Yes to this. If a piece of furniture is going to sit in a museum with a ""Do Not Touch" sign in front of it, then by all means don't alter the original finish. But if it's going to be used in a home for its actual purpose, then it needs the protection that a finish provides. If the original finish is worn away or failing, the wood is going to deteriorate much faster.
Wholeheartedly agree. In fact leaving finishes that have failed over time and detract from the beauty of the piece, in my view anyway, dishonour the craftsman.
Thank you, Dr. Johnson, for answering this question for us. I have long wondered how you deal with the considerations and implications of it. Your work, practice, and ethic, it seems to me, is the BEST of all possible approaches to preserving the value, beauty, and utility of our historical legacy of furniture that has passed down to us from our ancestors. Perhaps there is a different system of value at work in the museums and shops of antique collectors, but for people who first and foremost value the utility and continued daily presence of these objects in their homes, your preservation and restoration work is a precious gift. There is no doubt in my own mind that the original makers would be enormously grateful to you. This entire topic would be more than worthy of at least one, if not several, of your long-form videos where you relate the details of your choices, methods, and results to the ultimate goals you accomplish so well. But thanks again for summing it up so eloquently and succinctly.
Your “pretty good” is everyone else’s absolutely beautiful! And I agree with what you said completely even though my opinion only really matters to me and like-minded folks. 😉👍💕
Still have and remember the "war wounds" on my dinning room table. Victorian table handed down though the family. It had to be repaired after the house was bombed in Bath and the roof fell in on it. I even have a photo of the house somewhere :-)
@@derrickstorm6976 It's good old fashioned Shellac french polish on Brazillian mahogoney, So i have learnt french polishing and applied new layers on top of old. I was cautions because I also heard removal could ruin the value, but this is a good outlook on values. But as it was 80s firewood value, then recovered in 00s, today might struggle to give it away. My table was repaired in the 40s due to bomb damage snapped a piece off. I have also had to have further pieces re-attached since then.
@@johnsonrestoration Very true, also generations have been priced out of houses in the UK and now live in smaller houses. My table is victorian and much wider than modern furniture. (and yes bombed in the UK WW2 So the repair marks certainly add patina :-) Sadly most damage comes from boring moving and storage
I’ve certainly noticed you guys across the pond are quick to refinish and make the piece look fantastic. Here in the UK we seem to be a bit more conservative as we don’t have an awful lot left. Thousands of containers have been shipped out of the country in the last few decades, mainly to the US. So all we can do to preserve the original condition of the bits we have left we must do. Even if it doesn’t look it’s best. But totally agree that pieces that have been refinished multiple times before and pieces that are likely to stay in the same household and be used for its original function should be refinished to ensure they survive. Because no one refinishes without repairing first. Or at least they shouldn’t. And folk are more likely to keep and pass on pieces that are still functional and look good.
I have heard about the regret the English have about so many of their antiques going over seas. Almost to the point of blaming those that purchased the antique. To them, I point out that it was an Englishman who offered it for sale in the first place.
@@Troot51 no we blame the guy with the shipping containers. Some dealers would sell their granny if they could. 😂😂😂 paradoxically, I’m also a bit grateful as a lot would have ended up burnt or in landfill.
Well said Tom. Value is incredibly subjective, not objective. Someone can say "that table is worth $300" but if no one buys it, is it really? On the flip side, something sold at auction for $50 and passed down from family member to family member would never "value" it at $50... it would be worth considerably more, just in a different way. Thank you for touching on this subject. I see people who actually know nothing about furniture absolutely harassing people who refinish furniture using phrases they heard on Antiques Roadshow, who decided they are right and everyone refinishing and keeping things in use are wrong. Imagine if people cared that much about things that ACTUALLY mattered in this short life! haha Keep up the great work, Tom.
Thank you Dawn! Well said! Road Show really needs to explain what they are talking about. You pull a piece out of a dumpster and now you ruined the value because you refinished it? Actually, I am going to bring this up very explicitly in my next video
Far and away most "brown antique" furniture has little value for for resale. It used to, but not anymore. I am a 40 year refinisher and I don't want junk in my house so I do my own and have done more than 1000 pcs for others.
