This is one of the first true antique restorations which I completed a long time ago and having a vision for what I wanted it to look like after the fact took a while to develop. When I first saw this desk it was in not to great of shape. I had a few doubts about if the defects were going too be removable, namely a large water damage ring and some pretty deep gouges in the veneer on the drawer fronts. People love to put plants on fine furniture, which is great, but… condensation and moisture are my enemies, resist the urge… keep moisture away! As you can see the finish was cracking and chipping off. In the photo on the left I did some scraping with a card scraper which did the trick. All of the original clear coat came off rather easy. Once the top surface was cleaned too the bare wood, it revealed a beautiful decorative veneer that exploded with character. Then I moved on the all the little details, the legs, all of the decorative moldings, and a loose tiny bead molding; which I re-attached using the same tiny nail that came with the desk. The drawer fronts seemed like they weren’t even from the same desk. They looked completely different. In the right side photo you can see the difference on discoloration which was taking away from the overall appearance of the desk. This desk only needed a clear coat to protect the wood. Which was actually six coats with sanding in between each one. Satin finish was used to set off the its texture and timelessness.
