Guide to Stripping Furniture Finish

Embarking on a furniture refinishing project can be rewarding, but it requires careful attention to detail, especially during the crucial step of stripping the old coatings from the wooden surfaces.  In this guide, we’ll use our professional experience as the best Jacksonville furniture restoration shop to walk you through the essential steps to ensure you achieve the best results possible.

1. Choose the Right Stripping Agent – Selecting the appropriate stripping agent is paramount to the success of your project. While many products claim to be “safe,” it’s essential to scrutinize their chemical makeup and instructions.  Opt for high-quality stripping agents and carefully read the labels to understand their effectiveness and safety for both you and your furniture.  Harsh chemicals can weaken joints and damage the wood, so prioritize gentler options that are still effective.
2. Prioritize Safety – Safety should always be a top priority when working with stripping agents and other chemicals. Equip yourself with the necessary protective gear, including goggles, long sleeves, gloves designed for chemical resistance, and a respirator to prevent inhalation of fumes. Minimize skin exposure and ensure adequate ventilation in your workspace to safeguard your health throughout the refinishing process.  Keep children, pets, and other members of your household away from your work area.  When in doubt, call on a great professional furniture restoration service and leave the messy work to the seasoned professionals!
3. Allocate Sufficient Time – Stripping old coatings from antique furniture is a time-intensive task that requires patience and attention to detail. Allocate plenty of time for each step of the process, including preparation, application, chemical dwell time, and finally, removal.  Factor in additional time for any unforeseen challenges or the need to repeat certain steps to achieve the desired results.  Rushing through the process can compromise the quality of your refinishing efforts.
4. Understand the Need for Elbow Grease – Effective furniture stripping requires good old-fashioned elbow grease. Follow the instructions provided with your chosen stripping agent, ensuring thorough application and proper dwell time for the chemicals to do their work. Use the appropriate tools and techniques for removal, such as scrapers or steel wool, to gently lift away old coatings without damaging the underlying wood.  Once you know what the job will entail, you may choose to just call on the best professional furniture refinishing or reupholstering shop in your area and let the experts take care of everything.

While DIY furniture refinishing can be fulfilling, entrusting your beloved antiques to professional restoration experts offers unparalleled expertise and peace of mind.  Jax Furniture Refinishing & Upholstering is the best furniture refinishing company Jacksonville FL homeowners trust with their favorite furniture.  We provide unmatched craftsmanship and attention to detail, ensuring your furniture receives the care it deserves. From Jacksonville to Riverside, Ortega, and Mandarin, your neighbors trust Jax Furniture for high quality antique restoration services backed by passion and professionalism.

Quality Matters in Furniture Refinishing

Your furniture is more than just wooden or metal or upholstered pieces placed in your home; these pieces are investments that enhance your living space and reflect your personal style.  However, over time, they may require repairs or reupholstering to maintain their beauty and functionality.  When the time comes for such restoration work, it’s essential to find the best furniture refinishing company to entrust with the task.  Here are some valuable tips to help you in your search:

1. Prioritize Experience: When seeking a reputable furniture upholstery service, prioritize experience. Look for a company with a proven track record, one that has been in the business for years.  Seasoned professionals bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise to all good furniture refinishing shops, ensuring that your furniture receives the care it deserves.  Take the time to research the best professional upholsterers in your area and choose a highly rated furniture restoration service with craftsmen who have honed their skills over time, capable of handling a variety of furniture types and materials.
2. Assess Craftsmanship: The quality of craftsmanship is paramount when it comes to furniture restoration. Look for testimonials from satisfied customers and ask for references to gauge the quality of their work. The best local furniture upholstery services take pride in delivering superior craftsmanship, ensuring that each piece is restored to its former glory with precision and care.
3. Personalized Approach: The best furniture refinishing services value collaboration and customer satisfaction. Whether you have antique heirlooms to be restored or modern furnishings to freshly reupholster, a reputable company will work closely with you to achieve the desired outcomes, ensuring that your expectations are not only met but exceeded.
4. Local Reputation: Consider the reputation of all highly rated furniture repair or refinishing shops in your area and prioritize those with a strong local presence and positive reviews from the community.

