Heirloom Wood Sculptures Repaired & Refinished | Musuem Quality Restoration Services

Restoration of several wooden sculptures by artist, Rosemary Cahoon

Our clients for this project, the Martins, wrote this lovely letter after they received their restored sculptures: We have used Museum Quality Restoration Services and Mark Fry to repair and rejuvenate two different family heirlooms, wooden sculptures crafted in the 1950s and 1960s by Melinda’s artist aunt, Rosemary Cahoon. Mark carefully examined each piece ahead of time for cracks, holes and other problems and then shared what approach he would recommend for restoration, including what the tradeoffs were with other methods. We then agreed on approach, price and an approximate schedule and paid Mark a 50% deposit.

We’re pleased to say that Mark did exactly what he committed to and each sculpture looks and feels wonderful. After filling in cracks and holes with special materials and otherwise strengthening the structure of each, he then went to work sanding and oiling and repeating many manually intensive steps, never using a power tool to do any of the work. Once he had our sculptures in his shop and began the work he found every crack and hole, even the smallest ones. Each piece he restored the same way:

Apply Cynoacrolyte glue in cracks
Epoxy and color fill all cracks
Wet sand with paint thinner and #400 sandpaper
Wet sand with teak oil,
Naptha thinner, a little Briwax and #1200 sandpaper
Wipe down and buff

When finished each carving had a very soft, smooth feel to it and the color of each was nearly identical to the original. They are now in prominent places in our home and we are very proud of their restored beauty, thanks to Mark’s craftsmanship and effort.

Mark delivered each sculpture to our home in his van, carefully protecting it with layers of blankets. Then he spent time explaining how the work was done, pointing out how special problems were handled and answering our questions about proper maintenance. Happily, the finished work only needs to be occasionally wiped down and will last a long time, as long as it remains in an air conditioned space. We would readily recommend Mark Fry to others who might need valuable wood items restored. You can count on good quality, a fair price and your item returned promptly. You’ll also learn quite a bit about the nature of wood restoration and gain an appreciation for all that it takes. Melinda and Gary Martin, Lake La Quinta, California