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Page 26 The Antique Shoppe June, 2019
GREATER ORLANDO COMMON SENSE

ANTIQUES
Kissimmee • Oviedo • Winter Park • Orlando

KISSIMMEE WINTER PARK
1. Lanier’s 5. Orange Tree Antique Mall By Fred Taylor
2. Echoes of Yesterday 6. Gingers Antique Mall
RUB IT WITH THE RIGHT STUFF
OVIEDO ORLANDO Smoothing Advice
3. The Coop 7. OAE Inc. I recently had the opportunity to read a column in an antiques trade paper
4. Oviedo Antique Mall written by a veteran antique furniture restorer and columnist. I have read
his work for many years. It is always interesting to get another viewpoint on
matters of the trade and opinions from another part of the country. Over the
GINGER'S years I have learned some interesting things from this columnist and over the
ANTIQUE years I have also disagreed with him on a number of specifics, usually a case of
terminology, nothing serious. That could just be a regional difference.
MALL But the most recent column I read had me disagreeing vigorously. I have
“Tin To Tiffany” Historic Downtown Marketplace been in and around the antique furniture restoration business for over thirty
108 Broadway years, probably not as long as the columnist has, but still enough time to have
2695 W. Fairbanks Ave. in the Old McCrory’s Building learned a few things, some by research and education and some by trial and
Winter Park, FL 32789 Kissimmee, FL error.
407-933-5679
(One block West of I-4 at Fairbanks) Since my paycheck from week to week often revolved around producing a
Antiques & Collectibles finish that was both acceptable to the customer and durable on a long-term
Orientals - Imari - Mud Men Antiques, Collectibles & Accessories basis, a system of do’s and don’ts evolved in my shop that helped me meet the
Heisey - Cut Glass - Candelabras for the Home & Garden goals of a good professional finish and a happy customer. The recent column
Serving the Orlando area for Over 30 Years Family owned and operated for 20 years violated several of my tried and true do’s and don’ts.
Wed-Sat 11am-5pm or by appt. • Closed June-Oct.
OPEN: Mon-Sat 10-5 In preparing wood for a finish, the writer urged the reader not use sandpa-
407-740-8775 6 Laniersantiques.com 1 per any coarser than was necessary. I totally agree. But the question is how
coarse and how fine are the limits? My experience has taught me that most
home finishers want to sand the wood WA-A-Y too fine. Any sandpaper higher
than 120 or 150 grit no longer smoothes the wood, it just polishes it and
closes down the grain making stain acceptance a problem.
Then the writer urged the reader in many cases to avoid sandpaper alto-
3 gether and use only steel wool on relatively smooth bare wood. This is where
4 I take a strong stand. Steel wool is a loosely woven fabric of very fine steel
Geneva strands. As soon as you pick it up it starts to deteriorate. As it breaks apart it
leaves very small, almost microscopic, particles of broken steel fiber on you,
the floor and the wood. In a humid climate the particles on the wood will start
5 to rust overnight and cause black flyspecks in the wood. Try rubbing some
wood with steel wool. Using a magnet see how many steel particles you ac-
6 cumulate off you, the wood and the floor.
Next the writer told the reader to use steel wool between intermediate coats
of finish. Again, I strongly disagree. For two reasons. One is that steel wool tends
to ride over and round off blemishes and imperfections rather than cutting them
off flush like fine sandpaper does. But the second reason is more important.
Have you ever seen a package of rusty steel wool in a home store or a hard-
ware store? Certainly not. They couldn’t sell it that way. So why is it not rusty?
Because it has oil in it, added at the factory to keep it from rusting. Each pad
7 of steel wool contains only a minute portion of oil, but it is enough to leave an
oily film on an existing finish and that thin film of oil can be enough to cause
adhesion problems for the next coat of finish. 320 or 400 grit silicone carbide
sandpaper is much more suitable for smoothing intermediate coast of finish
without leaving an oily trail or deep sanding scratches. In my set of shop rules
steel wool is used ONLY as one step in rubbing out final finishes, never on bare
wood or intermediate coats of finish.
To freshen up a piece of older furniture with a dull or lifeless finish the
writer suggests the reader clean the old finish and then scuff it with steel wool
(I have already stated my objection to that). After that apply a coat of tung oil
and let it dry ten minutes before wiping with a clean rag. Tung oil is derived
2 1 from the tung tree, a native of China. It is now cultivated on a small scale along
the southern Unites States Gulf Coast. Pure tung oil is available from a number
of upper level finish suppliers. Tung oil has a distinctive nutty aroma and used
properly will provide a non-building, thin, relatively water-resistant surface top
coat. However, Tung oil finishes are very soft and must be constantly renewed
as they wear off under use.
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