I’ve always felt that you honour the craftsman and the piece by restoring its functionality and bringing it back to close to its original state. As long as you don’t paint it white with milk paint 😂
Those people are watching too much Antiques Road Show and repeating the line meant for historically important furniture pieces worth Tens or Hundreds of thousands of dollars.
when I refinish something, it is for my own pleasure, and the time involved is a labor of love. Reselling it never enters my mind, but passing it to my grandchildren does. It took me a year, between 12 hour shifts and many other distractions to completely refinish a white oak roll top desk A-Z from around 1910. Did it for my granddaughter, she absolutely loves it.
A bad refinishing job will drop the resale value of anything or any age. If the first thing you do is grab for the random orbital sander you are the problem. But when you do quality repairs and a light touch refinishing to keep a piece functional for its owners while looking close to the way it did when new - that's a whole different issue.
Never seen this channel refinish anything when only repair was necessary. This piece was a little different that way and if the customer wants a useable table that can be cleaned then why not let them use the antique? Especially if it isn’t a family heirloom that can’t be enjoyed another way because of space etc?
When I see furniture flippers strip & slap paint on a beautiful American Empire piece, without damage or on its way to the dump, I shudder. I see a lot of flippers painting over book matched flame veneers, walnut and other beautiful hard woods or fruit woods when, if they were using their smarts, they could clean up the item, make minimal cosmetic touch ups, and sell for more profit than if they covered it in paint. But it's of no use convincing them of this - they do it anyway. I remember seeing someone paint a beautiful piano, a baby grand, in gray paint. It sat for sale for nearly a year. No one wanted it. Imagine the work it will take to remove all that paint. Anyway - I do believe there are some antiques that need only a gentle touch to bring it back to usefulness. Furniture flippers need to learn about identifying historically significant pieces vs something that has no value "as is" and their touch will only bring it back to usefulness (vs ending up in the city dump). I love that Thomas has a gentle approach to restoration - keeping the item's "story" intact. It's perfection.
Refinishing high dollar value items does devalue it. Painting it...not going there because I can't without cursing. Restoration to put something back into service is another matter. If it's not usable IMHO it's worth its weight in scrap materials.
As a restorer and a antique dealer I can say without a doubt some practices John uses kill the value, hard wax and not knowing how to French polish make him a very bad restorer. All antiques need restoration at some point of their life but a good restorer will do the job without anybody knowing they were there. In his favour, he doesn't get to choose what antiques he gets to restore and too often he takes on antiques that are beyond economic repair so the money he gets isn't enough to finish the job correctly, I never see him restore a piece that has a value of over $1000 whereas I wouldn't take on a antique under $1000 and I never work for anybody else.
Thanks! I never have any idea what the value of a piece of furniture is, the subject never comes up! I repair furniture for people, furniture that is in need of repair, so it can be used in their homes. This obsession with market value, perpetuated by Road Show, is a sad commentary on how we view the past. I sincerely hope you don't mean it when you say you won't work on a piece "valued" at under $1000. Who determines that "value"? You or the owner? All the best to you, I appreciate your thoughts
@@johnsonrestoration As I say, I don't work/restore for other people just for myself. I buy in antiques and restore them, say an antique is worth/going rate $2000 in tip top condition you should be able to buy that antique for $600-$800 if it needs restoring, about 1/3 of the full price in auction, then restore it and sell. The problem is if you over restore or use materials not original buyers won't pay the going rate and the value is reduced, in some cases destroyed. When wood is exposed to air for 200 years the wood oxidises this gives it a colour that can't be faked by stain to a trained eye, strip that off and all the value has gone, the same when it comes to French polish, if you use a modern replacement the antique will need to be stripped and redone in French polish. I know we live in different parts of the world but we are only custodians of these items and seeing them butchered (sometimes ruined for good) is offal. On a whole the work you do is good but you are not trying to make it look like when it was new, just restore it so it is functional and looks good, leave the knocks. minor splits, show the repaired veneer, ect It all adds to the character and beauty and most importantly looks old.
