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One evening less than a month after my homecoming she came to me, tears in her eyes. It seemed that the man who usually refinished for her was sick and she had a cherry drop-leaf table that needed refinishing right away.

I grumbled and put up a show of resistance for form's sake, but I knew when I was licked. Every night for a week I struggled and fumed at that table. Since I knew next to nothing about refinishing, I did everything the hard way. Gradually by trial and error I worked it out and I must say I was rather pleased with the table when it was finally finished. My wife was too, and I was officially appointed her antique refinisher, in my spare time.

Now, six years later, she's no longer in the antique business, but I still refinish antiques and like it. What's more, I find it a very lucrative sideline. There's a constant demand for refinishing, even in small towns and villages. The work can be done any time that it's convenient, Saturdays or late at night, and there is little or no capital investment needed to start. I also find a great deal of creative satisfaction when I see a table or a chest of drawers emerge from the many ugly coats of grimy black varnish or paint and become once more a useful and beautiful piece of furniture.

Before you're set up and ready for business you'll need to have a good working knowledge of just what to do. Once you've achieved some proficiency in these basic requirements you can figure out short cuts and innovations of your own. The following eight-point discussion will give you a good working knowledge of how to operate an antique refinishing business in your spare time.

THE WORKSHOP: Your cellar or an unused portion of your garage is an excellent workshop. I use the cellar in winter, the garage in summer. The place where you work should be adequately ventilated. Varnish remover, varnish, and shellac are all highly volatile and should not come near an open flame. You'll do well to spread the floor in your work area with two or three thicknesses of newspaper. Old varnish and paint mixed with varnish remover make a sticky mess and it's a lot easier to clean up when you have an easily removed floor covering.

EQUIPMENT: You'll need very little equipment to start. Two or three old brushes (one to two inches) for removing varnish and paint with varnish remover. Two good two-inch brushes for applying the new finish. Go all out here and buy the best you can. Then you won't be picking stray hairs out of an otherwise perfect finish.

Two sturdy paint scrapers and the ordinary household tools, a hammer, screw driver, pliers, chisel, and plane are adequate. Later you'll probably want to add an electric sander and various woodworking tools for minor cabinet work. It's a good idea to have a pair of saw horses and an old table handy. In this way you can bring a chest of drawers or a table up to a good working level and work around it.

SUPPLIES: You'll need varnish remover, turpentine, and sandpaper for removing finish and clear shellac, a quick drying dull finish varnish, wood filler, various stains, fine sandpaper, double-0 steelwool, linseed oil and powdered pumice for finishing.

Not all varnish removers are equally effective. You would do well to try two or three kinds until you find the one that works best for you. Then you can save money by buying it by the gallon. I have found a quick drying dull finish varnish and a clear shellac the best finishes for commercial work. Lacquer is tricky to work with and has to be applied with a spray gun. It always presents a problem in ventilation as it is extremely volatile and under certain conditions will explode. Most fire departments frown on its use in residential neighborhoods. Slow drying varnish, if applied correctly, gives a beautiful finish, but it takes time and often raises the cost of refinishing considerably.

REMOVING THE FINISH: The right start makes a good finish, particularly in furniture. Every vestige of the old finish must be completely removed. Apply varnish remover to a small area of the surface. Give it plenty of time to sink in until the finish bubbles, then start with your scraper. Always remember to go with the grain of the wood. It may take three or four applications if the varnish or paint is thick. Have plenty of newspaper pages torn in half handy. They are excellent for wiping the "goo" off your scraper.

After the first area is as clean as possible move on over the surface until it is all clean. Once the finish is removed, wipe the entire piece off with turpentine, being very careful to get into any cracks or crevices. The final step is a complete sanding with fine sandpaper. You'll find this easier if you wrap the sandpaper around a child's block. Don't use a hand sander until you've practiced with it on unimportant pieces. It can be awfully tricky.

Next come any necessary repairs. Cracks, gouges, holes, etc., can be filled with wood filler. I find it easier to stain the filler before it is applied. For this I use oil colors nearest approximating the color of the natural wood.

(Raw umber for mahogany and cherry, chrome yellow for maple and pine, burnt umber for walnut.) You'll have to experiment a little here to get just the color you want. Remember, a little color goes a long way.

If the piece needs cabinet work, you'll have to bring a cabinet maker into the picture unless you're handy with woodworking tools. I have a connection with a man who works in a piano factory. He comes to my place to do the work I need once or twice a month. As a rule I don't take pieces to refinish that need too much cabinet work, but suggest a local cabinet maker. This usually doesn't hurt your business as most cabinet makers do not like to refinish also. One other word of caution concerns inlays. Be very sparing of varnish remover in this part for it may loosen the inlay. Depend more on sandpaper.

