I have a question for those who restore. I recently purchased what I'm relatively sure is a Gustav Stickley arm chair with a really good coat of paint on it. Is the signature "burned" into the wood? Or is it painted/inked onto the wood under the finish? I won't sand the chair, but after stripping it will there be a signature if there was one originally? The black signatures look like they are burned to me but the red signatures look like they may be an ink or a paint. Thanks for the help.

Bill

Good Morning Billybob,
With out a picture to see it is hard to ell if you have an authentic piece or not. Now since our server is full about the only way of posting a picture on these forums is by using one of two free methods. One is Photo Bucket and the other is Flickr of which is the one I use as it will allow you to set up a gallery of pictures in some sort of order. www.flickr.com and you will find it is user friendly. It has to be for me to use it because I am not a whiz kid on the contraption, called a computer.

Thanks for posting and welcome to these forums that are chucked full of good information in regard to the A&C Movement.

Respectfully,

Ralph Jones

Hi Ralph:

I've been collecting for a little while and am pretty sure it's a Gus #312 1/2 (with a leather seat rather than a rush seat). And I've never taken off paint from a chair. Have you? Do you know if the brand will be left? Any suggestions would be great. Thanks.

Bill

Hi, Billybob. I'm sure others will be able to help you with your furniture stripping question. I want to explain how I successfully removed the paint from a painted Limbert paper label, last summer.
It was on the back of a small server, which also had a brass tag on the inside drawer. It was an early Limbert piece, with the clover leaf cutouts, on the back of the gallery.
While I was very nervous, and worried about ruining the label, I placed one liberal coat of stripper over the label, and simply waited for the paint to bubble up. It came up as one large piece, and I was able to carefully remove it, using a dental pick.
Having the paper label enabled me to prove the piece's maker. While others may cringe at my unorthodox method, it is sometimes harder to convince others of the item's manufacturer, without the proper identification attached.
If the entire item is to be stripped, you may as well try to salvage the original identification. You may want to figure out where this Stickley piece is usually marked, and go from there.
While some may disagree with this approach, the ultimate decision is that of the owner. If you do use chemicals, please use gloves, mask, and work in a well ventilated area(usually outside is best). Good luck with your project. Tim

Sorry if I jumped the gun on that one. As was one of your original questions, you will first have to determine if the mark is branded, or painted. There are several nice contributors to this forum, who will be more than happy to help you with that determination. Thanks. Tim

Gus marked his pieces with either a red ink decal mark or a burnt-in brand, depending on how early the piece is. On V-backs, the mark is usually on the inside rear stretcher on the left side if you're facing the chair. I have successfully stripped paint off of a red decal without completely destroying it using a heat gun and polished scraper. Then you can clean up around it with steel wool or dabs of stripper with a dental pick. If it's a burnt brand, same thing, but it's a lot easier. Need to be very very careful, but it can be done. The trick is finding exactly where it is under the paint. Good luck!

Hi Everyone,
One thing I might point out that if the chair was painted before 1970 it is most likely lead paint and has to be scrapped of by hand and scraper as chemicals cause toxic vapors and not safe to do. Even removing the paint with scrapers you should wear a respirator.

I refurbish furniture all the time and believe me I know from experience.

Respectfully,

Ralph

Here is a copy of that paper label I was talking about.



Tim

Ralph made a good point about old paint having lead paint. It is important to check the piece you are using for lead content, before using chemicals. Thanks. Tim