@@purpleom9649 wow. Not a single thing you wrote here shows any sign of actually being passionate about furniture OR restoration. Just a lot of unneccesary nastiness, an "antique" way of thinking, and an inflated sense of self importance. I'd take my valuable antiques to someone like Tom who actually cares what he's doing over someone like you any day of the week.
@@DawnWentzellThe difference between us is I've taken my time to point out where John professionally is going wrong, John produces videos on how he goes about restoring antiques BUT the methods he uses are WRONG and in a lot of cases he is ruining them for good. This is ok if he is just doing it for himself but a lot of people are copying him a home or think it's ok to get another untrained person to do the same. You on the other hand have taken your untrained point of view and decided to condemn me with 40 years of knowledge and experience with antiques just because John is a nice guy (and he is) for pointing out where he is going wrong. BTW if you had read what I wrote, I only restore antiques for myself so you are welcome to take your "valuable antiques" to John, I'd really like to see him work on something with real value. Everything I've seen him work on so far has been from non-trade clients wanting to get their heirlooms fixed and not from antiques dealers who respect his work.
Yes to this. If a piece of furniture is going to sit in a museum with a ""Do Not Touch" sign in front of it, then by all means don't alter the original finish. But if it's going to be used in a home for its actual purpose, then it needs the protection that a finish provides. If the original finish is worn away or failing, the wood is going to deteriorate much faster.
Yes Karl! Well said
Wholeheartedly agree. In fact leaving finishes that have failed over time and detract from the beauty of the piece, in my view anyway, dishonour the craftsman.
Exactly! I often think about the craftsman and the original owners
Thank you, Dr. Johnson, for answering this question for us. I have long wondered how you deal with the considerations and implications of it. Your work, practice, and ethic, it seems to me, is the BEST of all possible approaches to preserving the value, beauty, and utility of our historical legacy of furniture that has passed down to us from our ancestors. Perhaps there is a different system of value at work in the museums and shops of antique collectors, but for people who first and foremost value the utility and continued daily presence of these objects in their homes, your preservation and restoration work is a precious gift. There is no doubt in my own mind that the original makers would be enormously grateful to you. This entire topic would be more than worthy of at least one, if not several, of your long-form videos where you relate the details of your choices, methods, and results to the ultimate goals you accomplish so well. But thanks again for summing it up so eloquently and succinctly.
Thank you! I appreciate it! Well said...
Your “pretty good” is everyone else’s absolutely beautiful! And I agree with what you said completely even though my opinion only really matters to me and like-minded folks. 😉👍💕
Thanks! Yes, and that's all that matters
Still have and remember the "war wounds" on my dinning room table. Victorian table handed down though the family.
It had to be repaired after the house was bombed in Bath and the roof fell in on it. I even have a photo of the house somewhere :-)
Is the bad varnish part of the war values? Or doesn't new varnish bring them out more, thus *enhancing* their presentation?
@@derrickstorm6976 It's good old fashioned Shellac french polish on Brazillian mahogoney, So i have learnt french polishing and applied new layers on top of old. I was cautions because I also heard removal could ruin the value, but this is a good outlook on values. But as it was 80s firewood value, then recovered in 00s, today might struggle to give it away.
My table was repaired in the 40s due to bomb damage snapped a piece off. I have also had to have further pieces re-attached since then.
Thanks! Bombed? You must mean Bath in England? That's something
So much depends on how the owners want the piece to be presented in their homes
@@johnsonrestoration Very true, also generations have been priced out of houses in the UK and now live in smaller houses. My table is victorian and much wider than modern furniture. (and yes bombed in the UK WW2 So the repair marks certainly add patina :-) Sadly most damage comes from boring moving and storage
I’ve certainly noticed you guys across the pond are quick to refinish and make the piece look fantastic. Here in the UK we seem to be a bit more conservative as we don’t have an awful lot left. Thousands of containers have been shipped out of the country in the last few decades, mainly to the US. So all we can do to preserve the original condition of the bits we have left we must do. Even if it doesn’t look it’s best. But totally agree that pieces that have been refinished multiple times before and pieces that are likely to stay in the same household and be used for its original function should be refinished to ensure they survive. Because no one refinishes without repairing first. Or at least they shouldn’t. And folk are more likely to keep and pass on pieces that are still functional and look good.
