How to fully restore an antique

Antique restorations is actually a big business in the US.

Restoration

It’s easy to see why. If you are getting an item restored and the original manufacturer has gone out of business, you have to find the right expert to do the job otherwise if you let any random amateur take care of your restoration, your antique might not look all that good. It might look off, it might even get tarnished. It really would be quite sad for the item to look much worse now than before you decided to get it restored.

But believe it or not, this is the least of your worries if you let an unskilled or untalented person restore your antique. You might find yourself in a situation where the restoration company would not want to return your call. They think that your item has been fully restored to the extent that it could be restored.

If you truly want to fully restore an antique, you have to pick the right expert. You can’t just let some random company do it for you because chances are quite good that they would take short cuts. It’s not uncommon for companies to try to save money by making cheap adjustments. Maybe they can get parts custom made from China and they would slap on those parts to your antique.

This should not be the kiss of death. Just because your item has some parts made in China doesn’t necessarily mean that your item is cheap all of a sudden. You have to look at the situation from a different perspective. You should look at it in terms of functionality. If the replacement part, regardless of where it came from, is very durable and doesn’t look out of place, then you should welcome it. Don’t second guess this decision by the restoration company.

On the other hand, if the addition of parts or refurbished items compromise the structural integrity of the product, you definitely need to sit up and pay attention. You nee to speak up because if this happens, the restoration company has basically shortened the life of your product. As you can probably already tell, this goes a long way in reducing the overall value of your antique.

So what should you pay attention to? Focus on the overall functionality of the product or item that was restored. Does it work the way it should? Judging from everything you know about the item in its original ‘fresh from the factory’ state, does its current operations come close to how it should operate or function? Next, pay attention to the look. Does it look totally brand new or is it obvious that it has been refurbished? Looks must always follow function. Don’t get bent out of shape about looks until and unless the item functions properly.