There are many good professional furniture refinishing companies in Northeast Florida, but Jax Furniture is the best furniture refinishing service Jacksonville FL homeowners have trusted for years.  With years of experience and a passion for fine furniture, we have earned the trust of many customers across the region. From contemporary pieces to cherished antiques, our skilled craftsmen handle each project with care and expertise.  Whether you’re in Jacksonville, Riverside, Atlantic Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach, or beyond, trust Jax Furniture Refinishing & Upholstering to breathe new life into your furniture.

Furniture Refinishing Benefits

Should you put the dresser with the water rings and sun damage out at the curb, or attempt to refinish it?  Should you throw out that creaky antique chair or find a good furniture restoration service to repair and refinish it?  Here are some of the benefits of refinishing your furniture or hiring the best professional furniture restoration company in your area to do the job:

• New Chapter – Refinishing your furniture gives it a new chapter! Instead of dumping a piece of furniture just because it no longer looks brand new, find a great furniture refinishing shop in your area and let the technicians repair it and give it a new coat of stain or new upholstery.  You’ll fall in love with it all over again and it will have a “new life” in your home.
• No Landfill – When you choose to restore your favorite furniture instead of discarding it, that’s one less thing being dumped in the ever-expanding landfills. The best professional antique restoration companies can refinish your furniture and breathe new life into it again.
• Customize – One of the best things about hiring good professional furniture refinishing companies is that they can provide a customized look for your furniture. If you have a particular color of paint, or tone of stain, or pattern of fabric you’ve been dreaming of for your furniture, good furniture refinishers can make it happen.

If you choose to refinish your broken, faded, or worn furniture, the option that yields the best results is to find the best antique restoration service or the best furniture refinishing service in your area and trust the work to the trained craftsmen.  Jax Furniture Refinishing and Upholstering is the best furniture restoration service Jacksonville homeowners trust with their furniture.  Our craftsmen are trained and experienced and ready to take on your furniture restoration project, whether you are up in Riverside, San Marco, or downtown Jacksonville, or over at Neptune Beach or Atlantic Beach, or down in Mandarin or Sawgrass. Give us a call and we’ll take care of your furniture refinishing needs!

Choosing the Best Upholstery Service

Your furniture is an investment, so when the time comes for repairs or reupholstering, how do you find the best company to do the work?  Our tips can help!

• Experience – When looking for a good furniture upholstery service to take care of your favorite chair or beloved sectional, find a service company with experience. Specifically, find a high-quality furniture restoration service that has been in business for years, with craftsmen who have honed their skills over many
• Craftsmen – Great furniture refinishing companies rely on great craftsmen to lend their expertise and skills to get the work done! As you zero in on the right upholstery shop for your furniture repair or recovering project, ask after the upholsterers and craftsmen who will handle the work.  Are they skilled and experienced in working with many types of fabric and with all types of furniture?
• Craftsmanship – Be sure your furniture refinishing service provides the highest quality work and craftsmanship. Read the customer reviews.  Ask for references, if desired.  Make sure you have found a furniture refinishing service that takes pride in a job well done, and has a passion for working with fine furniture, doing quality work, and working with the customer to be sure the desired outcomes are achieved!

Northeast Florida is home to many good furniture repair shops, but Jax Furniture Refinishing & Upholstering is the best furniture upholstery service Jacksonville FL homeowners have trusted for years.  We’re passionate about furniture – contemporary or antique, teak or oak, silk or brocade, painted or stained, and everything in between.  We’ve worked with customers throughout Jacksonville, Riverside, Atlantic Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach, and all across the region, and we’d love to take on your furniture refinishing or reupholstering project.  Let’s get started today!

Refinishing Supplies You Need

Good quality wood furniture will last for generations with the right care and can make great furniture refinishing projects.  If you’re thinking about refinishing your favorite wood furniture but aren’t sure where to start, we can help!

Here’s a list of the wood furniture refinishing supplies you need to have on hand when you want to refinish your wood coffee table, dining room table, chest, or bookcase.