I have heard about the regret the English have about so many of their antiques going over seas. Almost to the point of blaming those that purchased the antique.
To them, I point out that it was an Englishman who offered it for sale in the first place.
Thanks! Yes, I agree, people here are too quick to refinish. I also agree with Troot51, the English should have held on to their furniture!
Quite right! Excellent point!
@@Troot51 no we blame the guy with the shipping containers. Some dealers would sell their granny if they could. 😂😂😂 paradoxically, I’m also a bit grateful as a lot would have ended up burnt or in landfill.
It's beautiful and has many more memories to make. Thanks for taking care of it.
You're so welcome!
I see no harm done when the repairs are done with traditional techniques and materials - as you do.
Thanks! I feel the same way
Well said Tom. Value is incredibly subjective, not objective. Someone can say "that table is worth $300" but if no one buys it, is it really? On the flip side, something sold at auction for $50 and passed down from family member to family member would never "value" it at $50... it would be worth considerably more, just in a different way. Thank you for touching on this subject. I see people who actually know nothing about furniture absolutely harassing people who refinish furniture using phrases they heard on Antiques Roadshow, who decided they are right and everyone refinishing and keeping things in use are wrong. Imagine if people cared that much about things that ACTUALLY mattered in this short life! haha Keep up the great work, Tom.
Thank you Dawn! Well said! Road Show really needs to explain what they are talking about. You pull a piece out of a dumpster and now you ruined the value because you refinished it? Actually, I am going to bring this up very explicitly in my next video
I totally agree.
Thanks!
Thank you Tom 😊
You're welcome!
Just enjoy it ❤! You are so right.
Thanks!
Far and away most "brown antique" furniture has little value for for resale. It used to, but not anymore. I am a 40 year refinisher and I don't want junk in my house so I do my own and have done more than 1000 pcs for others.
Thanks! It may have lost it's "value" but there are a lot of people who still love it!
I’ve always felt that you honour the craftsman and the piece by restoring its functionality and bringing it back to close to its original state. As long as you don’t paint it white with milk paint 😂
100% on both counts.
Thank you! Well said!
Yes!
Longevity is the biggest value ❤️
Yes! I agree, thanks!
Those people are watching too much Antiques Road Show and repeating the line meant for historically important furniture pieces worth Tens or Hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Thanks! Yes, I have a problem with the Road Show not clarifying their oft-repeated statements about value
the original maker would without hesitation fix the finish, its not a good table if the finish isnt protecting anything and flaking off
Thanks! I'd like to think so too!
when I refinish something, it is for my own pleasure, and the time involved is a labor of love. Reselling it never enters my mind, but passing it to my grandchildren does. It took me a year, between 12 hour shifts and many other distractions to completely refinish a white oak roll top desk A-Z from around 1910. Did it for my granddaughter, she absolutely loves it.
Yes! That is so true, and congrats on a good job!
Well said!!!! 😊
Thank you!
Tom, your level of knowledge already qualifies you as a top expert, so whatever you say goes, as far as I am concerned.
Thanks! That's very nice
A bad refinishing job will drop the resale value of anything or any age. If the first thing you do is grab for the random orbital sander you are the problem.
But when you do quality repairs and a light touch refinishing to keep a piece functional for its owners while looking close to the way it did when new - that's a whole different issue.
Thank you! When I look at other furniture channels I always see that orbital sander come out!
Never seen this channel refinish anything when only repair was necessary. This piece was a little different that way and if the customer wants a useable table that can be cleaned then why not let them use the antique? Especially if it isn’t a family heirloom that can’t be enjoyed another way because of space etc?
Thanks! Yes, exactly!
Beautiful
Thank you!
Its beautiful
Thanks!
I'm all about usable!
Yes! That's where it's value lies
When I see furniture flippers strip & slap paint on a beautiful American Empire piece, without damage or on its way to the dump, I shudder. I see a lot of flippers painting over book matched flame veneers, walnut and other beautiful hard woods or fruit woods when, if they were using their smarts, they could clean up the item, make minimal cosmetic touch ups, and sell for more profit than if they covered it in paint. But it's of no use convincing them of this - they do it anyway. I remember seeing someone paint a beautiful piano, a baby grand, in gray paint. It sat for sale for nearly a year. No one wanted it. Imagine the work it will take to remove all that paint. Anyway - I do believe there are some antiques that need only a gentle touch to bring it back to usefulness. Furniture flippers need to learn about identifying historically significant pieces vs something that has no value "as is" and their touch will only bring it back to usefulness (vs ending up in the city dump).
