Category: Furniture repair

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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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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Furniture repair and restoration in Surrey, specialist work

The complexity of furniture repair and restoration in Surrey (or elsewhere for that matter of fact!) is often underestimated.  In fact, people who work in the furniture repair and restoration industry are usually notable for their extraordinary skills.  This is because so many different talents are needed when restoring furniture – and particularly antique furniture. At Snelling Associates we receive a bewildering array of different items to restore or repair.  Indeed, it is not uncommon to have delivered to our workshops, during the average week, items that range from ornate antique mirrors and pine blanket boxes to 17th Century chairs, clock cases and walnut sideboards – with the occasional huge mahogany dining table thrown in, just to keep our French polishing skills ‘up to scratch’ (pun intended!) Well, of course, almost every item that we repair has a different problem, whether it is a broken lock, lifting or lost veneers,…

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Furniture repair Surrey, veneer repair and restoration

As I have said many times, there are certain furniture repairs that a reasonably skilled layman can do and there are other repairs that need real, time honoured skill, if they are to be completed satisfactorily.  French polishing is one of these together with veneer repair or restoration. Certainly, a considerable amount of our furniture repair work in Surrey involves veneer repair and restoration and rarely is it completely straightforward! There are several reasons why veneer repair and replacement is awkward and a task only for the skilled.  One reason is that veneers differ in thickness with old veneers generally thicker than new veneers.  This can present a furniture repairer with obvious problems particularly when he is tasked with matching in new veneers with old veneers. The second problem is that veneers are often laid onto their surface to create a pattern – most obviously a mirror effect between the…

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