Refinish an Antique Secretary Desk

This drop-front secretary desk was very faded, scratched and watermarked. It needed refinishing and the drawers were loose and required gluing (the drawer sides were coming apart).

The client wrote me this review about all the furniture I restored for her: “Recently, I had the good fortune to find Mark Fry from Museum Quality Restoration Services. He has put his talent to work on some of my family heirlooms and recovered their beauty. My grandmother’s small desk was reborn and it was amazing to see a familiar piece come alive.

Mark also worked on my desk and restored the writing surface, it is now a pleasure to work there. Then I gave him some 1930’s Stickley chairs, 4 side chairs and 2 arm chairs which needed some magic to keep them from wiggling. He spent hours re-gluing all the joints and now there isn’t a tiny creak. Then he distressed them so they would belong to each other more perfectly. He put new leg glides on them and they move quietly. They will gracefully see another 80 years. After all that, he fixed my mother’s stool and brought it back to a safe condition, glued all the joints and repaired the broken leg.  He is an extraordinary talented man you can trust with your treasures.” -Laurie Long,  June 20, 2015

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