1. Space – Working space may not qualify as a supply, but you definitely need adequate work space for any wood furniture refinishing project.
2. Dropcloth – Spread a sizeable drop cloth over your work area. A drop cloth is great to set your supplies on to protect your flooring, and also helps contain all dust, sawdust, and other mess that may be generated during your furniture restoration project, making cleanup that much easier.
3. Sanding Materials – Depending on the type of DIY wood furniture refinishing project you’re embarking on you may need sandpaper in various levels of grit, a power sander and sanding discs, or all of the above.
4. Tack Cloth – Nothing beats tack cloth or a soft, clean towel when it comes to cleaning your furniture. Whether you’re removing longterm dust before applying a varnish, or removing the sawdust from recent sanding, you’ll need several clean towels or tack cloths on hand.
5. Screwdriver – Keep various screwdrivers on hand to remove drawer pulls, knobs, or other hardware.
6. Topcoats and Applicators – Have an ample supply of your chosen lacquer, varnish, or stain on hand, as well as the requisite applicators: brushes of varying sizes, cloths, etc.
7. Protective Gear – Wood furniture refinishing seems like an innocuous task, but in reality, you’ll generate dust and sawdust and handle sharp tools, and potentially heavy or damaged wood pieces. Protect yourself with – at a minimum – protective eyewear and a dust mask.  You may choose to wear work gloves and additional protective gear too.

Restoring and refinishing the wood furniture in your home will allow you to continue enjoying it for years to come!  Many people enjoy working in the garage on a DIY project refinishing their wood furniture, but more and more homeowners throughout Riverside, Mandarin, Ortega, Nocatee, and Ponte Vedra are hiring good local wood restoration companies to do the work.  Jax Furniture Refinishing & Upholstering is the best wood refinishing service Jacksonville FL residents rely on, and we’d love to take care of your wood furniture refinishing project too!

Best Way to Strip Furniture

One of the first steps in your furniture refinishing project is to strip the old wooden furniture of its prior coatings.  All paint, lacquer, or varnish needs to be thoroughly removed before you can successfully apply a fresh stain or other finish.  In fact, if you skip this step or try to rush it, you won’t achieve the results you want.  So, what is the best way to strip your antique furniture?

1. Supplies – Find the right stripping agent for your furniture. Even if the label says the product is “safe,” be sure to read the chemical makeup and any fine print to understand exactly what the product will do, how to use it, and what applicators are needed.  We recommend not skimping on the quality of the chemical, and carefully reading about the contents to be sure you’re getting not only the most effective solution, but also one that is safe, not just for you (since you’ll be handling it), but also for the furniture itself.  Anything too harsh can weaken joints, strip more than just the topcoat, or otherwise damage the furniture’s makeup.
2. Safety – Stay safe during your DIY furniture refinishing by wearing the right protective gear. Anytime you apply harsh chemicals, such as in the stripping step, wear goggles or other protective eye covering to prevent chemical spray or spatter from getting into your eyes.  We also recommend wearing long sleeves and generally exposing as little of your skin as possible to being splashed by harsh chemicals like those found in most furniture strippers.  Also wear protective gloves to keep your hands and fingers from being exposed to potentially caustic chemicals.  You should wear gloves that specifically protect against the chemicals in the stripping agent.  Likewise, wear a respirator to keep from breathing in harmful fumes while you work.  Other protective gear can be worn in addition to these items, but eye coverings, gloves, and a respirator are imperative in protecting yourself while you refinish your furniture.
3. Time – Thoroughly and safely stripping all paint and stain from your furniture takes time! Set aside the time to prep for the work, apply the material, let it sit, dwell, cure, etc.  You may want to set aside extra time in case any part of the process needs to be repeated.
4. Elbow Grease – Your furniture stripping project won’t get far without good old fashioned elbow grease. Once you have the right materials and set aside the time for the job, dig in!  Be sure to apply the stripper according to the instructions, allow it to “dwell” for the time needed, and use the right tools and method for removal, all of which should be listed on the container.  Don’t try to cut corners, and don’t give less than 100%.  A great DIY furniture refinishing job starts with a thorough stripping and removal of the old coats, and elbow grease will get it done!

Furniture refinishing is tricky work, and seems to never go quite as planned for most DIY refinishers.  This is one of the reasons so many Jacksonville, Riverside, Ortega, and Mandarin homeowners call on Jax Furniture Refinishing & Upholstering to take care of their furniture restoration projects!  There are many good local furniture refinishers, but Jax Furniture is the best antique restoration company trusted by homeowners throughout the area.  Our craftsmen are true professionals and know what the job calls for, but beyond that, each of us has a passion for fine furniture and attention to detail.  If you trust your wood or upholstered furniture to us for a repair or restoration, you’ll love the results!

