mid century – Page 3 – Erik G. Warner

The Value of Test Swatches in Refinishing

Posted on May 31, 2017 by Erik W in furniture, furniture restoration, mid century, mid-century furniture, minnesota, modern, refinishing, retro, vintage

If you’re a knitter and you’ve been knitting from patterns for any length of time, you will have run across the advice to knit a test swatch using the yarn and needles intended for your particular project. I cringe at the thought of making test swatches because they feel like a waste of time. Let me get to work on the actual thing I want to make, please!

Usually I bypass the swatch and jump right into the project. When I’m finished, I am often annoyed to find that my piece is not the size I hoped it would be. Usually, it is too big. That’s the value of a test swatch in knitting. If I would do them, I would know whether I needed to adjust my needles in order to get the proper gauge.

Now that Erik has been seriously refinishing furniture for the past 5+ years, he has come around to learning the value of test swatches in refinishing.

As I’ve watched his process evolve, I’m amazed at how many variables there are to consider in refinishing a piece of mid-century modern furniture. Here are some of the variables he has to contend with:

Type of wood – Some woods, like walnut, take stain evenly; others, like birch, don’t and will turn out blotchy if not dealt with properly.
The stain – Color is a big part of this, but so are the composition (gel vs. dye vs. pigmented vs. wiping & etc.) and brand of stain.
How finely a piece is sanded – If coarse-grit sandpaper is used before staining, more pigment will lodge into the wood and the stain will appear darker.
The various protective coats – There are usually several layers of protective coats on a given piece. These can include shellac, de-waxed shellac, lacquer, polyurethane (known as “Poly” in the business), vinyl sealer, conversion varnish, and curing oils. The lacquer can be nitrocellulose, pre-catalyzed lacquer, post-catalyzed lacquer, or water-based.
The condition a piece is in – If an old piece of furniture has been impregnated with a silicone furniture polish over time, this will contaminate a new finish if it is not properly sealed in. If it has been water-damaged, this damage has to be treated so that a shadow of it doesn’t reappear after the piece has been refinished. If a piece has faded due to sun damage, this will also affect the final outcome.

As you can see, refinishing a piece of furniture is not a simple matter of slapping on a new finish coat.

Erik Warner's refinishing test swatches, May 2017. — Erik Warner’s refinishing test swatches, May 2017.

Because of all these variables (and more!) and the time it takes Erik to strip and sand a piece to bare wood, he has become a fan of test swatches. This is especially true when he’s trying a new finishing technique. He doesn’t want to get to the end of a project and find he doesn’t like the result. That would mean restripping the entire piece over again.

To create a test swatch, he finds a scrap piece of wood that is the same or similar to the furniture he is working on and tries a few finishing techniques on it, marking each trial with the variables so he can remember how to recreate the finish he prefers on the furniture.

Notes on Erik Warner's test swatches, May 2017. — Notes on Erik Warner’s test swatches, May 2017.

The final result from the middle test swatches in the above photos is the finish on these matching lounge chairs:

Lounge chairs refinished by Erik Warner, May 2017.

Nice, eh?

Mid-Century United Dresser Set – Refinished Using Dye Stain Under Oil Stain

Posted on May 7, 2017 by Erik W in antiques, danish modern, furniture, furniture restoration, mid century, modern, refinishing

United dresser set refinish.

I am NOT an expert and I don’t even play one on TV.**

I just thought I’d share the process I used in my first effort at using a dye stain layered beneath an oil stain in an attempt to give a little depth and warmth to the finish on this set.

The original finish was similar to a blonde finish, though in a different color/tone.

United dresser set as purchased at auction.

The first step was to strip off the old finish. I used Klean Strip 15 minute variety. (sorry, I forgot to take a pic of the can so I swiped an image from the interwebs). After scraping the stripper I washed with Lacquer thinner; would have used straight Acetone but I was out. — The first step was to strip off the old finish. I used Klean Strip 15 minute variety. (sorry, I forgot to take a pic of the can so I swiped an image from the interwebs).
After scraping the stripper I washed with Lacquer thinner; would have used straight Acetone but I was out.

