We conserved and restored a Mason Monterey side table with the charming, humorous and valuable Juan Tinoco horses on the drawer front. Our client’s budget determined our scope of work.

The table top was warped, lifting on both sides from the frame; nothing was to be done about the warpage at this time.

MPFC intended to clean dirt and mold from the paint, affix loose paint, and because this was for a private client and not a museum, also perform some infill restoration of the exposed white gesso areas.

Unfortunately, the table was abused mightily over the years, having been stored with excessive temperature and humidity changes causing losses from cracked paint (not to be confused with the lovely intentional stable craquelure of the original finish) on both the drawer front, shown above before treatment) and the Smokey Maple finish.

Note: If you have to store an antique and do not want it damaged,
we advise storing it in a facility or room (not the garage) that is set to
temperatures in which a human being is comfortable.

Besides the obvious losses (see the bright white of the gesso in images above), many tiny bits of lifting paint were about to drop off the gesso.  The table was covered with losses and lifting paint in the original Smokey Maple on legs, panels, and stretchers.

We believe a child drew on the Juan Tinoco horses with crayons, shown left, presumably before the paint began lifting and cracking; this was not removed prior to the extensive paint damage from temperature changes.

Removing what appeared to be crayon before stabilizing the paint was challenging;
MPFC could not guarantee to the client that Kate would be able to remove the crayon (shown left and below right) and would not sacrifice the original painting by Tinoco to do so.  Because of our love for this furniture it was a bit nerve-wracking.

Note: It is easier to see the damage and the painted surfaces from
the side views without the glossy glare, or when images are a bit tilted.

CLEANING

Before beginning in earnest, Kate tested the various types of staining and/or dirt for movement, right.

Finally satisfied that she knew the inherent limitations and choices of the project, she began cleaning with cotton swabs and distilled water, below left, a time consuming process which requires patience.

MOST of the markings, which we do believe was crayon, were removed, except for a bit of smear that remained in an extremely damaged area right above the handle.

The lifting and chipping paint was simply too fragile, so a slight residue of waxy black, in keeping with the colors of Old Wood and Smokey Maple, was left in exchange for possible losses in the painted surface.

Mold was found in several crevices and just underneath the warped top; it was removed and treated with a chemical, above.

CONSERVING HISTORIC PAINT

Clean, it was time to secure the tiny lifting bits of paint to the surface.  It took two applications of a Golden product before the lifting was secured.  It also brightened after the applications.

INFILL

We treated many conservation and restorative processes on Monterey, and also had Gamblin perform spectrometer analysis of original Mason paint, which was paid for by the NPS.  This allowed us to determine many formulas for Mason Monterey colors.  Still, each time, the paint formulas must be tweaked to the proper color for the actual piece.  Paint ages, and infill should match the aged color, and also, just like dye lots, the historic mixes were done in relatively small batches, and the batches can be a bit different.

Also, contrary to popular books on the market about Frank Mason’s historic paint colors, there were several distinct shades of reds, greens and blues used from the beginning.

For infill to be properly executed (meaning not obvious to the naked eye)
it is a 3-4 step process over a month’s time.  I chose a darker image, above, because it is easier to see the brights of the infill before the final topcoat is applied.

Above, the brown horse before infill began, left, and after all treatment but the topcoat was applied, right.  Note the bright spots.

It is costly to infill such a damaged piece but the Smokey Maple topcoat takes care of the teeny bits of exposed white gesso.  The final topcoat applied, above.

TABLE TOP

The Smokey Maple finish on the top and legs was deteriorated and lifting as well, though most of the extensive damage was completed on the top.

The goal was to clean and stabilize, then add enough paint to protect and renew without making it look “new”.  With this in mind, we left the cleaned stains (no oily residue) intact and over-coated the stains with the Smokey Maple paint.

Two coats were applied to the top; light coats allow variation and allow the piece to appear as if it were well-loved rather than neglected and restored.  Understand, MPFC’s restorative applications were driven by preservation and aesthetic necessities, not to fool the eye.  A knowledgeable collector and/or conservator would know the piece was restored, and often we sign the bottom of pieces just to indicate that we restored a piece.

It was fortuitous to have various pieces of Mason Monterey in the studio to compare when restoring, and we almost always have a good variety of Monterey furniture in our studio.  Note the excellent match of this Tinoco table (left in each image) to the well preserved Smokey Maple finish of a well-loved bedside table (right in each image) in the images above.

Right, the piece cured for many days before we reduced the sheen.

The leather handle should be replaced, but the client did not approve payment for that treatment, which, while a small item, is costly in time.

The leather was beyond a normal level of rot.  MPFC treated the leather with a conservation product to slow further degradation, and then over-coated the leather with a Smokey Maple topcoat.  Their leathers were dyed, and sometimes painted with oil paint!

The final result after treatment, below, compared to the image before treatment.  It had a scuffed stable semi-matte finish that will also dull a bit more as it cures.

We instructed the client that after a few months the side table would be gently usable, though surface coatings are quite durable.  The top is completely stable and will be able to take a lamp or other items, however, the front of the drawer should be treated as a painting, and care should be taken with this lovely artifact.

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