I love that Thomas has a gentle approach to restoration - keeping the item's "story" intact. It's perfection.
Thank you! Well said! At least painting the veneer is better than stripping the veneer off!
Do what you want
Always! It's your furniture! If you actually own a museum piece then it's a different story
❤
Thank you Gehanne!
Love watching your work.....
Thank you!
Wise words, unless it's a museum piece out of Buckingham Palace you should sympathetically restore your furniture so it's usable.
Thanks! Exactly! How many of us have museum pieces? Like everything else, your furniture needs to be repaired now and then
😊
Thanks!
Refinishing high dollar value items does devalue it. Painting it...not going there because I can't without cursing. Restoration to put something back into service is another matter. If it's not usable IMHO it's worth its weight in scrap materials.
Thanks! Exactly, nobody around here is refinishing museum pieces! Every thing I do is on "everyday antiques"
As a restorer and a antique dealer I can say without a doubt some practices John uses kill the value, hard wax and not knowing how to French polish make him a very bad restorer. All antiques need restoration at some point of their life but a good restorer will do the job without anybody knowing they were there. In his favour, he doesn't get to choose what antiques he gets to restore and too often he takes on antiques that are beyond economic repair so the money he gets isn't enough to finish the job correctly, I never see him restore a piece that has a value of over $1000 whereas I wouldn't take on a antique under $1000 and I never work for anybody else.
Thanks! I never have any idea what the value of a piece of furniture is, the subject never comes up! I repair furniture for people, furniture that is in need of repair, so it can be used in their homes. This obsession with market value, perpetuated by Road Show, is a sad commentary on how we view the past. I sincerely hope you don't mean it when you say you won't work on a piece "valued" at under $1000. Who determines that "value"? You or the owner? All the best to you, I appreciate your thoughts
@@johnsonrestoration As I say, I don't work/restore for other people just for myself. I buy in antiques and restore them, say an antique is worth/going rate $2000 in tip top condition you should be able to buy that antique for $600-$800 if it needs restoring, about 1/3 of the full price in auction, then restore it and sell. The problem is if you over restore or use materials not original buyers won't pay the going rate and the value is reduced, in some cases destroyed. When wood is exposed to air for 200 years the wood oxidises this gives it a colour that can't be faked by stain to a trained eye, strip that off and all the value has gone, the same when it comes to French polish, if you use a modern replacement the antique will need to be stripped and redone in French polish. I know we live in different parts of the world but we are only custodians of these items and seeing them butchered (sometimes ruined for good) is offal. On a whole the work you do is good but you are not trying to make it look like when it was new, just restore it so it is functional and looks good, leave the knocks. minor splits, show the repaired veneer, ect It all adds to the character and beauty and most importantly looks old.
@@purpleom9649 wow. Not a single thing you wrote here shows any sign of actually being passionate about furniture OR restoration. Just a lot of unneccesary nastiness, an "antique" way of thinking, and an inflated sense of self importance. I'd take my valuable antiques to someone like Tom who actually cares what he's doing over someone like you any day of the week.
@@DawnWentzellThe difference between us is I've taken my time to point out where John professionally is going wrong, John produces videos on how he goes about restoring antiques BUT the methods he uses are WRONG and in a lot of cases he is ruining them for good. This is ok if he is just doing it for himself but a lot of people are copying him a home or think it's ok to get another untrained person to do the same. You on the other hand have taken your untrained point of view and decided to condemn me with 40 years of knowledge and experience with antiques just because John is a nice guy (and he is) for pointing out where he is going wrong. BTW if you had read what I wrote, I only restore antiques for myself so you are welcome to take your "valuable antiques" to John, I'd really like to see him work on something with real value. Everything I've seen him work on so far has been from non-trade clients wanting to get their heirlooms fixed and not from antiques dealers who respect his work.