Once the finish was removed I sanded with 150 and then 180 grit.

After sanding came the dye stain. I went with TransTint orange mixed in water. I chose water because it would give me a little more open time. I figured that, being new to this, I might need some extra time to move the color around to blend out any potential streaks or runs.

The next step after the dye was a sealer coat of dewaxed shellac. I happened to have enough Ruby that I had mixed for another project left over so I used that. I had this thinned to a 1 pound cut. When spraying you have to adjust your fluid and air flow rates (if using a compressor set-up) and have to make sure you move the gun at the right speed so you get an even application but don't deposit so much material that you get runs and sags. — The next step after the dye was a sealer coat of dewaxed shellac. I happened to have enough Ruby that I had mixed for another project left over so I used that.
I had this thinned to a 1 pound cut. When spraying you have to adjust your fluid and air flow rates (if using a compressor set-up) and have to make sure you move the gun at the right speed so you get an even application but don’t deposit so much material that you get runs and sags.

After a little light sanding I applied General Finishes Mahogany stain.

Here's the hi-boy post stain application. — Here’s the hi-boy post stain application.

Once the stain had dried, I gave it two + days, I laid down several (3-4) coats of 1 pound cut SealCoat de-waxed shellac. I didn't have enough of the ruby left and was able to pick this up at a local shop so I could move the project forward. — Once the stain had dried, I gave it two + days, I laid down several (3-4) coats of 1 pound cut SealCoat de-waxed shellac. I didn’t have enough of the ruby left and was able to pick this up at a local shop so I could move the project forward.

Up after the shellac were a few coats of lacquer. Went with Watco Satin, thinned about 25% on the first two coats, and then about 50% on a final coat.

United low-boy all finished. Hoping it has a nice glowing orange, Mahogany look.

**Editor’s note: It is obvious that Erik wrote this post because he immediately starts out by downplaying any of the skill he has earned over the 6 years he’s been working on refinishing furniture. His education started long before that, when he was a boy watching his Grandma Lillian refinishing furniture. Erik’s work speaks for itself and I’m pretty sure most of the pieces he’s refinished are very happy with their new look (as are the customers who purchase them). – Mary

We’re Bona Fide!!! (with apologies to the Coen brothers)

Posted on August 30, 2015 by Erik W in mid century, mid-century furniture, minnesota, retro, vintage

The new home of Erik G. Warner Decorative Salvage - August 2015 — The new home of Erik G. Warner Decorative Salvage – August 2015

Good news! Erik G. Warner Decorative Salvage has a new home (which is why we now feel bona fide) in Little Falls, MN.

It’s been a long time coming. We lost the shop space we were renting last November. Erik searched for other rental possibilities but couldn’t find anything appropriate. As winter turned to spring, he started looking for buildings to purchase. This particular one was not yet for sale, but Erik contacted the owners and they said they had been intending to list it. We agreed on a purchase price and had a closing date set in May.

Alas! The May date was fouled up by some title issues that took time to work through. We officially closed on the building last Monday. Woohoo!

Appropriately enough, our “new” shop is a mid-century building, having been constructed in the 1960s. Note the lovely turquoise siding. Like most of the furniture we pick to restore, this building needs a lot of TLC, which we will give it as we can afford to make improvements. (For those interested in the history of the building, it originally served to house garbage trucks and was most recently used for vehicle storage.)

We’ve started on renovations, with Erik and our son Sebastian building shelves to store furniture and spending the entire past week moving accumulated inventory into the space.

New shelving at EGW Decorative Salvage holding chair inventory, August 2015.

Purchasing this shop would not have been possible without the help of Erik’s parents, who provided some capital toward the project, and our credit union, which had faith in our vision. The previous owners, Lynn and Keith, allowed us to use the shop through the summer and paint a room for our photo studio. Thanks to everyone who has assisted us in growing our business.