Rejuvenate Inherited Furniture

An heirloom chest, table, or desk once owned and cherished by a family member might not exactly fit with your home’s décor.  These antiques are high in sentimental value, but what do you do if inherited furniture doesn’t look good in your home?  We have three suggestions:

• RESTORE – Often a high-quality restoration can transform a dull or rickety antique into a stunning piece. Trust your heirloom to the best local furniture restoration company and you’ll be astounded at the results!  The tarnished chest just needs to be skillfully refinished, and the shredded or floppy cushions on an upholstered chair just need the craftsmanship of a careful upholsterer to make you fall in love with it.
• REDO – If you like one element of heirloom furniture but not another, hire a great furniture refinishing shop to re-envision and redo it! An overstuffed chair in a fabric from three decades ago may not be a good candidate for your living room but imagine what can happen if you recover it in a fresh new fabric.  A scuffed sideboard from a century ago can be stripped, sanded, and stained in a bold new color to fit your modern home.  Good professional upholsterers and refinishers can work magic on old furniture!
• REPURPOSE – If you don’t know what to do with furniture you inherited from a family member, reimagine it in a new way. An end table can become a nightstand, a hutch or china cabinet can be disassembled and turned into a buffet, and a dining table can transform into a desk.  If you can imagine it, a highly rated furniture restoration service can make it happen!

Don’t banish your inherited furniture just because you don’t know what to do with it, or don’t like something about it.  Find the best furniture restorer in your area and ask the professionals to help turn it into furniture you love and can use!  There are many great furniture refinishers in Northeast Florida, but Jax Furniture is the trusted furniture restoration and upholstery service called on by homeowners throughout Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, St. Augustine, and San Marco, and we’d love to take care of your furniture restoration as well.

Cleaners to Avoid on Wood Furniture

Wiping the dust from your wood furniture, positioning it out of the way of harmful UV sunlight, and other actions help keep your favorite furniture in great shape for decades, or even generation.  Though you know cleaning is a part of furniture maintenance, there are several products that can severely damage your heirlooms.

Avoid using these three household cleaners on your furniture:

1. Rubbing Alcohol – Rubbing alcohol may seem like a relatively “safe” product to use on furniture, especially if it has been diluted with water and applied only with a moistened cloth. However, the alcohol can act as a solvent and damage the finish on furniture and even the wood itself.  Avoid using alcohol on your furniture, and if some spills onto it, blot it up as quickly and thoroughly as you can with a clean dry cloth.  Call on a great local furniture restoration company if stains or fading appear.
2. Bleach/Disinfecting Wipes – At times like this, most of us are particularly careful about keeping our homes free of germs. It makes sense to want to wipe down and spray disinfectant all over your furniture to keep viruses away.  However, these products can be damaging to your furniture.  If you’re looking for a way to fend off germs but still protect your furniture, consider putting fabric overtop end tables, using tablecloths over your dining room table consistently, and using throws over your upholstered sofa and chairs.  You can throw these coverings into the washing machine as frequently as you wish!  Avoid covering wood furniture in plastic, however.  Plastic can cause moisture to become trapped and therefore damage the furniture, and plastic itself contains elements that can damage the finish.
3. Furniture Wipes – Though marketed specifically for use on wood furniture, many types of furniture polish wipes can actually coat your wood furniture in residue, which in turn attracts dust particles and creates a dull finish over time. It’s best to avoid using furniture wipes on your wood furniture, and instead simply remove dust by wiping it down routinely with a clean cloth.  If your furniture needs more than dusting or maintenance, call on a highly rated furniture refinisher in your area for a repair or restoration appointment.

Our craftsmen at Jax Furniture Refinishing & Upholstering understand the value of high quality handmade wood furniture – and the sentimental value of furniture of all kinds – and we want to help you keep your favorite antique furniture in great shape for years to come!  Homeowners in Ponte Vedra, Atlantic Beach, Mandarin, Riverside, and throughout Jacksonville trust us with their treasured furniture, and we’d love the opportunity to repair or restore yours as well!

