Restoration of your antique

Snowbird from the land of cheese -

I did not know this so I thought I would pass it on.

I was watching the Antique Roadshow and a lady brought in a table that looked like it was in great condition! The appraiser asked her watch she use restore the table and she told him she used linseed oil! He told her it did a great job and asked her why she did it? She told him it was because the varnish looked dirty and she wanted to clean it up a bit.

Little did she know the appraiser told her by cleaning up the antique, she lowered the value of the piece by $5, 000!! So even if your antique looks a little dirty- LEAVE IT ALONE!!

Comment #1 Eva from Wisteria Lane -

I wonder why that is? It doesn't make sense to leave it diry. To me, I certainly would think that by cleaning it up it would increase in value!!

Comment #2 Red from USA -

Interesting!!! That is a huge amount of money that it got lowered by. I love watching that show too. That person probably thought they were doing something good by cleaning it up to make it look nice when in fact she decreased its value. Some people have antiques to actually have them in their home not to sell them. Well they might hang onto it now since it isn't worth as much. I can see not washing a quilt that is quite old but I guess I wouldn't think there would be much harm in cleaning up a table. Thanks for sharing this.

Comment #3 Jo Jo from Tucson, Arizona -

I will let my great-aunt know about this. She is very particular with her antiques..I know for a fact that she does clean them on a regular basis. I guess from reading your post she really shouldn't be.

Comment #4 TexasGal from Dallas, Texas -

Was it because it was a particular wood? Was it the age of the wood? It can't be a blanket statement for all antique furniture. That just doesn't make any sense.

Comment #5 cheeseman from Poynette, WI -

Furniture seems to have a particular niche in antiques and dealers and collectors that are purists want them in the original form. Personally i don't want ugly furniture. I do antique wall phones and some are in great condition; others are covered with paint and those i strip by dipping (no sanding) to remove old paint and the varnish and then oil them. That increases the value. I think a lot depends on the piece. I would really like to know what most dealers think about that.

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