Patina, Wood Types, Wooden Patio Furniture

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Dye Powders to Match Stains
When your stain almost matches the old color,but not quite, you can make a perfect match using these dye powders

Patina

Patina is that appearance or essence of a piece of old furniture or old wood, that can never be replaced if it's gone.

Patina on pine

A very basic example of patina is weathered pine. Unfinished pine will turn gray as it ages. The gray appearance is very mellow and a more pleasant appearance than a piece of pine stained gray. If you put a clear finish on the grayed pine it will enhance the appearance and preserve it. If you sand the gray color off the pine it looks like a brand new board that you just got from the lumber yard.

Patina can't be faked

If a piece is 100 years old and you sand the patina off it won't look the same as before sanding for another 100 years. Patina can't be faked! Many have tried it with antique replicas, but it just can't be done. Only time can cause patina.

Clean your antique first.

Clean your antique first, I'm sure you'll be amazed at the difference in appearance when you remove years of old dirt and wax. Every time you wax or polish a piece of furniture you add a thin layer of dust along with the wax or polish. After many years, although the surface looks good and it has a nice shine, it's much darker than it would be if it was cleaned down to the finish. Lots of times there's a pattern in the grain that you didn't realize was there.

Use care not to damage the finish

Don't get over zealous with your cleaning and damage the finish though.

If you do come to a finish that is damaged and covered with wax, don't despair and don't strip and refinish, just add a new coat of finish (not polyurethane). See finish for more information.

Wood Types

Some times it's very difficult to know what type of wood you're working on if you're not around different types frequently. It helps to have pictures of the wood types to look at. We have several types of wood pictures which you may find in furniture making. We'll see if we can find more like this to cover all the different types of wood.

Wooden Patio Furniture

Now is a good time to think about fixing up the patio furniture.

The first order of business is to check all the joints for tightness and tighten any screws or replace any missing nails. Most wooden outdoor furniture is constructed differently than indoor furniture. More joints are nailed and screwed rather than glued on outdoor furniture. To add a little glue to loose joints that are nailed or screwed is a good idea too. Most manufacturers don't use glue to save money.

Next thing to do is clean the surface real well. After cleaning a new fresh coat of paint will enhance your outdoor furniture even if the old paint is in good shape. Repainting a solid surface could save a lot of work later. Liquid Sandpaper or Liquid Deglosser makes surface preparation easy. Use it to treat the old finish before painting and your new paint will stick better.

There is a lot more information about sanding and painting,painted patio furniture,and clear finish patio furniture on the web site.

Warning - - Something To Watch For

Newsletter reader Michelle passed on the following information:

" . . . I used Formby's Face Lift on my table. I don't know if the kit was old but the results weren't exactly stellar. Phase 3 left the leaf that I used looking pretty awful. Big hazy streaks and the rest kind of sticky . . . "

I'm not familiar with Formby's Face Lift, but we'll try to find out more about the product and pass the information on. In the meantime, if you use the product, try it in a small inconspicuous place first to be sure that it will have the effect that you want.

Thanks for the information Michelle.

See more about Formby's Face Lift in our newsletter of 2001-03.

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