Hello,

I am a relatively new A&C enthusiast and this is my first post here, so please forgive me if my questions are too novice. I posted this question in another group and didn't get a single response. Any thought/oppinions would be appreciated.

I recently purchased an old arts and crafts rocker that I really enjoy (my first A&C piece). However, there are several places where the rocker appears to have rubbed against a painted object and the paint was transferred onto the rocker (I posted pics in the gallery). Is there a way to remove the paint from the piece without harming the finish underneath? Also, in a few spots, the finish may have been rubbed off completely. Should this be repaired prior to cleaning/rewaxing, or is this part of the charm of the piece? I can
deal with the wear, but the paint is really glaring.

On the subject of repairs, does anyone have recommendations for good texts on techniques for repairing/conditioning arts and crafts furniture? I realize that there are several texts out there (Bruce Johnson's jumps to mind), but I never see them in book stores, so I
can't judge for myself.

Thanks for your thoughts

Paint/rub on one leg

Paint/rub on the arm

I know the "other" group - not a super active group, but it's not exactly busy here all the time either.

Nice Chair - pretty sure it's a Charles Stickley, so fairly valuable as well. First just try mild soap, like dish soap, on a damp rag - don't rub real hard and dry it quickly with a dry rag. If that doesn't work then try mineral spirits which should do the trick, but will also remove any wax as well. Don't use anything else for the paint because you can really hurt the finish and kill value. If you think some wax came off (dark grunge on the rag) then just re-wax a bit, or if the wax is old and messy you could clean the whole chair down with spirits and wax again (dark wax preferred). As far as the wear spots, it's a toss up. If they are small and there's not too many then leave them as is and just wax over. If they are relatively large then you can do a spot treatment with a thinned coat of shellac (spit coat) before waxing over. The problem here is matching the shellac tone - the old original has probably acquired an amber or brownish tone and you either have to try amber shellac as is from a bottle or add dye to clear or amber to try to match. Honestly if you're new to this, don't experiment with this piece and just leave it as is. Find a real beater of a generic piece to practice shellac skills. If you do add anything to this piece you will always have to call it a 'restored original finish' as compared to 'original finish' and even if you do a great job there are purists who will frown on anyything done other than just cleaning and waxing. Books - Bruce Js "Pegged Joint" is pretty good but out of print. I think his other one, "Weekend Refinisher" is newer and just the section on shellac finishes would apply.

Stonecat,

Thanks for all of the info. I agree that less is more in this case. I won’t be doing any shellac, just clean and wax and hopefully that will do the trick.

It appears the wax has either been worn down or has dulled heavily on the tops of the arms (compared to the sides of the legs or other non-contact areas), so it might do well to clean/wax the whole chair. I'll give it a try on the paint and hopefully that works. The chair really has a pretty color to it now and I'd hate to loose that. How much will a cleaning alter the coloration, or is that impossible to tell?

You’ve mention in other strings that using oil on a spot missing varnish can change the color of the underlying wood. Will waxing the unvarnished spots damage the wood, or does it act as a protectant that can be undone at a later point?

BTW, I found a used copy of the Pegged Joint on Amazon, thanks for the recommendation. I’ll give it a few reads, wait a few more weeks and then try cleaning/waxing.

Lastly, I think you are right that this chair is likely a Charles Stickley. There is no signature, but it has the large plank front legs, through tenons, and plank arms that are characteristic of the 3-piece sets that you see in auctions occasionally. Do you know of any information/catalogues of Charles Stickley furniture? He is rarely mentioned in books on the period, but I really like the stoutness of his designs.

I would try a little Goof Off.. Try in a place that is not seen first.. just to see how it would react.. Maybe like on the underside of the chair.

Cleaning - if a lot of wax comes off then yes it will look lighter and duller, but reapplying a dark wax will put colour right back on and you can buff to whatever glow you want, plus the old wax will have worn differently in different spots and the new wax will even the colour up overall - if you don't clean too vigorously and leave a bit of "grunge" in the corners and in turn leave a bit of unpolished new wax in the same corners it can give the whole thing some nice contrast, and you can experiment with this to see what looks good or not

Wax on bare wood - unlike oil, wax hardens fast so there isn't much time for it to soak in per se; plus the wood in this case is hardwood so this also limits any soaking in affect; plus wax is wax, oil is oil, two different chemical compositions and I've never heard or read that wax on bare wood will cause the same darkening that oil will; yeah sure maybe a little colour change is possible but nothing that seems to be an issue, not in our lifetime anyways! 'Protectant' vs 'Finish' is the way to look at it.

Books on Charles Stickley - not much out there, no catalogs; "The Stickley Brothers" by Michael Clark and Jill Thomas-Clark probably has the most coverage (a bunch of paragraphs mixed in with other text on the other brothers), with a a few pictures including this one of a matching arm chair design to your rocker:

Hey,

Thanks for the information and the great picture. I just recieved my picture of the Pegged Joint, so I'll be reading it over soon.

That is a great pic of the armchair. I found this pic on Rago's of the settle that must have completed the 3-piece set.

Wow, wouldn't that be a wonderful set to put in front of your fireplace with the A & C tile and flanking built-in book cases? Thanks for posting the picture.

Bev.

I was trolling around the internet yesterday and came across another variation of this CS line of chairs. This one is exactly like the first rocker, but it has a higher back to it. I thought that this was interesting because I've never seen a set with the high-back rocker, only the low-back. I think the seat is a specialty item

The more CS stuff I see the more I hope someone eventually uncovers an original catalog; it really is unique.