Refinishing Your Tabletop

Your dining room table receives frequent use.  It’s the spot for family meals, often multiple times per day, as well as homework, card games, and countless other projects and fun.  The tabletop surface inevitably shows scuffs, water marks, scratches, and more.  When the time comes, how do you refinish your tabletop and get it back into great condition?  Here are simple steps for refinishing your dining room table top:

1. Make a plan. Examine the table to make sure you know what’s ahead for your refinishing project.  If any repairs are needed, be sure you understand how to make the repairs correctly.  Set up a work area for yourself in an area that is well ventilated.  You’ll need to be able to spread out a dropcloth and the table, and arrange your supplies.  It’s best if your work area is in a part of the house or garage that is not highly trafficked so that you’re out of the way in case the project takes longer than expected.
2. Gather your supplies. You’ll need sandpaper or sanding blocks in both coarse (60- 120-grit) and fine (360-grit).  Consider using a mechanical sander if your table is large or in need of significant work.  You’ll also need several clean cloths and tack cloths, and then the stain or paint you’ve chosen.
3. Clean the furniture. Be sure to clean the tabletop well before proceeding.  Use gentle household cleaners to rid all grease, oil, dirt, and debris.  This will make subsequent steps more successful.
4. Remove existing finish. Using the roughest, lowest-grit sandpaper, remove the existing paint, varnish, or other finish.  Rub along the wood grain.  Wipe all dust and shavings off with a tack cloth and then repeat this process with 120-grit sandpaper.  Use chemical stripping agents with caution.  They can be caustic when mishandled, and can damage certain wood when used or applied incorrectly.
5. Apply new finish. Apply the new stain, paint, or other finish you’ve chosen.  Be sure to apply it as directed, and wear protective gloves, eye covering, or respirators that may be called for.  Depending on your desired look, you might choose to apply a polyurethane or polycrylic clear coat.
6. Finishing touches… Once the final coating has dried or cured, you’re ready to wipe down the tabletop and bring it back into use!

At this point, your tabletop should be looking handsome and ready for more family dinners and fun!  Tabletop refinishing can be a tricky or protracted DIY project, but almost always worth the effort!  Or, you can transform this checklist into a single step – simply call on a great local furniture refinishing shop, tell them how you want your tabletop to look, and trust the professionals with the job!

Northeast Florida homeowners in Atlantic Beach, Ponte Vedra, Riverside, Southside, and Fleming Island call on Jax Furniture Refinishing & Upholstering when it’s time for a tabletop, desk, headboard, or sectional to have work done.  Jax Furniture is the best furniture restoration service Jacksonville FL residents have trusted for years, and we’d love the honor of restoring your antique or other well loved furniture so that you can enjoy it again, and keep enjoying it for years to come!

What is a Hope Chest?

As expert antique refinishers, we’re also history buffs and love to know how and by whom antique furniture and other artifacts were used.  A “hope chest” is a familiar term, but what is a hope chest, when were they used, and are they still around today?

Here are some interesting facts about hope chests:

• The concept of the hope chest originated centuries ago and was brought to America in the 18^th century by European immigrants.
• Traditionally, a hope chest was given to a young woman as a symbol of good luck as she prepared for marriage. The young woman would gradually fill the chest with treasures such as blankets, chinaware, and other items that would be needed for marriage.  Often the woman’s mother or other female relatives would contribute items, but many of the items would have been knitted, crocheted, or otherwise made by the young woman herself.
• Hope chests were originally made of cedar, a wood that naturally repels insects and fungus, protecting the contents of the chest sometimes for decades. Similar chests are still made of cedar today, as well as other hardwood species such as cherry, oak, and maple.

Today we’re more apt to keep a chest or trunk and keep throws and pillows in it or use it to store seldom used items.  Some families still keep hope chests for more traditional purposes though, to safely store family treasures that they hope to pass down to other family members.

It’s not too early or too late to start a hope chest for your child or even for yourself as a memory chest.  You don’t have to fill it with the silverware and quilts like you might have done in ages past.  But you can still compile items that you think would be useful for someone coming up in the next generation, or even fill one with mementos that you simply want to remember and hang on to.  For example, consider filling a hope chest with photos or photo albums, handmade items, and other family treasures and heirlooms.

If you’d like to have a hope chest or other heirloom refinished, trust it to a highly rated furniture repair and refinishing shop.  Jax Furniture Refinishing & Upholstering is the best furniture refinisher Jacksonville FL homeowners and antique collectors rely on to restore their fine furniture.  Our master craftsman has well over 30 years of experience refinishing and repairing wood furniture of all kinds.  Find out why we’re the trusted refinisher for customers in San Marco, Riverside, Ortega, Fernandina Beach, and Jacksonville Beach, and trust your furniture restoration project to us!