Restoration of a London Trolley

One of the joys of being an antique restoration specialist is that I get frequent opportunities to restore an astonishing variety of items – the latest of which is a London Trolley! As you can see from the picture, my London Trolley is now fully restored and looking absolutely gorgeous and quite different from the wreck I picked up at a local auction some time ago! Actually, I had been really looking forward to restoring the London Trolley for some time but, at Snelling Associates, we have been really hectic this year with our normal work.  The latter has included a huge amount of antique furniture and objets d’art, which we were asked to restore following a major insurance claim.  These are always interesting projects for us as, by their very nature, large insurance claims involve the repair and restoration of a very disparate variety of items – which can…

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Repair of stains, blemishes and marks on antique furniture

I recently wrote an article here about how we specialise in furniture restoration in Surrey, whilst stating that a good proportion of our work relates to the accidental or careless damage of surfaces.   Classic causes of this are the placing of hot mugs on wooden surfaces or vases of flowers with wet bases.  Both result in damage, particularly on French polished surfaces. However, all too frequently, we also receive furniture for restoration which has suffered badly as a result of someone trying to rectify a blemish or stain.  Often they have used the wrong solution in an attempt to correct the problem and sometimes they have done the worst thing possible by using something abrasive (whether a solution or cloth). Unfortunately, trying to remove blemishes and stains is something that has to be done with the greatest of care and with some knowledge – if the remedial work is not…

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Repairs to chairs in Surrey

Do you have a chair in Surrey like the one above – a common enough problem? Or do you have chairs that are starting to wobble as the glue to the joints weakens, something that happens a lot with antique furniture. If you do then contact us, as we undertake an endless amount of chair repair in Surrey – and we have handled just about every kind imaginable. The trouble, of course, with chairs is that once they start to move then that movement only gets worse and can, lead to the breaking of parts of the chair itself.  This can be galling and often involve skilled work to produce new turnings or legs to match any that have been broken.  To match these in with the existing finish and patina of a chair can be done (a speciality of ours!) but it should not be necessary. If you have…

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Stain removal from furniture in Surrey

Do you have blemishes or stains on your favourite furniture – did you (or, perhaps, one of your children!) carelessly place a vase of flowers on a side table not noticing that the base was wet (thus creating an unsightly ring)? Or has someone accidently let a cigar fall from an ashtray that has burned the top of your dining table or, (very common!) has someone placed a hot mug on the French polished surface of one of your pieces of furniture? It really does not take much to damage French polish and thereby spoil a perfect surface, which should be a joy of gleaming wood that shows off the grain to wonderful effect. The trouble is that anything that has been French polished has to be treated with great care, if it is to retain its perfection – and a French polished surface is all about perfection.  Indeed, few…

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Furniture restoration in the Guildford area

We have been very busy recently with our furniture restoration in the Guildford area – with many interesting items of furniture coming into our workshops for repair and restoration. A good example of what we are working on now is the intricately inlaid, Dutch desk that you can see in the photograph below.  This wonderful piece has secret drawers and some very fine detail.  However, it has suffered badly and the front of the desk collapsed when we opened it, almost certainly due to the desk having been left to dry out too much.  This is a common problem nowadays, as almost every house has central heating and almost all homes are kept at much higher temperatures than in the past. Of course, wooden furniture needs to be kept carefully in the right environment and this is particularly true for fine furniture – and furniture that is veneered. Needless to…

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Furniture repair Surrrey, key and lock replacement!

Keys, keys, keys – what a nuisance they can be!  They get lost so easily and then, all of a sudden, you find that the doors to your favourite display cabinet swing ajar or you are unable to lock the drawers of your desk or a cabinet containing your most delicate crystal (a worry, if any youngsters are around!). Equally, over time, locks can cease to work, particularly on antique furniture.  Then, even if you have the right key, it can become impossible to secure doors or drawers.  This is a pain but, if you are a perfectionist, it will drive you to mild distraction – after all, the entire unit is not completely right!  I know that this is just the type of thing that constantly irritates me, until corrected! Can anything be done? Well, it can, thankfully! In fact, you will be surprised how often our furniture repair…

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Furniture glass repair in Surrey

One problem that is frequently brought to our workshops relates to broken glass – with glass, of course, a common feature of display cabinets, chandeliers, ornate mirrors, tables and occasional tables.  All of these are easily damaged, particularly when moved, even if that move is just for cleaning purposes.  Sometimes this is just enough to stress a unit and impose impossible strains on its glazing. The trouble with glass within furniture is that the glass usually lacks any protection against even the smallest impact.  Indeed, glass within furniture is normally held in place by a wooden baton that holds the glass securely against the frame of the part of the cabinet concerned and this normally lacks any putty (or other material) to absorb any shock – unlike house doors and windows.  It therefore takes very little to shatter glass within cabinets, a factor made even more understandable when you see…

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Furniture repair and restoration in Surrey, antiques and beloved items

Of course, at Snelling Associates, we specialise in antique restoration in Surrey but that should never put you off bringing your beloved objects or furniture to us for repair or restoration.  In fact, some of our most enjoyable and rewarding work has been returning someone’s possessions to their previous glory – despite the items concerned not being technically antique. In truth, I have always been a little disparaging about the word ‘antique’ when referring to furniture and objects over 100 years old.  This has always seemed rather arbitrary to me and ever more so as the years have rolled past and items that would have been dismissed when I was young now having come well within the over 100 year ‘antique’ classification.  As I am only 20 years off a centenary myself, you can see my point – which is that age does not always define quality! Actually, what has…

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