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Excellence in Every Detail. Legacy for Generations.

(214) 912-4321 Request a Consultation
(214) 912-4321 Request a Consultation
(214) 912-4321 Request a Consultation

Services · No. 03

Refinishing. The Surface It Always Wore.

Old finishes revived where they can be and rebuilt by hand where they cannot, matched to what the piece originally wore.

A finish is part of the piece, and stripping it is not automatically the answer. Where the old surface can be cleaned and revived it is, with the original finish still on it, which is always the better outcome. Where it is past that, or where somebody has already laid polyurethane over a hundred-year-old carcase, the finish comes off and the surface is prepared by hand rather than sanded flat.

What goes back on is chosen to match what was there: a clear finish where the piece wore one, oil and wax on country pieces that never saw a polish at all, paint where the piece was painted and should stay that way. Colour is corrected under the finish rather than painted over the top of it, so the grain still reads. Stone and ceramic are repaired and polished alongside the wood, which is how a marble-topped washstand leaves the shop finished as one piece.

From the shop

Related Work

Before: a 1930s-style waterfall cedar chest with a hazy, greyed-out finish in a workshop. After: the same chest refinished, its book-matched veneer front glowing amber and brown against a panelled wall.

Cedar Chest

Refinishing

A waterfall chest with the finish gone cloudy and grey, refinished so the matched veneer shows again.
Before: a small blonde roll-top desk with a tambour top and two side drawers, in a workshop. After: the same desk refinished a deep brown with the tambour closed and the drawer pulls replaced, on a rug in a sitting room.

Roll-Top Desk

Refinishing

Blonde and tired, refinished a deep brown with new drawer pulls.
Before: an upright piano with a dull finish and a bench with a torn seat, in a workshop. After: the same piano refinished a deep red-brown with the bench re-covered in cream, on a rug.

Upright Piano and Bench

Refinishing

Case refinished a deep red-brown and the bench re-covered in cream.
Before: a small side table with one drawer and a lower shelf, its top grey and worn, in a garage. After: the same table refinished a warm red-brown with a polished brass pull, holding a vase of white flowers.

Single-Drawer Side Table

Refinishing

Top gone grey and the finish worn through. Refinished with a new brass pull.
Before: a small cabinet on turned legs with peeling grey paint, in a workshop. After: the same cabinet refinished a deep brown with a lamp and books on top.

Side Cabinet

Refinishing

Chipped paint stripped back and the turned legs and door refinished dark.
Before: a kneehole desk with white paint flaking off its drawers, on a plywood floor. After: the same desk refinished a warm brown with new brass pulls, in a sitting room.

Kneehole Desk

Refinishing

Old paint flaking off every drawer. Stripped, refinished and fitted with new pulls.
Before: a half-round console table with green paint peeling off in sheets. After: the same table stripped and refinished a warm brown, with turned legs and a lower shelf, in a sitting room.

Demilune Console

Refinishing

Green paint peeling off a half-round table. Stripped and refinished to the wood.
Before: the headboard and footboard of a poster bed with a dull, scratched finish, leaning outside a van. After: the same pieces refinished a deep brown with the carved crest and turned posts crisp.

Poster Bed

Refinishing

Headboard and footboard refinished, the carved crest and turned posts cleaned up.
Before: a two-tier wooden tea cart with a pale, sun-bleached finish, outdoors. After: the same cart refinished a deep brown, in a shop.

Tea Cart

Refinishing

Two tiers, both bleached by the sun. Refinished to a deep brown.
Before: a small hall bench with barley-twist spindles and a carved back panel, its finish scuffed and worn. After: the same bench refinished an even dark brown.

Barley-Twist Hall Bench

Refinishing

Scuffed and dull, refinished with the carved back panel and twist spindles intact.

See the full gallery

Also in the shop

Other Services

Begin

Send photographs of the piece

The whole piece, then the damage close up, then any maker’s mark or label. Call the shop in Wylie or send them over, and we will tell you what refinishing would involve.

Request a Consultation (214) 912-4321