Customer Reviews

Furniture Restoration: Step-By-Step Tips and Techniques for Professional Results

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

this lovely book is filled with incredible examples of fine furniture, as well as step by step instructions, with specific tools and materials for restoring, rehabilitating, or recreating the pieces.
a wide variety of styles and techniques are presented here, and these are applicable not just to furniture but to panels, walls, and other substrates. an inspiring, must-have book for the decorative artist!

This is one of the best book on antique furniture restoration. It covers the major problems that one encounters with older furniture and offers practical approaches to solve them. The sections on color matching are better than I have seen elsewhere. I am a beginner, so I am not just attempting the easy stuff. Detailed chapters on gilding, etc. will be of interest to more advanced refinishers. Lots of very clear pictures. Beautifully printed too. Five stars.

I am more than satisfied with the quality and content of this book. As the author states, the photography could have been better on the illustrations but that does not take away from the usefulness of the book. I recently purchased a coffin style vintage stereoscopic viewer (for the viewing of vintage stereo photographs). Although I have not begun my restoration project, I am finding a lot of useful tips and information just pages into the book. The book is indexed well, making reference on one page to future pages with greater depth on the topic discussed. I am impressed with the variety of techniques presented.

I gave this book only four stars so prespective buyers will not think this book, in itself, will be means to becoming a furniture restorer. Rather, this book will give someone a starting point so they can know what direction to proceed. There is not enough information on any of the techniques in the book to enable an initiate to perform credible restorations or to master any specific technique itself.
That said, one piece of cardinal advice I would give. Never practice on the object you are trying to restore.
Finally, a library of books, advice and instruction from someone in the craft, and experience, all beyond the scope of this book, are the requirements to become adept at furniture restoration. Also, the beginning of the book states, " to be a restorer, it isn't necessary to be a cabinetmaker." That's true, but it sure helps.
After all that I recommend this book to anyone interested in restoration as an excellent beginning.

I have read many furniture fix-up and refinishing books over the years, and must say this is one of the most comprehensive I have ever read! I was especially fascinated by the chapter on making molds of trim, details, and other shapes, so as to cast a duplicate to be affixed to another part of the piece being repaired. I also appreciated the chapter dealing with wood fillers. I long ago learned that store-bought wood fillers, such as "Plastic Wood," never quite match what you are trying to match around the filled-in portion, and many are just too hard to conveniently sand level. The Marxs' approach to mixing up a custom color-matched filler from regular white water based powdered filler, so the patch can be sanded without losing the color match, is just ingenious! Their presentations on color matching and graining are better than anything I have ever read. This book has elevated my aspirations and skill level as never before. I will begin using knowledge and tips gleaned from this book in my very next project.

The reviewer who did not like the book because it did not help with a re-upholstery project, needed to find a beginner's book on upholstering. This book is not a beginner's book, but will help anyone, beginner to experienced furniture refinishing guru, understand what can be done to breathe new life into these beautiful old treasures!

An excellent book with a wealth of practical restoration ideas. Inspires one to get going!!

Furniture Restoration step by step Tips & Techniques for professional Results was too much aimed at antiques. We just wanted to learn how to re-upolster a simple sofa.