i found these 3 chairs all in tact they are just filthy, filthy dirty. They appear as if they sat in a basement untouched for years. The leather is not ripped but very dirty. What is the best way to treat the leather while giving it a mild clean? Also the wood itself is very dirty. I re-read an old article in style 1900 where as Dennis Bertucci says clean with mineral spirits which scares me to death. if there are proffessional restorers on this site, what do you suggest?

Thank you

Hey Phil, try posting your pictures again.

Don't be afraid of mineral spirits. It cannot remove the original finish, which is almost always shellac. It is the only thing you should use to clean your chairs. It's better than using anything with water as water takes much longer to evaporate and will swell the wood. I believe Dennis also says not to use Murphy's Oil Soap in the same article as it will weaken the finish. He knows what he's talking about.

After you clean the chairs, you can assess the finish. Hopefully, they will just need paste wax. If they have lost some color here or there, use tinted paste wax. You will be surprised at how much it can bring a chair back to life. This is the preferred method because it is reversible. Most anything else you might do is not and will compromise the originality of the piece.

I have used this method on many pieces of furniture. The best book for restoring arts and crafts furniture is The Pegged Joint by Bruce Johnson. I highly recommend it. There is no greater authority. And his method is the same as Dennis's.

ok, I will try it on a small section thank you. Any thoughts on the leather....saddle soap or something like that

mineral spirits is the only safe cleaner to use Murphy's Oil Soap will break down the finish, dont use to much elbow grease you can damage the finish that was as well. do you have any pics?

It Bruce Johnson's book, The Weekend Refinsher, he gives the recipe below for cleaning leather:

1 cup warm water
1 tspn liquid soap
1 tspn vinegar

Mix ingredients thoroughly. Use a clean rag to gently rub the mixture on the leather. Wipe dry.

I've never done this, but it seems reasonable. Even so, I'd probably do a little more research on cleaning antique leather if I were in your situation.

thanks for all the tips, I should have bought those Bruce Johnson books long ago as I have been an amatuer A & C collector just to furnish our home. It gets in your blood...I will post some pics of the chairs as soon as I figure out how :-(

here are some pics

........pics

you can see the corner of the paper label, I just touched with a barely damp cloth,,,,,,,,filthy

last one.....

Hi,
dont know if you have cleaned your chairs yet.

I own a restoration shop restoring since 1976. Foreman largest custom finish shop in our area 11years, ran Ethan Allen service Dept, trained many finishers, and woodworkers, etc.
Here is what we would do. Using a clean soft cloth, Old baby diapers are best. Apply guardsman furniture polish to the cloth not the furniture. Wipe one section clean, turning your rag to reveal new clean areas as you work. You may use a little 0000 steel wool with polish on it if need be, be very gentle with it! follow with a clean dry soft cloth. For the leather we would use cream shoe polish of a similar color. Nordstoms has good stuff if you have one near you. Use a soft cloth. Leave that lable alone!

Good Luck with your project!

Brian Sullivan