The Sewing Place

Refurbishing 1970s dining room chairs

Flobear

Re: Refurbishing 1970s dining room chairs
« Reply #15 on: October 31, 2021, 13:38:49 PM »
Hi jacking this thread slightly, sorry @Flobear , can anyone suggest a way to get those white watermarks of a nest of tables?

I inherited these from my mum and the are very useful and fit where I use them but years of kids and now kids have taken their toll.

I don’t know what wood the are but it is fairly light. I know I could sand them back but then DH would take over, make a very good job but then would moan for ages about how much time he had to spend on them and bore me rigid when he explained for the nth time what he had to do.

Most welcome @Ellabella. In fact there is the most horrendous watermark on the matching table because I once kept a plant pot on there on a pot saucer that turned out to be porous :boohoo: As the table had a cloth on, it was quite some time before I noticed any problem.

Thank you so much to those who have contributed such excellent suggestions. I agree that the wood is in fairly good nick for the age of the chairs, that's why I want to improve it sympathetically and not try and cover it with anything varnishy.

I love the simple style of those chairs too @Esme866 and @Lilian. I've had them so long that they've probably stopped being plain 'old-fahioned' and would be labelled 'retro' or even 'vintage' now  ;)

Can't wait to get started!
« Last Edit: October 31, 2021, 13:41:01 PM by Flobear »
Proud new owner of Elvistoo !!

charley

Re: Refurbishing 1970s dining room chairs
« Reply #16 on: October 31, 2021, 20:51:31 PM »
I would try Will Kirk's mixture on one chair @Flobear, then buff it up with a bit of wax polish, and see if you like the result?

Esme866

Re: Refurbishing 1970s dining room chairs
« Reply #17 on: October 31, 2021, 21:43:15 PM »
My mom has a dining table and a coffee table, both purchased new in the 90's, from different manufacturers, that started to get light watermarks a few years ago. The marks actually form very quickly,  such as condensation from the bottom of an empty ice cream bowl - moved 15 minutes later. This did not happen when the tables were new. I knew polyurethane wouldn't do this, so I did some research.

I had noticed many furniture flippers on YouTube using a spray on laquer instead of polyurethane because it dries so much faster and does not require as much time to cure. At home polyurethane needs two weeks to cure, in a factory, it goes into a low humidity/higher temperature drying booth to cure for several hours. Lacquer does not require so much additional time. So most manufacturers switched to lacquer.

But eventually, the lacquer crazes into thousands of tiny microscopic cracks which allows the moisture to wick up underneath it- causing the white/light marks. (On older furniture, white marks are typically the result of moisture absorption into/under wax or polish buildup.

I have successfully touched up the areas with markers. Were it my furniture, I would give it a light sanding and wipe on 2-3 coats of polyurethane. Some Youtubers claim this doesn't work, and the lacquer will still pop off and continue to crack. But my parents are in their 80's, this only needs to last a few years. I would just like to prevent something from getting left long enough to blacken the actual wood. However as my mother isn't physically able to do things herself, she becomes infuriated when I offer to do anything aesthetic. If I can do it behind her back, she is grateful afterwards. (I just can't figure out a way to hide those tables for two weeks! :thinking:)

Lilian

Re: Refurbishing 1970s dining room chairs
« Reply #18 on: October 31, 2021, 23:14:28 PM »
I am a fan of Danish Oil it has shellac in it and I have never had problems with moisture damage.  I applied danish Oil to the wooden panelling in the hallway, many years ago now, and even when the wet dog shook himself after a rainy walk it never damaged the wood.  :)
Willing but not always able :)

Sewingsue

Re: Refurbishing 1970s dining room chairs
« Reply #19 on: November 01, 2021, 12:48:01 PM »

 I've had them so long that they've probably stopped being plain 'old-fahioned' and would be labelled 'retro' or even 'vintage' now  ;)

Can't wait to get started!
Classed as 'mid-century' now and getting fashionable and sought after.
Bernina Aurora 440QE, Brother BC-2500, Singer 99K (1938), Juki MO-654DE overlocker, Silver Viscount 620D overlocker.

Lilian

Re: Refurbishing 1970s dining room chairs
« Reply #20 on: November 01, 2021, 13:34:26 PM »
I did a search for the same chairs and seen them fetching £380 or more for four refurbished chairs  :faints:
Willing but not always able :)

Flobear

Re: Refurbishing 1970s dining room chairs
« Reply #21 on: November 01, 2021, 17:23:28 PM »
Wow! @Lilian.

I've discovered a container of Bald's furniture balm for light wood that I'd completely forgotten buying from Lakeland. Not sure teak finish is light, but neither is it dark  :[  Any'ow, I plan to try it out on a pine cupboard to see what happens.
« Last Edit: November 01, 2021, 17:28:27 PM by Flobear »
Proud new owner of Elvistoo !!

Lilian

Re: Refurbishing 1970s dining room chairs
« Reply #22 on: November 01, 2021, 18:53:01 PM »
I've not seen Bald's wood balm so I just watched a video on their site.  Apparently it takes out white ring marks and nourishes the wood  :)   I have something similar I think, I will have to sort it out,  I have a teak drop-leaf dining table in the cupboard with rings marks on it.  Hope it does the job for you  :)
Willing but not always able :)

sewmuchmore

Re: Refurbishing 1970s dining room chairs
« Reply #23 on: November 09, 2021, 18:24:24 PM »
A French Polisher once told me to hover a warm iron over the mark on my table, I suppose similar to @Ploshkin hairdryer method, but i never dared try it. I bought some Colron ring remover  and that worked.
It's not easy being this perfekt

Janet

Gavin e

Re: Refurbishing 1970s dining room chairs
« Reply #24 on: November 17, 2021, 22:40:13 PM »
My dad is a French polisher and I have worked with him many times over the years…. I have seen him use every one of the cures mentioned in this thread, and the correct one to use differs from piece to piece, depending upon the wood and the existing finish on it.

Only experience will tell you which is the best, but to learn that means having a go and seeing what happens.

A quick test he used at times was to just wipe the damage with a wet cloth to see how badly worn the current polish/lacquer is.  How it looks damp is a fair representation of how it’d look re lacquered if you just gave a couple of coats of polish over the existing finish, and can help to let you know if you can get away with a quick refresher coat.  Let it dry for a couple of hours before doing any work though.

The hair dryer thing works on some white marks but not others, depending on the cause.  French polishers call the white marks ‘bloom’, and it’s basically moisture in the wood that is pulled out by the heat of something put on top of the table.  If you’re lucky and apply just enough heat you can sometimes persuade the bloom to vanish - although I have no idea if it goes back into the wood or evaporates.

Like a lot have said here, teak does tend to respond well to a quick rub with oil, so that is where I would look first if I were you.

Flobear

Re: Refurbishing 1970s dining room chairs
« Reply #25 on: November 18, 2021, 13:06:25 PM »
Thanks for that very useful insight @Gavin e .
I needed a nudge to get started  :thumb:
Proud new owner of Elvistoo !!