Suppose you own antique furniture or are an estate sale fanatic looking for great deals. In that case, it’s essential to understand which vintage furniture is more valued and which may be effectively restored.
Most times, restoring antique furniture may be difficult and will wind up costing you greater than its market worth. It’s a good idea to go through guidelines to determine what works best for certain furniture.
Continue reading, and we’ll go through how to find a market value of an antique and its restoration.
How to Find an Antique’s Market Value
Discovering a market worth of an antique take’s years of skill, but with little advice and the appropriate equipment, you may avoid being deceived when acquiring antiques at auction or estate sale.
1. Have Your Antiques Appraised.
Seeing a local appraiser is a great choice, mainly if they are located in a local store or are a dealer of collectible and unusual items. These people will investigate the market worth of the antique, offer a fair assessment, and present you with a formal statement with the antique’s evaluation.
Please remember that a trained appraiser understands that offering to purchase the item they value constitutes an interesting conflict.
Moreover, you may anticipate giving them a fixed price between $200 and $400 for the services, depending on their experience and location. Avoid them if the appraiser requests a charge based on a percentage of the item’s worth.
2. Examine Antique Price Guides
Establishing a reference library of vintage price guidelines is a good idea. These resources are exhaustive and provide market values and descriptions for many antiques.
This initiative is especially beneficial for people with the Vault Antiques they want to repair and sell. These resources will help you decide if the object should be left as is, restored, or replaced with other pieces or components.
However, remember that the authors may set the market value greater than what readers expect them to sell for on the market. This is because they have visited multiple auctions or other places and discovered irregular pricing.
While having these reference resources on hand is still a good idea, remember that the findings may be skewed.
3. During a Live Auction, Do Your Research.
Many websites have specialists and appraisers that may provide you with a professional estimate on your stuff. All you need to do is offer a description and then attach a picture. The site will provide you with a value within a week.
But what if you can’t wait and need to know before selling at an auction or estate sale? You may research these events if you have a tablet or smartphone. Often, you may inspect the goods up for bid or buy before the event starts. To discover what others are ready to pay, enter the item’s description into a search on another selling site.
They will give you a rough estimate of the item’s market value. A Google search will provide several “collector” and “seller” websites with price possibilities.
Antique Furniture Restoration
The actual restoration can take hours due to the process’s many complexities. However, professionals do not want to create difficulties if they do not know the proper way. In addition, you must ensure that the following measures about a standard method are performed.
1. Putting Safety First
The procedure should include hazardous substances that might cause health problems if exposed for an extended time. Check the necessary protection equipment, such as gloves, masks, and goggles. To begin the repair process, choose an open area with sufficient ventilation.
2. Defining the Last Finish
The current finish ultimately determines the procedure of refinishing or restoration. However, varnish, lacquer, and shellac identification may necessitate close inspection. Nevertheless, it is simple to identify pigment, wax, oil, paint, or penetrating sealer.
3. Surface Cleaning at Its Best
A quick but comprehensive cleansing may save you money and time on a costly and time-consuming operation. Liquid detergent, warm water, or a professional wood cleaner should be used. Apply the mixture using a towel to reduce the possibility of heavier penetration.
4. Sanding a Whole Area
Begin removing the gleaming finish with sandpaper on the chosen surface. The method must be moderate, taking into account care and time. To prevent a disastrous or messy result, attempt to leave the step to a competent worker.
5. Removing the Old Finish
It is time to prepare the antique furniture surface for refinishing or restoration. There are several ways to treat a certain surface finish. Following the first stripping, use liquid strippers to begin secondary stripping.
6. Stain Coating Refinish
This is the last stage of repair, with a fresh coat of satin to give it a new look. This is the stage in which you must address all of the issues. To offer the final touch, clean the whole surface after restoration.
Conclusion
The most advantageous thing you can do is to perform as much research as possible about the market worth of your antique before bringing it up for an auction or sale. You may have received a garage full of antiques that you want to get rid of immediately, but this is a bad idea unless you first grasp the market worth of each piece.
Furthermore, other elements of antique furniture restoration may cause you a headache. It’s one thing to be unable to leave no loose ends. However, the explanation can assist you in making a reasonable start. Make the appearance of your valuable antique shine to create an impact without lowering its worth.
Iskra Banović is our seasoned Editor-in-Chief at BlueFashion. She has been steering the website's content and editorial direction since 2013. With a rich background in fashion design, Iskra's expertise spans across fashion, interior design, beauty, lifestyle, travel, and culture.
