigh and we would have you out the door in less than one hour
 
H

Henry W

Henry
Corporate Member
Take Phil's (generous) offer and learn a few things from the guy - I know I have learned from him!
Of course now I look and see you listed as being in Swansboro - which makes a trip to Phil in N Raleigh a worthwhile adventure, but more of a commitment.
 
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Charles Lent

Charley
Corporate Member
That looks like very faded orange shellac to me. Shellac is easy to restore with another coat rubbed in as it dissolves and mixes with the existing to make a new coat. An easy test is to rub some alcohol on the underside of the seat. If your wipe gets a brown/orange color on it, the finish is worn out orange shellac.

Do the test first to see if it really is orange shellac. It was a very common finish 70 - 100 years ago.

Charley
 
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chris_goris

Chris
Senior User
Plan B for sure... I can attest to the quality of those chairs, I have several that I have been using for over 25 years now. I recently bought 4 side chairs matching that one for $100. They were cherry finish... I sprayed them with black Lacquer to match my others.
 
KurtB

KurtB

Kurt
Corporate Member
chris_goris said:
Plan B for sure... I can attest to the quality of those chairs, I have several that I have been using for over 25 years now. I recently bought 4 side chairs matching that one for $100. They were cherry finish... I sprayed them with black Lacquer to match my others.
Click to expand...
Yeah, we were going through the store and I kept looking at what appeared to be decent wooden chairs, but then I'd flip them over and find "Made in Thailand" or some such label. When I flipped this one it had the Nichols and Stone Massachusetts logo burned into it. I figured it was well made. When we got home a did a bit of research and found the info on the company. It's from 1993, so no antique value, but it IS a really nice chair.
 
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chris_goris

Chris
Senior User
PeteM said:
FWIW: "According to the official definition issued by the United States Customs Service, antiques are items with at least 100 years of age"
Click to expand...
Unless its a vehicle.... 25 years according Antique Automobile Club of America , so maybe everything else its longer?.
 
PeteM

PeteM

Pete
Corporate Member
chris_goris said:
Unless its a vehicle.... 25 years according Antique Automobile Club of America , so maybe everything else its longer?.
Click to expand...

Vintage vs. Classic vs. Antique Cars​

. . . generally agreed-upon age standards:
  • Vintage Car: Manufactured between 1919 and 1930. Either a “survivor” or restored in conformance to the original manufacturer specifications
  • Antique Car: Manufactured 1975 or earlier (>45 years old). Either a “survivor” or restored in conformance to the original manufacturer specifications
  • Classic Car: Manufactured 2000 or earlier (>20 years old)
This is way off topic so I think we should stop this here.
 
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