Cornwall Furniture Restoration
Antique Furniture Restoration 
and French Polishing

Call me on  01208 871444   Email iantiques@btinternet.com 
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French Polishing

Cornwall furniture restoration are able to carry out a complete restoration and polishing service. We regularly carry out stripping and french polishing of antique and modern furniture which can be as small as a scratch on a tea caddy to the complete restoration, finishing  off a set of library bookcases.  As a french polisher I  will discuss with you all the necessary facts such as colour, patination, and choice of polishes and time scale. We  also provide a collection and delivery service throughout Cornwall and the UK. All furniture is sympathetically refinished using the best quality polish and waxes. A good french polisher needs to know when, and when not to use a shellac finish. Here are some examples of furniture that has been restored and then refinished.

 If you have any fixtures in your house such as bannister rails doorways and staircases that need french polishing then we are able to come out and carry out work onsite  . I have worked on several large dining tables and bookcases that could not be moved.

This mahogany drawer front was badly damaged by ammonia

 This drawer front on the left which is from a good proportioned georgian chest of drawers was severely damaged after a dog cocked his leg next to it. The ammonia reacted with the brass handle and caused serious staining to the drawer. The image to the right shows the drawer after the marks had been colored over and french polished

this is the same drawer front after polishing
This oak cabinet in my opinion has been made from early oak carved panels. It was in a somewhat sorry state when it was delivered and was missing its bottom shelf and legs. The whole of the structure was repaired prior to cleanig . Water stain was then applied prior to oil staining. After any neccessary filling ,the whole cabinet was then french polished, the brassware cleaned up and the cabinet was waxed and buffed up.

This ia a good example of an oak cabinet made from early oak panelling
This antique serpantine fronted chest of drawers only required the absolute minimum french polishing. It had suffered from some water damage in the manner of small amounts of splashing on the top and on the drawer fronts. The proportions of the chest were particularly pleasing, measuring about 2 feet 10 inches in width and with a beautiful flame mahogany front with satinwood and rosewood banding. 

here is an example of flame mahogany veneer on a chest of drawers dated around 1780
Here is the finished result of repairs to the  the country chair shown on the home page.

this is the stick back chair after restoration and polishing
This mahogany chair dating around 1780 was in a very poor condition. Some of the left shoulder was missing along with previous repairs that had failed. Brass plates held the back together and some of the carving was missing in the centre. The chair was stained,french polished and colored in using mainly brown umber pigment. It was then cut back using oooo steel wool and then waxed.

this is an eighteenth century chair after polishing

      French Polishers  do`s and don`ts

     Always squeeze out your polishing rubber to get rid of excess polish prior to use 
      Rottenstone is a great abrasive. However be careful because although it is superfine
     it can easily work through a polished surface
     Do not use too much oil when bodying up. 
     When polishing do not overcharge the rubber and always squeeze out the excess 
     Make sure to ensure good visibility around the item to be polished
     If possibly try to keep the workshop dry and warm, with adequate ventilation
     When polishing with table top polish, never use oil as a lubricant.
     It is easier to darken a light piece of wood, than to lighten a dark piece
     Water stains tend to raise the grain of most timbers so when possible rub the wood down after staining
     Rosewood can sometimes turn black when the surface has been sanded. Try to avoid this at all costs
     French polishers should not make the mistake of using too much oil when 
     Polishing compunds such as G3 liquid can even out streeks in polish
     Mahogany spirit powders nearly always have a reddish tinge to them so when french polishing it is  an idea
     to mix a little green powder in and maybe a dash of yellow.
     Oil based stain is extremely good under a shellac finish but water stain gives a deeper tone to the wood
     Daylight is the only light to use when matching colors 

For this mid eighteenth century mahogany chest of drawers, not a great deal of  french polishing was not necessary. It had suffered from water damage following many years of neglect. After all repairs were carried out the whole carcase had to be stripped. Standard stripper was not used in this instance but the chest was washed in meths and then cleaned down with fine wire wool to remove all the water stains. An initial coat applied by the  french polishers sealed the grain. All repairs were touched in using  water stain, oil stain and spirit stains. The whole item was then bodied up with a rubber using  french polishing with a matting agent. Left for a while to harden off the chest was then cut back and waxed with a tinted wax paste and then buffed up. The brassware was then lightly cleaned with wire wool.

