Project Log -- Antique Lincoln Chair









I don't know what I did with the original pictures of this beautiful old Lincoln rocker.  So I'll start off with a picture of the nearly finished product.  This one came to me with a heavily damaged and soiled shellac finish.  I wouldn't be surprised if it was original and this chair is dated sometime between 1850 and 1900, so that finish was pretty much gone.  I tried a deep cleaning, but all that did was reveal more damage, so I spoke with the owver and he decided to go ahead with a full refinishing.

Below you can get an idea of the degree of wear and damage this piece had.
The first step was to clean off all of the old finish.  I don't like to use chemical strippers, but the detail of the carvings really called for it.  Fortunately, it cleaned up nicely and quickly.

Eventually, I got it all stripped.  Then I had to reglue and peg all of the joints and repair some deep gouges and chips.  When I got that all finished, I gave it a light staining with some General Finishes Mahogany Oil stain and let it dry for several days.


After I let the stain dry I applied a satin finish and polished and waxed it to a deep luster.




Now it's over at the upholsterer's shop getting new fabric and padding.  It's going to be a beautiful family heirloom.

Comments

CKDesigns said…
Beautiful chair. Looks like you did a great job restoring it.
March 13, 2016 at 10:12 PM
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