Do-it-yourself furniture restoration is a great opportunity to prolong the life of any interior items, make them bright and colorful designer decor. These processes may or may not be complex. It all depends on exactly what you are going to change. You need to understand that such a process as do-it-yourself furniture restoration, the ideas for which are varied, is also somewhat laborious.
Why is this happening
Unfortunately, furniture breaks quite often, and the reasons may be different. These include their close proximity to heating devices, insufficient moisture, old age, transportation, the appearance of insects.
Each of these problems has a causal connection. You need to understand that if you do not want to throw away your favorite interior items and buy new ones, then you can give preference to the restoration of furniture with your own hands.
Any broken item should be repaired immediately. Procrastination in this case can lead tothe fact that the item is so worn out that it will not be up to the restoration of furniture. It will be impossible to do anything with your own hands.
Peeled veneer
Very often, furniture is pasted with veneer, which is made from precious woods. Such a simple operation makes interior items interesting, prolongs their life, preventing the formation of cracks and the appearance of insects. Unfortunately, it also happens that the veneer peels off.
This can be caused by excess moisture and dampness, which causes the material to swell, crack and peel. You can fix this.
How to fix
Initially, you need to try ironing the veneer with a hot iron. It is necessary to enclose a paper sheet so as not to spoil the material itself. The procedure may not always bring results.
If the visible effect is not achieved, it is necessary to make an inscription on the veneer. Over its edge, the material rises and the base is smeared with glue. Using a press, the adhesive is held until it dries. The remains of it are removed with a knife or a sharp cycle.
To bleach the seam, use a solution of oxalic acid. Its processing over a colorless varnish will help prolong the effect of the result. Thanks to the restoration of furniture with your own hands, you can extend its life and make the appearance aesthetically attractive.
Other veneer problems
Do-it-yourself furniture restoration (the photo of the right shows the result) may be necessary if the veneer has deposited to the base or moved away along the edge. The last problem is solved by lubricating the piece that is damaged with glue and lapping it. In order not to damage the varnish coating, it is advised to wrap the lapping agent in flannel.
If the veneer is deposited to the base, then the damaged part is glued and rubbed. After that, it is necessary to putty and tint. The final step is varnishing the surface.
Polished furniture
Do-it-yourself polished furniture restoration is an affordable process for everyone. Most often, the need for it arises in cases where defects occur at the ends and corners. They may be scratched or beveled.
Do-it-yourself furniture restoration involves its putty and primer. Lubrication is made from glue and wood flour. The last ingredient is often replaced with pumice, talc or powdered chalk.
The second possible option is to restore furniture with your own hands with rosin grease, which includes a special mixture, zinc white and flour. In order not to spoil the piece of furniture, you can use a pigment in the color of your furniture. The grease is used after it has been heated, and the gaps are sealed with sealing wax, the color of which should be selected in advance.
Get rid of the scratch
Scratch on the lacquer is a common occurrence. The problem is solved quite simply if you have information about what varnish the furniture surface is covered with. In this case, it will be enough to simply treat it with a solvent.
If your furniture is finished with an alcohol-based polish or lacquer, you canuse ethyl alcohol. Nitro-lacquer coating is processed with ordinary acetone or solvents 647, KR-36 and 646.
Defects on nitrocellulose and polyester varnish can be easily removed with sandpaper. After processing, the surface is smeared with polishing paste and varnished.
Potholes and chips
Do-it-yourself furniture restoration, a photo of which can be found in the article, may also be needed to fix potholes and chips. For these purposes, putty is used. It is made from wood flour, talc or chalk, to which glue and pigment dye are added. The material is applied to the damaged surface and allowed to dry for several days. After complete drying, sanding and varnishing of the surface is carried out.
Another option is to do-it-yourself furniture restoration with liquid putty. It is applied to the desired area, and tracing paper is placed on top. With the help of an iron, the necessary shape is set. The advantage is that there is no need to sand the surface. Just get rid of the tracing paper.
Old furniture
Restoration of old furniture with your own hands will give a lot of positive emotions and new sensations. If you want to completely change its appearance, you can use plywood sheets. They perfectly hide the ugly sides of a table or cabinet. If desired, you can give preference to putty. However, if the furniture is really old, then it will not always work.
If there is a need to replace the countertop itself, you canrepaint it in a different color. Initially, you need to sand the surface to get rid of old pigment, possible scratches and cracks, dirt and ink. After sanding, you can proceed to the painting itself. Restoring old furniture with your own hands will be a good thing, and the result will look spectacular in any interior.
