Was Heywood Wakefield Ashcraft ever painted?

I have a Heywood Wakefield piece (it looks like a loveseat (two cushions) that was part of a sectional - it only has an arm on one end. It is painted yellow right now and has Ash type grain on the ends of the various pieces. If this is Ashcraft, I was wondering if this was ever painted or if mine has been de-faced since it's manufacture?

Nope, but the early wicker/cane stuff that Heywood-Wakefield did was.

Definitely not wicker. I am going to try some orange strip paint remover on the underside of the frame tonight to see what's going on. If this is Ashcraft, then there should be some "burned" rings on the pieces to make it look like rattan, right?

How delicate is the paper wrapping? Will the paint remover eat it up, or will it be ok if I don't rub the dickens out of it?

The ash frame itself should strip well. Most ashcraft did not have burns to simulate rattan... the ash wood itself is a pretty convincing substitute.

And I wouldn't attempt to use stripper on the twisted paper bindings.... you'll destroy them for sure. Best bet is... if the bindings are in good shape, repaint them a natural color, else look into replacing them. And don't try to strip close around the binding.... carefully remove them first!

Good luck with the set

Thanks for the tips Traderpup. I would have just blasted ahead and stripped the bindings. I have a large amount of 6mm cane binding laying around from a chair weaving project. Could I use that as a replacement for the paper, since some of it isn't in the best of shape as it is and I'm sure it will look worse when I remove it.

Also, once the ash is stripped, should I just refinish it in a clear finish or should it be stained a light color first?