Monday, September 3, 2012

Antique Wooden Toys Maintenance and Restoration Tips

For many of those who collect and fancy them, antique wooden toys are actually considered treasures, and they should be treated as priced possessions in general. These creations are made in order to entertain, animate, and provide fun not just for children and kids, but also adults who have make the collection of the same as a hobby.

Antique wooden toys have been a source of fun and recreation for many centuries. Because of their long history, they've evolved into several different varieties as well. For instance, the older days saw the popularity of collectibles like German dolls, cars and other rolling toys with turning wheels, and others. In the modern versions meanwhile, there are wooden Disney characters and pop culture wooden figures primarily used for marketing and advertising. But whatever the type is, the fact remains that antique wooden toys are a great option to collect.

In the process of maintaining and restoring antique wooden toys, you have to consider these basic but very helpful tips:

- Try to look inside your wooden toy, be it a figure, doll, or anything and determine if there is an old string device. In order to do this, you need to pull back cautiously and slowly on the head while looking down into the inside body of the toy. You will likely find a hollow space inside. Majority of antique wooden toys are jointed and this means that the limbs and parts are likely movable. This is because they are commonly made with a certain rubber coil mechanism. Hence, you need to see if you toy contains a coil or rubber band as well.

- Now next thing you do is pull on joints gently and slowly, just like what you did earlier. You have to do this in order to see if the string or cord is loose. As you are doing the same, you can as well look inside and find if there is any kind of frays situated in the rubber band or cord edge of the toy. Now in order to restring, you can use a pair of pliers and utilize something like a thick rubber band or cord string. In doing so, you have to start from the bottom. However, keep in mind that this can only be done with small toys a couple of inches in height. But with most original antique wooden toys, you may have to consult and get help from a professional toy restorer or an expert since they probably have better tools than you do. Put in mind as well that if the doll is restrung too tight, there's a chance that the parts will be damaged in the process. So the best thing to do is still ask for help from an expert in toy restoration.

- Aside from restoration, it is also your job to maintain and clean your antique wooden toys for the purpose of keeping their value intact. You can look for professional and expert advice online or even in your local toy restoration shop to find out how you can effectively clean and maintain your collection.

Did you find this article helpful? You can learn more about toy collecting from Katie Parker where you learn popular toy collectable and how to make money out of them. For years of experience practicing her passion in toy collecting, Katie Parker has become an expert in taking good care of antique wooden toys and practice strategies to turn toys into a money making business.


For many of those who collect and fancy them, antique wooden toys are actually considered treasures, and they should be treated as priced possessions in general. These creations are made in order to entertain, animate, and provide fun not just for children and kids, but also adults who have make the collection of the same as a hobby.

Antique wooden toys have been a source of fun and recreation for many centuries. Because of their long history, they've evolved into several different varieties as well. For instance, the older days saw the popularity of collectibles like German dolls, cars and other rolling toys with turning wheels, and others. In the modern versions meanwhile, there are wooden Disney characters and pop culture wooden figures primarily used for marketing and advertising. But whatever the type is, the fact remains that antique wooden toys are a great option to collect.

In the process of maintaining and restoring antique wooden toys, you have to consider these basic but very helpful tips:

- Try to look inside your wooden toy, be it a figure, doll, or anything and determine if there is an old string device. In order to do this, you need to pull back cautiously and slowly on the head while looking down into the inside body of the toy. You will likely find a hollow space inside. Majority of antique wooden toys are jointed and this means that the limbs and parts are likely movable. This is because they are commonly made with a certain rubber coil mechanism. Hence, you need to see if you toy contains a coil or rubber band as well.

- Now next thing you do is pull on joints gently and slowly, just like what you did earlier. You have to do this in order to see if the string or cord is loose. As you are doing the same, you can as well look inside and find if there is any kind of frays situated in the rubber band or cord edge of the toy. Now in order to restring, you can use a pair of pliers and utilize something like a thick rubber band or cord string. In doing so, you have to start from the bottom. However, keep in mind that this can only be done with small toys a couple of inches in height. But with most original antique wooden toys, you may have to consult and get help from a professional toy restorer or an expert since they probably have better tools than you do. Put in mind as well that if the doll is restrung too tight, there's a chance that the parts will be damaged in the process. So the best thing to do is still ask for help from an expert in toy restoration.

- Aside from restoration, it is also your job to maintain and clean your antique wooden toys for the purpose of keeping their value intact. You can look for professional and expert advice online or even in your local toy restoration shop to find out how you can effectively clean and maintain your collection.

Did you find this article helpful? You can learn more about toy collecting from Katie Parker where you learn popular toy collectable and how to make money out of them. For years of experience practicing her passion in toy collecting, Katie Parker has become an expert in taking good care of antique wooden toys and practice strategies to turn toys into a money making business.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the tips! I got some quality wooden toys when I was a kid, and I wasn't quite sure how to take good care of them. Do you have any more tips that will help them stay the same over the years?

    ReplyDelete