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Restoration and Conservation
In general, all restorers should be guided by one simple principal - carry out as little work as possible to effect the necessary repair. It's not a mantra for laziness, but rather a reminder to think of the furniture sympathetically. By following this basic rule, your furniture should remain in as original a condition as possible; retaining its own distinctive colour and patination which has been achieved over years of loving use, waxing and exposure to daylight that gives your furniture its own, distinctive character. Of course, sometimes pieces have been so neglected or are so badly damaged, that extensive restoration is required and may sometimes mean that saving original finishes, etc is not possible. Even in this situation, we will ensure that, as far as possible, no one but you will ever know and even you might not be able to tell.
Some of the more common repairs...
Wine and other alcohol spills
This happens all the time; a little wine dribbles from the neck of the bottle without you noticing and sits on the table overnight, or a glass is left on the top of a desk and the alcohol melts the surface of the polish a little. This can make the damaged area feel uneven or cause a discolouration, often with a white hue. In most circumstances, we'll be able to make it disappear so you'll never be able to tell.
Cigarette and Other Burns
Perhaps the most tricky of all damage to rectify. If only the surface of the actual polish is damaged, then there would be little difficulty. However, as soon as a burn has penetrated the polish layer and has darkened the timber itself, this can prove very tricky, if not impossible, in some cases to remove. In these cases, if the item is made of solid wood, it might be possible to scrape out the affected area, taking a fraction of wood away until we get to below the burn itself and down to new timber. If the damaged area is veneered, then it may be necessary to cut out the affected area and piece in some new veneer. If neither option is possible, then it can sometimes be disguised with pigmented colour and patience.
Scratches and Dents
These come in all shapes and sizes. Some are reasonably easy to blend in and we can make look as though they've been around for decades or centuries, while others are more severe and tend to need more attention to the finished, polished or waxed surface. Either way, we can always figure something out. Even some dents can be lifted out. Call us for a chat and we'll put your mind at rest.
Ink Stains
These often look like the most dramatic of damage. Whilst we can't promise - we've got a magic solution, used by generations of restorers in our family, that can simply make ink disappear.
Flood Damage
Water can cause a disproportionate amount of damage. It can swell timber, making it impossible to open doors and drawers, discolour timber, lift veneers, ruin upholstery (which somehow makes everything smell of old cats) and generally be very upsetting. We've a whole array of tried and trusted techniques that can repair the damage and make it seem as though the whole sorry thing never happened.
For a guide to things that we DON'T repair - click here…
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