As seen in The Antique Shoppe Newspaper, December 2007 

Q. We are repainting the interior of our newly acquired older house. The house had been rental property before we bought it and most of the woodwork has been painted with latex paint. I have been told not to put oil based paint over latex because it will not adhere. I want the woodwork to have a shiny wet look. Does that mean we have to strip all this woodwork to get the look we want? Can we prime it with something that will adhere and then paint over it?

A. You probably could prime over it with white pigmented shellac or BIN and then paint with alkyd enamel but there is a better way. I have successfully used a gloss latex paint made by Benjamin Moore called "Impervo # 309" that was as wet looking when it dried as any enamel I ever used. I am sure there are other brands out there  - this just happens to be one that I personally have used. The trick is that you still have to do the right amount of prep work. The surfaces should be cleaned with mineral spirits to remove gunk and hand prints, then lightly sanded to smooth out old brush marks and give the new coating a little something to grab on to.

But the most important thing is the brush. Go to a professional paint store and buy a professional brush made expressly for gloss latex paint. Expect to pay $15 or more for a good, long bristle brush and don't be tempted to skimp here. Its the most important thing you will do and your results will be worth it.

Q. I recently purchased a Mission oak rocker in the style of a lady's sewing rocker. On the back of the seat support there is a signature in script, apparently burned in, "Chas. Stickley". I know one of the Stickley brothers was named Charles but I just can't find anything specific about him in my reading. Is this a hoax or could it be real? Thanks for any information or reference you may find.

A. There were actually five Stickley brothers and they were all involved in the furniture industry in some way or another in various combinations in the late 19th and early 20th century. The five brothers were Gustav (1858-1942), Leopold (1869-1957), Charles (1865-1928), John George (1871-1921) and Albert (1862-1928), all the sons of German immigrants. Gustav was the oldest and ultimately the most influential. He was the purist and the theorist who provided the artistic foundation for the rest of the clan.

In 1884 three of the brothers, Gustav, Charles and Albert opened the first formal furniture venture of the family in Binghamton, New York. It was originally called Stickley Brothers Furniture Co. and later was known as Gustav Stickley Co. Charles left six years after forming the company and opened his own operation with an uncle. Charles' new company was known as Stickley-Brandt, also head quartered in Binghamton. It originally made Victorian design furniture and then turned to the Mission style, specializing in chairs. This company went out of business in 1919, a victim of World War I and the dying Arts & Crafts market. Charles died nine years later.

I have not seen the Chas. Stickley brand before but it almost assuredly came from the Stickley-Brandt era, possibly indicating a chair of his personal design.

Q. Hello Fred -How about some advice on removing screws with stripped or damaged heads. I have a cordless power screwdriver and sometimes I just rip the heads up on screws, especially Phillips head sheet metal screws. The old "easy out" trick just doesn't seem to work well enough. There has to be a better way. Thanks. I enjoy your columns.

A. The first thing you need to do is adjust the torque on your screwdriver. Most modern tools have a torque adjustment on them and that helps stop the drill or screwdriver before it destroys screw heads. Practice with it a little for each type of screw and material. It should be adjusted so that the screw seats tightly but does not strip out just as the clutch releases.

Now to the problem at hand. You are right about the old "easy outs". I never had much luck with them either, especially after they are worn a bit and lose their bite. Until recently I just worked with a screwdriver, seating it firmly in the screw head with a hammer if need be and carefully, and sometimes painfully, backing out the damaged screw. Then I ran across the Sears "Screw-Out". I was not impressed by the advertisement and was not inclined to spend $19.95 plus tax on a gimmick.

But a relative, who is more open minded than I, gave me a set of the reverse blades. I decided to try them, just so I could confirm my initial thought about the product, when I stripped out a torx head machine screw. I figured nothing would work on a torx (a torx screw or bolt has a pointed star shaped hole in the head to accept a special torx driver).

The blades in the Screw-Out come in three sizes. I used the medium blade on the light duty torx screw and using a very slow speed on my reversible drill I simply backed out the damaged screw. That was too easy so I then set up a test board to mess up different kinds of screw heads so I could give this thing a real work out.

Given that I picked the right size blade for the job, the Screw-Out pretty much handled everything I asked it to do. It was more effective on Phillips, torx and square recess heads than on slots because it had more to grab too but it worked most of the time even on the slotted heads. How nice to have a practical tool that works as advertised.

Visit Fred's website at www.furnituredetective.com. Fred Taylor's new book "HOW TO BE A FURNITURE DETECTIVE" is now available for $18.95 plus $2.00 S & H. Send check or money order for $20.95 to Fred Taylor, PO Box 215, Crystal River, FL 34423. Fred and Gail Taylor's video, "IDENTIFICATION OF OLDER & ANTIQUE FURNITURE", ($29.95 includes S & H) is also available at the same address. For more information call (800) 387-6377, fax (352) 563-2916, or e-mail fmtaylor@aol.com.