Restoration project for a 19th century furniture set. (4 chairs and 2 armchairs)

[vicond]

 

[vicond]

Restoration project for a 19th century furniture set. (4 chairs and 2 armchairs) Restoration of original leather parts for further careful storage. Production of new elements (outwardly as close as possible to the original), for further use for its intended purpose. One of the tasks, the restoration of old original parts. Trials of local touch-up do not solve the main problem with lost abraded and peeled skin fragments. The best Mender product I know from Fenice. This paste is well suited for repairing finishes and hiding imperfections such as scratches, cracks and abrasions. Further local and general tinting, followed by a finish. Now it is difficult to say exactly how the original leather elements were made and what tool and technique the master used. In the details you can see that similar elements differ in the smallest details. There is no machine perfection in small lines and forms. Translation of the key elements into a PHOTO vector gave too poor a result. After several unsuccessful attempts, I remembered my youthful experience in redrawing pictures. A blank sheet of paper, a 0.05 mm liner and perseverance brought the first results. Further editing and cloning of key elements in graphic editors and translation into a vector. Initially, it was clear that the project with chairs would not be easy. The idea with 3D models, embossing (matrix, countermatrix) to push the entire plane at a time was discarded due to lack of experience, equipment and remoteness of specialists ... The price when using only 2-4 prints will tend to the cost of an original antique chair in good condition . This method is good for mass production. In this case, it is important to draw the desired result with the possibilities. This turned out to be the most difficult. Because every step has its limitations. As a material, it was decided to use vegetable tanned leather 0.6-1 mm (pr. Italy). Opoek - the skin of a calf that has not switched to plant foods; has primary (not shedding) wool. The calf leather is durable, with a smooth front surface. The size of a whole skin is on average 0.9-1 sq.m. There are 3 parts in the chair. 1 piece = 1 skin. To give more volume (under the key figures), it was decided to use all the same leather elements. Originally planned to make punches for their cutting. But alas, multiple restrictions in the manufacture of punches made its use impossible. Laser cutting does not have these limitations. You just need to get the equipment right. Tests and experiments gave excellent results. Embossing, gluing a layer to add volume, landing on glue to a cardboard base of 1.5 mm with background sagging. A very crucial moment in filling the entire area with stamps. I underestimated the difficulty with positioning initially. Multiple layouts, breakpoints. One mistake is enough to send the blank to marriage. Not everything went as planned. It was supposed to do without the use of "half" stamps for impressions around the perimeter. But alas, no way to get around this moment did not lead to a good result. The closer to completion, the higher the cost of a mistake. Painting in 2 layers over the entire area. Toning of the central part with the effect of patination. Perimeter painted black. It is desirable to paint so that the brown color of the base breaks through in places. We get a vintage look. After drying, two coats of finishing agent. Decent protection of both the skin from impacts and the wearer's clothes from paint is needed.

[YinTx]

That is a lot of work to get the great results that you did.  Thank you for sharing!

YinTx

[Samalan]

Wow that's some nice work your a very talented man. I hope you all stay safe .

[vicond]

On 3/20/2022 at 2:03 AM, Samalan said:

Wow that's some nice work your a very talented man. I hope you all stay safe .

Thank you. Yes, my country is at war. I do my best to keep my family safe.