a light french polishing to a mig georgian chest of drawers
This particularly good  early victorian sidetable did not require the full services of a french polisher. Before refinishing there was a small piece of cockbeading that had to be replaced and a few small scratches had to be removed. The original polish was in good condition and so stripping was not necessary. The whole item was cleaned with a restoring agent and then lightly rubbed down with fine wire wool and then cleaned off. A thin coat of french polishing was then applied with a fresh rubber. This was left to harden before lightly rubbing down with wire wool and then coated with wax and buffed up with a good soft cloth.

here is a particularly nice early 19th century antique mahogany sidetable
A french polisher would love to work on this table .This particularly pretty early twentieth century dressing table was made by Heals London. Apart from a few small repairs the dressing table was in good condition. The brass casters were very dull and were buffed up along with the turn screws for the mirror. The top of the dressing table had bloomed with a milky colour to it. After unsuccessfully attempting to revive it the only alternative was to strip the top, but only with methylated spirits. The whole table was then clean with solvents which brought out the colour of the boxwood stringing which surrounded the drawers and the top edge. Next the whole item received several coats of french polish. Some touching in was then carried out and the top was given further coats of polish. After allowing time for the polish to harden up the whole table was then dulled down using rotten stone and then waxed to bring out a soft shine. For a piece of early twentieth century furniture this item is particularly pleasing. The construction is of a high quality and the proportions are very good. The top is edged with boxwood as are the drawers. The legs are reeded on the front edge and curve down to a good quality brass caster.

A good quality kidney shaped dressing table
This very attractive victorian writing slope has been veneered in burr walnut and is decorated with floral marquetry on the top and front. The interior has a leathered slope and various compartments as well as two brass topped ink bottles. after carrying out various repairs the box was cleaned back with wire wool and alcohol. Various Parts were then touched in and the whole was french polished and "warmed up with a drop of spirit stain. The box was then waxed and buffed up with a soft cloth. The interior was repolished in a similar manner.

Refinishing a victorian burr walnut marquetry writing box
This particularly pleasing Georgian oak dresser needed very little restoration. The whole dresser  was waxed and burnished several times. The brass handles and escutcheons were not cleaned so as to keep the original patination Georgian oak dresser after waxing and burnishing
This particularly nice early victorian chiffonier was in a very sorry state when it came in to the workshop. The back and base had been eaten by rats and the plinth was crumbling to bits having been attacked by worm. Much of the veneer on the plinth and edge of the top was missing. After replacing the damaged parts and reveneering the plinth, the chiffonier was then stripped and french polishing was carried out, and finally waxed.  

french polishers would regard this chifonier as a challenge
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Polishers Blog.

23rd May 2009  Repolishing the top of a mahogany cabinet, also repolishing a large oak occasional table.

6th April 2009  Just finished repolishing a large teak extending table. 20th century furniture seems to be coming in to the workshop more frequently.

12th March 2009  The first part of this year has been extremely busy with damaged furniture coming in for restoration due to the recent occurrance of burst pipes.

19th Dec 2008  Refinishing and repairs to a good quality walnut extending dining table

27-11-2008  Repolishing a georgian style stool  and a mahogany nest of table

15th Nov. 2008  Repairs and french polishing to a victorian extending mahogany table

6th November  Refinishing and repairs to an Edwardian revolving bookcase

12th October 2008. French polishing an unusual extending mahogany dining table

13th september. This week we have had a couple of good small items of antique furniture come in for french polishing. The first was a particularly please mahogany teapoy (see image on home page) and also a very good 19th century worktable .

2nd August 2008 Cleaning and repolishing an antique oak cabinet

19th July. French polishing a burr walnut writing desk and recoloring the leather

20th June 2008   This extremely attractive satinwood desk came in for french polishing this week. It is a beautiful honey color and was a delight for the polisher to work on.

this is a good example of english antique furniture

9th June 2008      Refinishing an oak demi lune side table and bedroom suite.

29th May 2008      Stripping and polishing a mid 20th century radiogram. Repolishing interior of 33ft yacht.

18th May 2008      This weeks work included a beautiful fiddle back mahogany table top.

 9th May 2008.      A fine example of marquetry was restored and french polishing was undertaken

This is a particularly good example of marquetry

 

French polisher Cornwall