Traditional Hand Finishing

Using traditional methods and recipes to make our own wax and shellac polishes we are able to repair and revive original surfaces or sensitively refinish.

Unsightly watermarks, ink staining, scratches and other surface damage can be reduced and blended. Shellac, or ‘French Polish’ is used when appropriate, and although this particular finish wasn’t actually used in England until the 19th Century, a great deal of earlier furniture was re-polished during the Victorian period. This traditional finish which enhances the beauty of wood better than most modern finishes, is actually very durable and hard wearing.  It just doesn’t much like water and heat and it softens if you spill your gin & tonic on it; French polish can, however, be made even more durable by using a modified ‘heat resistant’ shellac as part of the polishing process. If a re-polish is necessary, using shellac and/or wax polishes, we are able to re-build what some would refer to as ‘patination’ to give the re-polished surfaces of antique furniture a more appropriate look for an old surface