Thank You For Visiting Our New Web Site!

My first comment is regarding repair, restoration, preservation or conservation specialists who attempt to offer you any appraisal of your item.  This advice from a professional view is a conflict of interest and is at best, borderline unethical.  Questions of value should always be left up to qualified antique appraisal professionals who have the resources and experience to provide a bone fide appraisal.

The best way to deal with this issue is to start with a few questions. What is the value of the item in its current condition? (Its current condition has a strong influence on resale value.)  Is it an antique of highly collectible value?  How certain are you that the existing finish is the original finish?  How old is the item?  Has the original finish been painted or antiqued over?  These are some of the issues to be considered when contemplating whether or not to remove or "clean" a finish. 

There certainly are circumstances in which you do not want to ever remove or even alter the original finish.  In my practice, I see numerous items that fall into this category every year. My advice to the client is that we should not strip or clean the original finish--we should only do repair or conservation work as indicated, but not refinishing.  It is also worth noting that an item needs to be 100 years or older to technically be considered an antique. Some collectible items (pieces less than 100 years old) are especially hot in the collectible arena and stripping the original finish should be avoided.  This would include some mission, arts and crafts style and art deco era items.

In summary, each piece needs to be analyzed individually.