Restoration Gallery

Antiques

High Quality Hand Made Pieces

Page 4

Canadian Dresser

Recently Completed

After / Before

This family heirloom provided and excellent platform for restoration. All the wood was in great structural condition, but of course the adhesives and finish showed their age. The piece experience moving damage in the form of crushing the pulls into drawer faces, water damage, and apparent shipment with proper packing.

Empire Dresser Circa 1825 - This is a very well made example of an empire dresser. Finished entirely natural - this is the real thing an example of patina. No dye, no pigment, just a clear stain to moisturize the piece then hand rubbed garnet shellac. This piece is all true patina.

Walnut Hutch - Handmade

This piece shows multiple signs of being a hand made piece, specifically by an armature or country craftsman. The joint work is well done, but shows all the inconsistencies of true hand work. There are cut short moldings, meaning someone made a little mistake and just put in the short piece as filler.

There are some screws - but these may have been added later. No signs of multiple styles of hinges, but the windows are hand glazed which was rarely done on production furniture.

Finish is natural - no dye, no pigment, just a clear stain to moisturize the piece, garnet shellac, and a thin protective layer of tung oil. This piece is all true patina.

Antique Trunk (In Progress Now!)

This is a great example of an antique trunk, we're working on determining its age but figuring Circa 1850. The piece has many iterations of old finishes, layers of paper inside, and the hardware could use a little care.

In Progress Photos

Restoration Complete!

The chest now has a revitalized finish, the obscure variety of fillers have been removed, the layers of dirt and grime taken down and new layers of shellac applied to regain the original appearance with the benefit of an antique patina. The metal work has been treated, painted, and waxed. All the paper inside - now gone!

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