Furniture and Furnishings - Self-restore 1950s sofa questions

Hi,

I recently purchased (very cheaply) a 1950s upholstered couch. It has a wood frame, springs and fairly firm, heavy (not so comfortable) cushions. The upholstery is in great shape, though I'd like to clean it before using it. I'm hoping for some tips on strengthening and cleaning the couch (as thoroughly as possible) myself. I really know nothing about this, but don't want to spend a fortune on it, so a professional is out of the question. Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, -Peter

Vaccum the heck out of it
A foam "shampoo" is a good way to go for cleaning
I have a separate upholstry brush but you can get the upholstry shampoo with on built in
I usually find it in the auto section
Foam it up and brush it in, wait, then vaccum (as per directions on the can)
I also have "steam cleaned" with an old Hoover Steam Cleaner with an upholstry attachment, but that's kinda wet, unless you have a specific need for it...
Try a lttle of the foam on the back first-test for color fastness

As for beefing up the couch, that's a toughie w/o seeing it
For tips I'd say...
Buy a bunch of repair brackets
They come in different shapes and sizes
You'll want some "L" (both types of L) some "I" and maybe some "T" shaped ones and the screws that go with
With these you can beef up any joints in the wooden frame
Replace any cracked wood slats in the frame (or use the "I" brackets if possible)

If it has seat covers that come off you can replace the foam pretty easily if you want (if the foam is 50 years old you may want to any way)

For general tips that's all I can think of offhand
I've done a number of these and they're all different