Painted furniture can be rejuvenated by lightly sanding the piece with 0000 sandpaper and then wiping down with paint thinner followed up with an application of paste wax. Be cautious in making this decision  particuarly with a very old piece where the original  crusty painted surface is prized by many owners.

Hardware can be protected in several ways depending on the metal used. Establish what type of metal it is by simply touching it with a magnet. If steel , the magnet will stick to it. If brass or copper, the magnet will not stick. Sometimes the back plate of a pull will be brass and the bail will be steel. Some pulls are pot metal and may or may not stick to a magnet. Scratching the back surface with a knife will show a silvery mark indicating pot metal.

The best way to polish brass or copper hardware is to remove it from the piece. Then a power buffing machine can be used. Care should be taken that the wire wheel is designed for use on soft metals. Then a follow- up polish with a cloth wheel imparts a soft glow. If no machine is available,  cleaning and polishing can be done by hand. If tarnish is very heavy, try using Tinner`s Acid  to dissolve the tarnish. Use rubber gloves and apply the acid with a small piece of 0000 steel wool. When the acid cleans the piece,  rinse it under running water. The item will have a definite red tinge to it which is normal. Do not soak the pulls in acid for any length of time as  this can cause serious damage . Once the heavy tarnish is gone,  apply a quality brass cleaner with a small piece of 0000 steel wool and polish it out to a bright soft appearance.

Now you can spray the polished pieces with a clear coating of automotive lacquer. This will eliminate the need for regular polishing for months if not years.

Steel hardware can be cleaned on a buffing wheel or by hand. Sometimes this type of hardware has been coated with a brass- colored plating process to imitate real brass. If the coating is in good shape,  just clean the items with paint thinner and coat with the spray lacquer and re – install. Pot metal pieces should be handled in the same fashion. A buffing wire wheel will remove the brass coating . Pot metal pieces should be cleaned by hand. If steel and pot metal items are unsightly after cleaning,  consider painting them. Paint in aerosol cans comes in a variety of colors and can be used to enhance  the appearance of the hardware. The paint dries quickly and does not need the clear lacquer spray- on process described previously.

Now that the piece is nicely polished and the hardware glistens,  you can position it in your home. Putting it in direct sunlight from a nearby window will , over time,  destroy the exposed finish and bleach the wood necessitating a complete refinishing job. Keep the piece away from a working fireplace or wood stove. Heat will blister and destroy the finish.

Storing furniture all too often means relegating it to a basement, attic , garage or to a rented off- site storage unit. If the basement is relatively damp,  put the item in the attic or a garage with an old sheet over it and a heavy sheet of plastic under it. Raise it up off the plastic if you can. If you think your basement is dry,  take a sheet of plastic about four feet square and leave it on your dry basement floor for a week. Then pick it up and see the accumulation of water on it and the very damp wet spot on the floor. That is moisture seeping up from the ground , through the cement , and onto your furniture. Remember most furniture has no protective finish on the underneath and  interior wood surfaces so moisture from the floor goes right up into it causing mildew or warpage and will destroy the glue that holds veneer in place.

If a storage unit is to be used, be wary of the basic unheated garage- type units with cement floors. Pay the extra money and go to a place that is climate- controlled and  get onto an upper floor. Never store furniture , rugs , clothing etc in the garage- type unit.

Also shown are the custom farm tables we produce , examples of the restoration work we do on our inventory items and contract repair/refinishing projects for clients.

We encourage clients who have summer homes in the area to avail themselves of our restoration capabilities during the Winter months. Furniture items in need of refurbishing can be left with us in the Fall . When work is completed we can arrange with their caretaker to have the finished piece delivered to their home.  E-mail status reports and photographs of the work in progress are sent to the client and final photographs when the job is finished. Under certain circumstances ( space availability ) we can store the items until Spring when the owner returns to Maine. For quick access to our website click on the link listed on the right of the page.

Remove all the drawers and check to see if any of the boards that the drawers slide on are loose or missing. Check the surfaces of each board for grooves cut into it from the drawer bottom. A visual inspection will  show whether the drawer guides are missing or loose.

With the drawers out turn the bureau over and examine the legs and the glue blocks that reinforce them. Check the bottoms of the drawer support boards to see if all glue blocks are in place and tightly glued.

Are drawer bottoms split , have they shrunk and pulled away from the groove on the base of the drawer front leaving a gap along the front where the drawer bottoms are supposed to be slid into ? Examine the interior of the drawer front where the pulls are located . Are the pulls original to the piece ? A single center hole for each pull , which has been threaded to accommodate a wooden pull with a wood screw end is common on early pieces.  The holes for these are 3/8″ in diameter . Pieces with  original wood or brass pulls will have a single hole drilled through for each pull and usually measure 3/16 ” in diameter. If a 3/8 ” hole is present  but unused and bracketed by two smaller holes on either side , you can be sure that the pulls are replacements.

Did the bureau have a backsplash that is now missing ? Check the back of the bureau and see if there is a groove running the width of the bureau  where the backsplash might have fit in and been secured by three or four screws. The holes will be visible right along the edge of the top board of the bureau. Some backsplashes rested  on top of the main board with an extension that ran down the back edge. Again , the screw holes will be evident and the top board of the bureau might show dark markings where the backsplash rested and protected the finish from sunlight and wear.

