Antique Restoration:

Restoration can be as simple as light cleaning to remove disfiguring dirt or grime, such as on the surface of painting, or it may include near complete rebuilding , or replacement, as it may be tha case with old furniture. The main goal of "restoration" is to restore the original apperance or funcionality of a piece. You may achieve functionality with a repair, but restoring item properly is an art-form.

French Polishing:

In the Victorian era, French polishing was commonly used on mahogany and other expensive woods, and was considered to give the best possible finish to exclusive furniture. The process was very labour intensive, however, and many major manufacturers abandoned the technique around 1930, instead preferring the cheaper and quicker techniques of spray finishing nitrocellulose lacquer and abrasive buffing.

•French polishing is a wood finishing technique that results in a very high gloss surface, with a deep colour and chatoyancy. It consists of applying many thin coats of shellac dissolved in alcohol using a rubbing pad. The finish is considered to be one of the most beautiful ways to finish highly figured wood.

Gilding/ Goldleafing:

Gold leaf has traditionally been most popular and most common in its use as gilding material for decoration of art or the picture frames that are often used to hold or decorate paintings, mixed media, small objects (including jewelry) and paper art. The term gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold.

Furniture Repair:

Applies to all of the aspects of repairs needed to make a piece of furniture functional and properly working again (such as adjusting doors, drawers, replacing hardware, fixing unstable/wobbly elements, tightening and repairing of loose joints, adding felt pads, etc.)

Furniture Refinishing (involves stripping):

Used to either achieve a completely new look for a piece of furniture, or when the original finish is beyond repair. The original finish is entirely removed, then the exposed wood is sanded, stained and new finish is applied.

Furniture Refurbishing (no stripping):

The objective is to clean and cosmetically improve the overall appearance of a piece. It includes coloring, filling up scratches and chips, blending worn areas with new stain, revitalizing existing finish with a fresh new clear coat if needed.