APPLYING THE FINISH: I always use a first coat of clear shellac, cut to waterlike consistency with alcohol, as a filler. Be sure the surface is perfectly dry as shellac discolors in the presence of moisture. Allow this coat to dry for three or four hours, then rub down with fine sandpaper. Be sure the surface is even and clean. Your next step is to apply an even coat of quick-drying, dull-finish varnish. Thin your varnish a little with turpentine. Allow this coat to dry for twenty-four hours and sand. Apply a third coat of varnish full strength and allow to dry over night. Make a paste of linseed oil and powdered pumice, about the consistency of thick gravy. Use a woolen cloth and rub this mixture all over the surface. If you use a regular rubbing varnish you'll have to allow more time for drying between coats, particularly if it is damp outside. Shellac can be applied in the same manner on pine or cheaper pieces. The finish isn't as nice, but it dries quickly and allows you to put on more coats in a shorter time.

HOW TO GET BUSINESS: In my own case, I started with antique dealers. There are about twenty-five nearby, in Cincinnati. Of these I chose eight who handled the type of furniture that seemed to me to be profitable. After introducing myself, I suggested that I take a piece of furniture from them to refinish at a moderate cost so I could show them the quality of my work. In all but one instance they were happy to oblige me. I explained to them that if the refinishing was satisfactory I would appreciate their sending me business, not only for themselves, but also recommending me to their customers, particularly when they sold pieces in the rough.

In each case they were well satisfied with the finished piece and consented to have a stock of my business cards on hand in their shops to give to prospective customers. This has resulted in a great deal of work, both from the dealers themselves and from the people they have sent to me.

Another way I prospect for work is through the two antique shows given each spring and fall in my locality. I contacted the manager of the show and for a nominal price ($7.50) he allowed me to place a sign at the entrance of the hall where the show is held. I also ran an advertisement in the show catalog at a cost of $10. In the advertising copy I stressed my experience and familiarity with refinishing antiques. The copy ran:

EXPERT REFINISHING
Custom refinishing by hand guarantees you the best and most skillful work on your most treasured pieces.

Call for Estimate and Consultation
F. R. Sullivan     3424 Stettinius Ave.
East 3390

If you live in a large city the antiques section of your Sunday newspaper's classified section offers you a ready way of contacting interested prospects. I have had good success in running a small advertisement under this section in the fall and spring when people are thinking of house furnishings. The cost is nominal, in my case $1.85 per insertion. In smaller communities an advertisement in the classified section under "Business Services" should get the same results.

There are probably antique auctions in your community as in mine. I contacted all the auctioneers who hold these sales and in every case they have allowed me to place a small sign in the auction rooms.

You will find, after you have been established for awhile, that your satisfied customers are among the best advertisements you can have. Word-of-mouth will bring you a great deal of your new business.

HOW TO ESTIMATE COSTS: I base my charges on the time spent. Obviously you can't get the same hourly rate when you're learning that you can when you've figured out a number of short cuts and time savers. Actually you have to be the judge of what your spare time is worth to you. If you set it too high you won't get much work, if it's too low you are cheating yourself. Another factor to consider is the prevailing rate for skilled labor in your locality. I figure I now average $3.50 per hour, When I was less proficient I averaged $2 to $2.50. Generally speaking a chest of four drawers brings me $25 to $40, small tables $10 to $15. You'll have to judge also by the intricacy of the piece itself; plain legs are easier than fluted or roped; carving is hardest to clean. Chairs are special items. They are harder to clean, harder to handle, particularly carved Victorian chairs. Many country chairs were painted with cold water paint on which varnish remover has no effect. These have to be scraped usually with glass. The simplest chair is worth $4; others may run as high as $10. Chairs usually need re-gluing, which takes time and a certain amount of skill.

A FEW DO'S AND DON'TS: Once you are in the refinishing business there are a few suggestions which will save you a lot of grief.

Don't make rash promises. I seldom give a fixed promise on anything. Too many things can disrupt your schedule.

Don't deliver if you can help it. Make the customer arrange for delivery. If you do call for and deliver, make an extra charge.

Don't try to spread out too far. Painted and decorated furniture is an art in itself.

Don't, at least at first, take on pieces you don't feel you have the skill to do well.

Do learn something about making minor cabinet repairs.

Do keep reading about refinishing. There are many excellent books on the subject that can give you a lot more detailed information than an article of this length. Among the ones I have found most helpful are:

"The Furniture Treasury," by Wallace Nutting, Vol. III, pages 313-337, Macmillan Co., 1949.

"Furniture; Furniture Finishing, Decorating and Patching," by A. B. Pallow and C. L. Vaughn, The Frederick Drake Publishing Co., 1927.

"The Art of Restoring and Refinishing Antique FurnitUre," by Edward W. Minns, Moore Publishing Co., 1939.

"Knowing, Collecting and Restoring Early American Furniture," by Henry H. Taylor" J.B. Lippincott Co., 1930.