Furniture Refinisher

The career of a furniture refinisher involves refinishing used, old, worn, antique or damaged furniture. Furniture refinishers refresh the paint or lacquer on antique or old pieces of furniture that are usually wood. Most refinishers also work as restorers, where they repair structural damage to antique and old furniture. Refinishers deal entirely with used wood furniture. This may include items such as antique rocking chairs, old bookshelves or a modern piece of furniture that has been damaged. .

Often, the first step in refinishing furniture involves dealing with the varnish or old paint, before refinishing the wood item. They use steel wool, strong chemicals, sandpaper and other methods to strip or remove the old paint or varnish. Next, they apply a putty or wood filler to the holes and cracks, repair any damage, strip, sand, wash the surface, creating a new finish as close to the original as possible. It is imperative that a furniture refinisher has the knowledge to restore antique and old pieces in a suitable and safe way, as many are valuable. For antique or old furniture refinishers often have to research to find pictures or information on that specific piece of furniture so they can restore the destroyed or chipped details on the furniture.

Furniture refinishers are often self-employed or work for antique stores or refinishing companies. They need to be in good physical shape as there is a lot of bending, standing and working with their hands involved. Because they work with toxic chemicals, safety is extremely important. Many furniture refinishers do on the job training and apprenticeships. There are also many great college courses available in furniture refinishing.

Common work activities include:

• Examining furniture to determine the damage that has occurred or to discover what the appearance of the item was if it is to be restored to original condition.
• Using various chemicals and wood strippers to remove any current varnish or paint.
• Completing repairs to the wood or upholstery of the furniture. This may mean replacing parts or simply patching or repairing the damage.
• Staining, varnishing, painting or detailing the wood aspects of the furniture and re-attaching the upholstery.
• Adding finishing details to the project including polishing the wood and resorting the natural luster.
• Meeting with customers to examine the refinishing of the item, billing and collecting for services.