About the service
Every job starts with a look at the piece itself and a test on a hidden spot: the back of a door, the underside of a shelf. Brushing only works where the wood has soft and hard growth rings side by side. Pine, spruce, larch and oak open up beautifully; dense maple, beech and cherry barely react, and veneered board has no texture to reveal at all. Veneer is thin, and a brush can wear through it in seconds, so I say this before we agree on anything rather than after.
The process itself is simple to describe and slow to do. A wire brush removes the soft fibres and leaves the grain in relief, then I sand down the raised fuzz, work a contrasting stain into the pores and wipe the excess off the high points. A dry brush goes along edges and profiles, and light wear appears only where a hand really touches: around handles, on the front rail, at the corners of a tabletop. The line between nobly aged and artificially scuffed is thin, and I would rather stop early. The finish is wax or matte oil, never gloss. Brushing throws off a lot of fine dust, so I work in the shop with a respirator and extraction, not in a living room: small items are collected and returned, doors and fronts are removed and brought back.
One honest warning. If the piece is a genuine antique, artificial aging destroys its original surface and its value with it. Such furniture should be shown to a restorer first; I will not brush it.
— inspection and test panel on a hidden area
— wire brushing, sanding the raised fibres, contrast pore staining
— dry brush on edges, wear only where hands touch
— wax or matte oil finish
— new solid wood furniture, interior doors, kitchen fronts
— pickup and return, typical term 7 to 14 days
The process itself is simple to describe and slow to do. A wire brush removes the soft fibres and leaves the grain in relief, then I sand down the raised fuzz, work a contrasting stain into the pores and wipe the excess off the high points. A dry brush goes along edges and profiles, and light wear appears only where a hand really touches: around handles, on the front rail, at the corners of a tabletop. The line between nobly aged and artificially scuffed is thin, and I would rather stop early. The finish is wax or matte oil, never gloss. Brushing throws off a lot of fine dust, so I work in the shop with a respirator and extraction, not in a living room: small items are collected and returned, doors and fronts are removed and brought back.
One honest warning. If the piece is a genuine antique, artificial aging destroys its original surface and its value with it. Such furniture should be shown to a restorer first; I will not brush it.
— inspection and test panel on a hidden area
— wire brushing, sanding the raised fibres, contrast pore staining
— dry brush on edges, wear only where hands touch
— wax or matte oil finish
— new solid wood furniture, interior doors, kitchen fronts
— pickup and return, typical term 7 to 14 days
