Melbourne Hall Furniture Restorers

I offer excellent customer service restoring good quality antiques as well as modern furniture. I use the traditional Hand French Polishing method, using French Polish (Shellac) which is a thin liquid, much thinner than varnish, that is forced into the wood using a pad called a rubber. This method of French polishing gives you a depth of colour and finish that no other product, wax, lacquer or varnish can achieve. French polishing and furniture restoration is not only cost effective it's sustainable too.

Melbourne Hall Furniture Restorers was established in 1983 within the beautiful surroundings of the Melbourne Hall estate. Proprietor Neil Collumbell, who undertook his 5 year French Polishing apprenticeship at Hunters Furnishers of Derby, offers an excellent customer service of restoring good quality modern furniture as well as antiques. He has 40 years practical experience of French polishing and furniture restoration. Specialising in traditional hand French polishing, we use both traditional and modern finishing materials to achieve the best possible results, with the colour and depth of finish from the old and the improved heat and sunlight resistance of the new.

This is a set of 4 Ercol dining chairs plus 1 carver that needed major restoration to the polish work as there were many scratches to the surface and the colour was faded and worn. Firstly, I stripped off the damaged polish, then lightly sanded to give a good surface for the new polish to key to, the chairs were then stained and coloured to blend with the customers existing furniture and were polished and waxed in the traditional method. This lovely rocking horse had been neglected, damaged and hidden away in the customer's attic for many years.

Where full restoration is required our preferred method of finishing is to strip items individually by hand to protect natural wood fibres, joints and veneers. Stain by hand using light-fast stains, to achieve the slightest changes of colour to enhance the natural beauty of the timber and to blend with other furniture items. Finish and wax by hand using Heat-resisting French polish to achieve depth and variety of finish to customer's individual requirements. This technique works equally well on both period and modern furniture.