Angie’s List: Refinishing old furniture

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Old furniture can look new again, if you're willing to spend the money to refinish it. But, care and caution must be used prior to beginning the process according to Angie Hicks of Angie’s List .

Jason Hagerty of Carmel Custom Refinishing said refinishing means stripping the old finish off and bringing it up into a new color, a new finish.

Repainting is also a way to refinish furniture.

"Restoring would be more of a touch up, paste wax, maybe buff off the hand applied wax if you will,” said Hagerty.

Hicks said before starting the process, research the refinishing company and your furniture.

"Is it solid wood furniture or is it not. Because you know when it comes to refinishing furniture, your best return is going to be on hardwood or re-doing upholstery as opposed to modern furniture that may not be solid wood.”

Hagerty said, "A lot of the newer pieces today are almost priced to be disposable."

But Hagerty said just because furniture is old doesn't mean it should be refinished.

He said stripping an antique can actually hurt its value.

"We know that as soon as we strip it, most case goods are going to lose roughly a third of the value,” Hagerty said.

But if you aren't trying to preserve a collector's item or valuable antique refinishing it can significantly change its appearance.

There are do it yourself refinishing kits. But you need to make sure you have the time, patience, knowhow and reasonable expectations about the finished product.

Hagerty said, "You can do it on your own, but the texture of the piece, everything sprayed but not brushed. The clarity of the grain, the durability of the coating, they're not going to be able to do that at the house."

The cost of refinishing depends on the size and scope of the job.

But, Hagerty said a good rule of thumb is about $68 an hour.