Although I haven't posted here in what feels like just about forever at this point, I felt compelled to get some relevant information out to those of you who check in from time to time!
With a ton of help from our local neighborhood we have been up and running now for awhile at out new location at 4632 N. Florida Ave. Tampa, Fl 33603. New location and zip but still in the "hood". We have just a bit more space at just under 2000 sq. ft. with two connected spaces with a more open floor plan so it's a build your own vignette kinda space without being boxed into a segregated room structure!
Here's some pics from a bit ago to give you a feel...
A ton of stuff has already found a happy new home but we have been busy filling it back up with new acquisitions!
In a case of serendipity I suppose, I had just acquired a Lane Acclaim cocktail and end table from a seller that needed some work and were just sitting at the warehouse when in walks a friend and her niece that after some chitchat advised she had a Lane table and was looking for another end table and cocktail table! As you may have guessed by now, she was looking for the Acclaim suite matching pieces.
Although not high end rare pieces, the Acclaim series is getting a bit more difficult to find, especially the rarer pieces. Occasional tables come around pretty regularly but normally are pretty beat up. They are however savable most of the time.
The biggest mistake most people make is that they assume these are solid wood tops and they think they can just put a belt sander to these and all will be fine.
Although the tops appear to be solid wood they are a veneer walnut and oak inlay. The outside edges are solid oak, but if you look carefully you can see the line between the solid border pieces and the inlaid tops.
These pieces, if not previously refinished or otherwise been sanded, are good candidates for a refinish.
The veneer if original is not that thin and if the damage is not too deep these can be saved.
Here's a good example:
The cocktail table had sustained quite a bit of abuse over the years but nothing fatal. The end table really wasn't that bad but had been coated with a urethane finish which may have saved it for the refinish. They needed to match for my customer so I stripped the tops of both and cleaned up the bases with some Howards and some 0000 steel wool and they are ready to go home! I normally strip down to bare wood by just sanding. 80 grit or even 150 if the finish is gone or really dried out and finishing with a 220 grit. I stain with the Minwax Early American stain and let dry completely. Top coat with your choice of lacquer. I like the semi-gloss as it doesn't show scratches and imperfections as the higher gloss finishes do.The Lane factory used a toner on the originals which tended to hide the imperfection as well as the detail in the dovetail. I personally like to see a bit more of the dovetail effect and grain of the wood when I get done with these. You are welcome to comment about your personal opinion about how you might handle these pieces!
Hope to post again on a more regular basis going forward!