Measure the vertical height of each drawer front  on both left and right sides. Measure the height at the back of each drawer. They should be identical to the front. If not the drawer bottom runners should be repaired to even them off front to back. Are the four drawer joints glued tightly together ? Any movement or racking action visible when the drawer is handled ?

Now check the overall appearance of the exterior of the bureau. Any trim or molding strips missing ? Are pulls all there and are they consistent with the age of the piece ? What about the color and finish ? Has it been painted ? How many times and what colors ? Is the paint over the original shellac , laquer or varnish finish ? Paint is designed to penetrate into the pores and grain of the wood. If used on raw wood it is impossible to get it all out. A residue will remain no matter how strong the stripper is  and the effort used to remove it. If you buy a painted piece with the intent of restoring it to its original color , be forewarned !

Most of the above are examples of what time , use , environmental conditions and neglect can do to a bureau. A full and careful examination to determine the overall  condition of the bureau  should be a significant factor in your decision to purchase the piece and what you are willing to pay for it.

Another subject that bears careful analysis is the condition of the finish. Are there  black or white rings where plants have been placed on the piece ? Marks from beverage containers? Cigarette burns ? Deep scratches or dents in  the wood. Split boards ? The aforementioned are difficult to repair and some not worth the effort.

All of these factors are applicable to any antique bureau whether it be a three over four drawer mahogany piece from 1810 or a simple four drawer pumpkin pine country piece from 1890. If you are purchasing a bureau it should perform as it was designed to do and have a finish and appearance that is durable , attractive to the eye and feel like butter under your hand with a deep , clear , top coat that highlights the wood grain in a soft satin glow.

Every bureau in our inventory is completely restored mechanically and refinished. We have templates of backsplashes from the 19th century in a variety of designs that we can duplicate in walnut , pine , mahogany and bird`s eye maple. Check our website to see the end results of our work.

Take 129 to 130 directly to the Pemaquid Point Lighthouse  and museum operated by the town of Bristol . Unmatched views of the ocean on nice days and dramatic vistas of nature`s fury during heavy storms  as wind , towering breakers and either rain or snow or both rip at the shore.

Take Huddle Road off 130 to Colonial Pemaquid State Park where the restoration of a tower of Fort William Henry rests on the original foundation built in 1692. An archeological dig has unearthed the foundations of the homes built on the site  and there is a museum housing artifacts from the area. An ancient cemetery  on the grounds overlooks  gorgeous Pemaquid Harbor, an active fishing port. Seasonal fishermen from England had temporary dwellings on the the harbor shore  dating back to 1610 , several years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth , MA.

If you take route 129 where it slips off to the right from 130 you wind up in Christmas Cove , a complex of beautiful homes , marinas ,  deep pine woods , and the rocky coast. Another very active fishing harbor home to many fishermen who tie their ships up to the piers and moorings near the “Gut ” spanned by the swing bridge and clearly visible from the road.

If examples of old houses are of interest to you the routes south from Damariscotta will give you a panorama of homes dating from the mid 1800`s through the grand summer cottages of those  from Maryland , Virginia, Pennsylvania , New York and Connecticut who populated the area in the late 1890`s.

Two miles from downtown Damariscotta heading south towards Pemaquid Point is our shop on the right hand side of the road . DAMARINE ANTIQUES is in our barn attached to our home  , the Benjamin Day House built in 1754. It is one of the three oldest homes in town all having been built by Nathaniel Chapman , a housewright , originally from Ipswich , MA. We are open year round from 10.00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M. daily. A telephone call ahead is advised during Winter months.

In the summer of 2001 we realized a lifetime dream of moving to Maine. It took a year of searching to locate a site where living quarters , a workshop , and  a large display area were all confined in one complex.

We found a classic cape , built in 1754 by Nathaniel Chapman of Ipswich , MA for Benjamin Day ( a Revolutionary War veteran ) in Damariscotta, ME. It comprises ten rooms , a spacious workshop, and an attached barn and garden room for display of antiques. An integral part of the property for our customers enjoyment is the extensive gardens surrounding the house and barn. The house is one of the three oldest  in town , all built by housewright Nathaniel Chapman.

The home was built on the banks of the Damariscotta River approximately two miles south of downtown Damariscotta on U.S, Route 129/130 which is the principal road down the center of the Pemaquid Peninsula and leads eventually to the Pemaquid Lighthouse and museum at Pemaquid Point. Also to Colonial Pemaquid State Park that has a rebuilt stone tower of Fort William Henry the original fort constructed in 1692. It is situated on the shores of Pemaquid Harbor and guarded the colonial village which is now an archaeological site , an old cemetery and a museum all overlooking one of the prettiest harbors in the area.

The name of our shop , DAMARINE ANTIQUES , is unique. The town`s name , Damariscotta , intrigued us as to its origin – perhaps a Native American name. A search of the state archives in Augusta revealed that when the town of Damariscotta was formed and  incorporated in 1847  it included a portion of Bristol that was named for Damarine a Native American Sachem from the  Sagadahoc tribe.