Replacement of handles also applies to restoration. Usually this procedure does not cause any difficulty. It is enough to choose those models that harmoniously fit into the design of the model. The surface underneath can be sanded and varnished.
Upholstered furniture
Restoration of upholstered furniture with your own hands is an opportunity to breathe life into your favorite interior items. Changing upholstery is a fairly simple process. It is enough to remove the old one very carefully so as not to damage it. We will use it as a template when sewing new upholstery.
You should also get rid of possible fasteners, such as buttons and brackets. This can be done with pliers. To remove, just cut one of the seams with ordinary scissors.
Gradually removing the fabric, mark the places with a marker, so that later you do not make a mistake which part was taken from where. If desired, you can polish the legs and other visible details.
Upholstered furniture is covered with batting, carefully bending the material and securing it with staples. On the old upholstery we make patterns and cut out a new one. It is important to choose a fabric that will last a long time. The fabric is fastened with staples.
Restoration of Soviet furniture with their ownhands can be carried out by sewing capes on chairs or sofas. This will eliminate the lengthy process of creating new upholstery and give new interior motifs.
Decoupage
If you are going to carry out a process such as do-it-yourself furniture restoration, decoupage will be a great way. It will help to update literally any piece of furniture.
You will need materials such as varnish, glue, ruler, scissors, paper with pictures or napkins, a brush and, of course, the furniture itself. Decoupage kitchen interior items look great.
Restoring kitchen furniture with your own hands is a fairly simple process. There is no need for practice. Lacquered surfaces should be sanded. This will ensure a good bond with the paper, and therefore eliminate the possibility of wrinkles and bubbles.
It is best to take square-shaped drawings. They are smeared and glued gradually. You can make a whole picture by gluing edge to edge, or you can create a collage or appliqué.
The paper is overlapped on the edge of the table. If the edges are rounded, it is worth making cuts so that the pattern lies more evenly, if they are even, there is no need for this.
After the paper has been saturated with glue, you need to level it. To do this, it is enough to press it tightly against the furniture. Next, the material should dry completely.
Once the glue has dried, you can apply layers of varnish, which will act as a fixative. Apply themfollowed by at least two. Leave them to dry after each application.
If you seriously like the decoupage technique, you can get professional attributes and create real masterpieces from your own old furniture.
Repair of worn parts
It is very important to repair the furniture at the moment when you notice any defect. Waiting can lead to negative consequences. One of the problems is the loose connection of parts. Fixing this is easy enough. Useful glue and cleaning. Initially, we clean the part from the old glue and lubricate it with fresh. It is necessary to squeeze tightly or fix the structure so that the glue grabs the part. For these purposes, you can use a clamp, twine or heavy objects that are placed on top.
If cracks remain even after fresh gluing, then wooden wedges lubricated with glue should be driven into them. Small gaps can be easily repaired with putty or a cloth soaked in adhesive.
Threads
In stools, the threads often break at the place where the legs are attached. This can be eliminated with a nut with an identical thread. Initially, the butt is ground off, only two protrusions remain intact. We make cuts into the holes with a broken thread so that the protrusions of the nut enter them. After the nut is inserted and secured, all that remains is to screw the leg back.
Shaky chairs
Loose chairs and stools are the eternal problems of most people. Actuallyit won't be hard to solve them. It is enough to drill small holes in the legs, and make them through in the struts. Screws are screwed into them until the legs with struts are tightened.
Flipped doors
Another common problem is doors that have fallen off. This is explained by the fact that the screws on the walls are not tightened enough. If the problem cannot be solved by simply twisting, you can carefully enlarge the hole. A wooden cork on glue fits into it. A screw is screwed into this design, which will now hold tightly.
Insects
Grinder beetles sometimes grow in old furniture. You can find out about their appearance by the presence of small round holes. In this case, you should inspect the structure from the inside. If the assumption is correct, you need to urgently solve the problem. By the way, a characteristic sign of their presence is the “ticking” sound that these insects make.
It is important to start solving the problem immediately, otherwise there will be nothing left of the furniture but dust. While the damage caused by insects is insignificant, that is, there is hope to fix everything. To do this, fill the syringe with petroleum jelly and process the structure from the inside. From above, the holes are clogged with wax or paraffin. Suitable for these purposes and ordinary putty. The procedure should be repeated after 2-3 weeks.
If your furniture is badly damaged by insects, then there is no point in fixing it. It can fall apart at any moment. The best solution would be to buy a new one, which will add charm and sophistication to the interior.
