Restoring a queen anne blackwood piano stool?

[LouiseH]

I am restoring a queen anne blackwood piano stool for my daughter for Christmas. It looks like a 1960's/1970's piece. This is my first ever attempt at furniture restoration. The base of the stool has a few minor chips and scratches. What should I use to sand and restore it?

[StevenManos]

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[Xanthorrhoeas]

Hi and welcome,

Can you please post a photo of the stool and the damage? There are many experienced people here that can help if they can see what you are dealing with.

My reply below is therefore interim, sight unseen.

I usually work on antiques not this period, but, in general, I would not recommend sanding at all. Unless you know what the original finish is it will be hard to match. Also, manufacturers often applied a stain before the finish and if you sand that off the timber will look very different. For dark or brown timbered antiques with minor scratches etc. sometimes just a good wax with a black furniture wax will fill the scratches and the piece will glow (and smell) nicely. Deeper scratches can be filled with coloured hard wax crayons pushed in with a knife or chisel then rubbed smooth. Liberon make a set of those sticks, they are also available on eBay and from other woodwork stores (try Carbatec I don't know if they have them or not). Melbourne has some good furniture restoration materials suppliers from memory.

Good luck

David

[LouiseH]

366157

[LouiseH]

366158

[Xanthorrhoeas]

Thanks for the pictures. It does not look like it has been stained but my advice would be as before. Some furniture wax crayon stick applied with knife or chisel and then a wax over with good quality (high Carnauba wax content) furniture wax - the dark brown type so it doesn't leave white marks.

Effectively, you are hiding and glossing over the damage and leaving the furniture with a subtle glow and nice smell. If you sanded off the damage then that leg would have a different profile to the the others and that would look odd. Once you remove material you can never replace it but if you add the wax you can always remove it later if you choose a different solution.

Hope this helps - and should be doable by Christmas.

David

[LouiseH]

Thanks for the pictures. It does not look like it has been stained but my advice would be as before. Some furniture wax crayon stick applied with knife or chisel and then a wax over with good quality (high Carnauba wax content) furniture wax - the dark brown type so it doesn't leave white marks.

Effectively, you are hiding and glossing over the damage and leaving the furniture with a subtle glow and nice smell. If you sanded off the damage then that leg would have a different profile to the the others and that would look odd. Once you remove material you can never replace it but if you add the wax you can always remove it later if you choose a different solution.

Hope this helps - and should be doable by Christmas.

David

Thanks so much David, we live near Devonport in Tasmania, so hopefully I can source the wax! You have been very helpful and it will seems like it might be so m ch easier to do it that way as well!

[LouiseH]

Hi David, will wax work if the piano stool has been varnished? It is not shiny, but I suspect it has had some coating in the past. I found this link to beeswax furniture polish located near my home. Would that be suitable?
Beeswax Furniture Polish - Melita Honey Farm (http://www.melitahoneyfarm.com.au/beeswax-furniture-polish-1/)
kind regards,
Louise

[Xanthorrhoeas]

Hi Louise,

Beeswax manufacturers promote their product for furniture but, in my opinion, it is unsuitable. Because beeswax is quite soft and sticky it tends to attract dust and the item looks dirty pretty quickly. I must have had a seniors moment as I thought your location was Melbourne. Devonport is much nicer (IMHO). The best place to get good furniture wax this close to Christmas (given mail times to Tasmania) would be a local antiques store in Devonport. They usually keep some furniture wax often both the blond and the black wax (actually dark brown) that you need. Both do have some beeswax, some wood turpentine and also the harder Carnauba wax. The beeswax and natural turpentine are the carriers for the Carnauba wax and they are rubbed off when you buff, leaving only the hard wax that protects the furniture and does not attract dust. The antique stores may have the hard wax sticks too.

Yes, the wax is fine over varnish. It is a surface coating so will go over any surface.

[ian]

Hi Louise

I think that David is referring to this sort of wax sticks
https://www.carbatec.com.au/images/ProductImages/500/LBN-014276.jpg
https://www.carbatec.com.au/sanding-and-finishing/fillers-and-touch-ups/liberon-shellac-filler-stick-tin-of-10

I'm sure he will correct me if I'm wrong. :U

They are both a colour and a filler.
I haven't checked if you can get sticks in a in single colour in Aus, but I think you can.