I recently bought one of these huge 8ft 18th century Louis XVI armoires on an online auction and it is in similar condition as this one. I would love to start restoring and bringing it back to life, but I feel like I’ve gotten a little over my head. Your videos have definitely helped me identify and appreciate the piece even more!
I am surprised to see those feet are actually made from laminated pieces with horizontal grain. I was expecting them to be single piece vertical grain.
I am surprised that the Shellac on this old piece was refurbished with just steel wool and wax, it came out amazing! I have a bedroom set from around 1911-1918 done in Shellac it was all dark and wrinkled I had it refinished in lacquer, and now I can see all the beautiful veneered wood. People said I ruined it, and lowered its value. I could not live with that black shriveled finish! What do you think?
I would say you probably brought it back to its original aesthetic - this piece didn’t even have a shellac but rather layers and layers of old wax, which really brighten back up once cleaned and the first layer is abraded with 000 steel wool…. Totally stripping an armoire of this age does sort of remove the soul of the piece but I think for pieces around 1900 were not on the same wavelength so I wouldn’t complain about the approach you took on the bedroom set - even for older pieces when the patina is more disparate and dirty, refinishing entirely to recuperate a homogenous look and original aesthetic can be arguably favored over trying to conserve an ugly patina … I’m not a conservator though.
@@MyersMonroe I wish I could afford the handmade furniture that you sell, so I have to stick to machine-made furniture of the 19th-20th century. I learned two things watching your channel one the differences between marquetry and parquetry(I thought it was all marquetry) two the waxing process on very early French handmade pieces. Thank you.
Just found your channel. Really like it😊 please could you give me the link to the French website you mention at the end of the video? Can't find in description
I have no idea - its something from a master furniture maker supply shop in France - let me just say it definitely kills the bugs.... I can find out for you though!
what is your favorite wood conditioning polish? as I no longer live in America, finding products in France is actually quite difficult as many of the French make their own "french polish". do you know of a product sold in France you would have trusted to these aged wood?
Yes! The wax I buy comes from "Produits Duguay" at St. Ouen - its an old time shop that caters to antiquaries and masters furniture makers - its the only thing in my shop that comes from St. Ouen by the way - (they have their own brand of wax, as well as one called carambex which has a higher shine). They also sell all of the solvents and lacquers for making French polishes.
@@MyersMonroe parfait! I will see if I can find it online as Paris is 6hrs from me but will for sure go next time I am North. It is so strange after growing up with antiques in America and going to flea markets/stores etc that always promote and sell their idea of the best antique wood polishing products. its so readily available. none of that is here in France! and what products I have found in grocery stores are so toxic I can't use them! and when you go to hardware stores there is always oil with coloring agents to dye the wood and all I want is a deep cleaning/conditioning when finding old house/barn wood antiques that haven't been cared for in forever!
@@MyersMonroe "pate duguay"? is that your preferred wax? wow they have Loads of products. best "overall conditioning" would you suggest? especially wood with inlay/marquetry? merci beaucoup
I recently bought one of these huge 8ft 18th century Louis XVI armoires on an online auction and it is in similar condition as this one. I would love to start restoring and bringing it back to life, but I feel like I’ve gotten a little over my head. Your videos have definitely helped me identify and appreciate the piece even more!
All I know is that it was shipped from a castle in Europe to Connecticut at some point
Most enjoyable, thanks for posting, you have some interesting pieces, have subscribed, and look forward to more vids, again thank you
Beyond awesome!
Thank you!
I am surprised to see those feet are actually made from laminated pieces with horizontal grain. I was expecting them to be single piece vertical grain.
I am surprised that the Shellac on this old piece was refurbished with just steel wool and wax, it came out amazing! I have a bedroom set from around 1911-1918 done in Shellac it was all dark and wrinkled I had it refinished in lacquer, and now I can see all the beautiful veneered wood. People said I ruined it, and lowered its value. I could not live with that black shriveled finish! What do you think?
I would say you probably brought it back to its original aesthetic - this piece didn’t even have a shellac but rather layers and layers of old wax, which really brighten back up once cleaned and the first layer is abraded with 000 steel wool…. Totally stripping an armoire of this age does sort of remove the soul of the piece but I think for pieces around 1900 were not on the same wavelength so I wouldn’t complain about the approach you took on the bedroom set - even for older pieces when the patina is more disparate and dirty, refinishing entirely to recuperate a homogenous look and original aesthetic can be arguably favored over trying to conserve an ugly patina … I’m not a conservator though.
@@MyersMonroe I wish I could afford the handmade furniture that you sell, so I have to stick to machine-made furniture of the 19th-20th century. I learned two things watching your channel one the differences between marquetry and parquetry(I thought it was all marquetry) two the waxing process on very early French handmade pieces. Thank you.
Exquisite piece.
Thank you !!!
Just found your channel. Really like it😊 please could you give me the link to the French website you mention at the end of the video? Can't find in description
Meubliz.com - and welcome! For some reason the descriptions do not like the links I try to feature.
What's the compound you injected into the piece?
I have no idea - its something from a master furniture maker supply shop in France - let me just say it definitely kills the bugs.... I can find out for you though!
It's huge..plz mention it's height,length and width (depth)
Glad you like the piece - it is amazing - 77 wide, 33 deep, 101 inches tall !
what is your favorite wood conditioning polish? as I no longer live in America, finding products in France is actually quite difficult as many of the French make their own "french polish". do you know of a product sold in France you would have trusted to these aged wood?
Yes! The wax I buy comes from "Produits Duguay" at St. Ouen - its an old time shop that caters to antiquaries and masters furniture makers - its the only thing in my shop that comes from St. Ouen by the way - (they have their own brand of wax, as well as one called carambex which has a higher shine). They also sell all of the solvents and lacquers for making French polishes.
@@MyersMonroe parfait! I will see if I can find it online as Paris is 6hrs from me but will for sure go next time I am North. It is so strange after growing up with antiques in America and going to flea markets/stores etc that always promote and sell their idea of the best antique wood polishing products. its so readily available. none of that is here in France! and what products I have found in grocery stores are so toxic I can't use them! and when you go to hardware stores there is always oil with coloring agents to dye the wood and all I want is a deep cleaning/conditioning when finding old house/barn wood antiques that haven't been cared for in forever!
@@MyersMonroe "pate duguay"? is that your preferred wax? wow they have Loads of products. best "overall conditioning" would you suggest? especially wood with inlay/marquetry? merci beaucoup
@@imaginetraveltours Hi if you have the time make your own, not as tricky as it may seem