What is a patina? A patina is a natural change to the surface of an object caused by oxidization, sunlight or dust/dirt. Patination is considered to be an unavoidable change to a piece as compared to an accidental stain such as that caused by spilling something on the item. Patination helps tell the story of an item and, as such, adds value. One of the most obvious and well known examples of a patinated object that most people know is the Statue of Liberty. The green-grey color of the statue is caused by many years of oxidation of the copper on its surface. This type of patination is known as verde-gris.
Furniture, like most objects, is also subject to patination. As some woods age and accumulate patina, they become more mellow and begin to ‘glow’. Stains that have been applied to the wood can fade with sunlight and become lighter, while over time the dust on the surface will become embedded and darken the surface. Metal hardware will become patinated at the same time.
A piece of furniture that has naturally gained a patina over a period of time is likely to have variations in the depth and coloration of the patina, as all areas will not have been equally exposed to sunlight or dirt. A skilled and experienced person can easily spot a genuine old piece of furniture from a new piece that has been artificially aged by the patination.
One difficulty that many people have is that when they become the new owner of some aged furniture, often this furniture will be in need of cleaning. The problem comes with knowing how far to go with that cleaning. Some ‘grime’ adds value to the piece while other types of dirt will reduce the value. An expert furniture restorer can assess each piece and clean the item in such a way that the general grime is cleaned but the aged, value enhancing patination will be kept.
A greater difficulty results when a piece of furniture with patina requires restoration. This type of work truly needs to be dealt with at the hands of a high skilled furniture restorer. At Rahn’s Furniture Restoration, our highly experienced restorers will carefully examine the piece of furniture that needs repairing. They will decide what surface finish needs to be cleaned and what needs to remain to maintain the look and value of the piece. Then, the restorer will carry out any restoration work that needs to be done. The next critical step requires the restorer to match the finish of the restored section with that of the original, taking into account all the variations in the color that have been caused by age.
Whether a piece of furniture needs cleaning or restoring, with the skills and expertise that we have at Rahn’s Furniture Restoration, owners of fine furniture can rest assured that we will take the best possible care of treasured pieces and enhance both the beauty and value, while saving the history enshrined within the furniture.
