Help/FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is it true that Refinishing will ruin the value of my antique furniture?
The vast majority of furniture items we refinish are 20th century or newer factory made pieces that are not rare or noteworthy in some way that would give them a high market value. A weekend tour of any antique shops in your area will bring this point home. There has never been a better time to pick up tremendous bargains on superior construction quality pre-owned furniture at antique shops and malls. Typically, if the finish is in poor condition you would only be adding value by refinishing. In other cases the furniture may not need complete refinishing and instead we may recommend a variety of cleaning, touchup, and preservation procedures.
It is our business is to maintain and enhance the value of your antique items. We live for finishing beautiful woods and preserving the finer quality furniture of the past, but we know your reasons for wanting to preserve or restore furniture may have much more to do with personal connections and history.
We welcome a discussion with you and an opportunity to address any questions you have about preserving market value of your items. We are not limited only to providing refinishing services. We are practiced in a variety of skills and techniques to improve older finishes while preserving the character of time and wear.
How do I get an estimate or quote?
Please see our Contact Us Page for detailed instructions.
Will you come to my location to look at a potential project?
We’d like to see some photos first by email and/or have a phone discussion with you. Then I am open to scheduling an onsite visit, if that is going to be necessary.
Is there a charge for estimates or quotes?
We do not charge for email estimates or phone calls. We do not charge for written quotations when you bring the project to our shop. However, if the work is involved with a 3rd party such as moving damage or insured property damage claim, we do charge for all our time from inspection to providing a written quotation.
What are the charges for inspections and quotes for moving damage or property damage claims?
It depends on the number of items, extent of damage and your location among other factors. Please give us a call and we can explain in more detail how we handle moving and property damage claims.
What is your turnaround time for projects?
Work time frames vary. A typical refinishing project may take from 2 to 4 weeks, not including the work already scheduled ahead. The work timeline is always part of the discussion when we look at your project.
I have an old trunk that belonged to an ancestor. Do you restore Trunks?
Yes, we do restore trunks! We have a specialized process for restoring them which preserves the character while giving it a shine that shows it off and allows for easy dusting. We can replace broken leather handles, and many other reproduction parts are available for trunks.
Do you paint furniture?
Sometimes we do- there are technical reasons that limit our capacity for doing paint work. We do black or white finishes regularly. We do not offer general interior painting services either onsite or shop based.
What do you use for a finish and how durable is it?
There are 2 main types of finish we use in our refinish work. The first is lacquer, which is used on most of our furniture projects and antique restorations. Our lacquer finish is selected for outstanding appearance, while also giving a high degree of protection from daily wear and tear. Lacquer allows for a great range of coloring and finishing effects not so easily obtained with most other coating systems. As with any raw material, there is a range of quality and you get what you pay for.
Some situations call for a more protective coating than any lacquer finish can provide. I’m speaking of kitchen tables, desk tops and conference tables. For these projects we offer a modern catalyzed urethane system that will withstand much more intensive surface use and cleaning with any number of cleaning solutions. Our Catalyzed Acrylic Urethane offers the highest degree of chemical and water resistance available for interior wood finishing.
I’d like to have the top refinished on my dining room table. Is it necessary to refinish the entire table for the color to match?
We refinish many table tops and other top surfaces without refinishing the lower parts. The color may vary just slightly, but it is within a normal range of color variation.
Our Location
127 NW Van Buren St
Topeka, KS 66603
Store Hours:
Monday – Friday: 9am to 5pm
Contact us today!
785-235-0725
Get an Estimate
Contact us today to get a price estimate on one of our services.