The Talking Machine Forum — For All Antique Phonographs & Recordings

Wow, I can't believe someone would come here asking for help from some of the most experienced people around and get an attitude when he doesn't hear what he wants. I know how to refinish furniture but I don't know how to restore antiques. I am learning from all the old post and YouTube videos. Can't believe some people.

If you restore any antique that has any value and cover it with polyurethane, you just devalued it to the point of being undesirable. That stuff is not the right look and is almost impossible to remove and prevents correcting the finish...

Yes that's what I was told too. Polyurethane looks really good on furniture but I like using Shellac more now. I've been using it on shelves and some furniture too. It gives it a better look in my opinion.

If you use polyurethane on an antique, you’re not a restorer, you’re a poorly-informed butcher.

This conversation serves to illustrate a point; restoration is one thing, preservation of an original finish is another. As a hobby, I have restored finishes on 18th C. furniture when the original finish was so far gone, or damaged (or wood veneers had to be replaced), but that process mean replicating the original finish as much as can be achieved. Shellac and French Polishing was the order of those days, with some wax finishes occasionally. Despite the best result, as antiques, those pieces are no longer "original" and that is reflected in is desirability and price.

Preservation is another matter. It is about cleaning and stabilizing original finishes with the least amount of disturbance to the original surface and acquired patina. The extent to which repairs/replacements should be made depends on a piece's rarity and commercial or historical value, and that last distinction, historical value, is an academic subject. Museum acquisitions are one kind of guide in this matter, and all of this really pertains to period furniture where I've acquired most of my experience.

Frankly, there are members here who have followed this mechanical music market and have seasoned opinions from years of experience of collecting, observing sectors rise and fall in value over time, whose opinions are far more valuable than mine. But from this collector's standpoint, original finish is just as important and mechanical completeness or functionality. But, I concede, "looking like new" might be more valuable in this market, however it is achieved.

I'm curious; what do you fellow members value? Given the choice, would you prefer newly "restored" casework, "preserved" with aged patina, or the "as is" attic find?

Robert

HMVDevotee wrote: Mon Sep 09, 2024 11:17 am
I'm curious; what do you fellow members value? Given the choice, would you prefer newly "restored" casework, "preserved" with aged patina, or the "as is" attic find?

Robert

I prefer "as-is", and if as-is is not good enough for my liking, I pass on the item. That being said, if it's an item I have wanted for a long while, and I won't likely have a chance at a better example, I'll go for "restored" or "preserved" if either one were done relatively well.