Shop Takes Gentle Approach To Refinishing
When you think about furniture refinishing, what usually comes to mind is chemical strippers. Tim and Kay Gies, owners of CertiRestore, a furniture restoration, refinishing and repair business in Middleton, are committed to changing the trend. “If we can keep chemicals to a minimum, that’s very important to me, ”Tim says.
Gies removes old paint and finishes from furniture with a scraping and sanding process, not strippers. Demonstrating on an old rocking chair, he delicately but quickly scrapes the darkened and brittle finish off part of the back. He finishes with a gentle sanding that cleans the oak. “You don’t have the mess or smell with scraping,” he said. They also have a process that preserves carving on furniture, he said. “As far as I’m concerned, that’s better than any liquid could do,” he said.
Chemicals can’t be avoided entirely when restoring furniture. The Gies’ apply a lacquer finish in a spray booth that vents fumes outside their building. The lacquer finish is very durable and will protect the furniture for many years. They also have hundreds of premixed dye stains, or they can custom mix colors, too. The dyes, unlike the more commonly used pigment stains, are absorbed into the wood to bring out its beauty, and don’t cover the wood’s grain.
The refinishing process was honed by CertiRestore in Fargo, North Dakota where the franchise’s national headquarters is located. CertiRestore does residential work, as well as work for businesses such as restaurants, bars, hotels and other companies that have quality furniture in need of restoration. In addition to repairs and refinishing work, they replace cane in chairs on a regular basis. “Caning chairs is becoming somewhat a lost art, but I enjoy the process of bringing that antique caned chair back to usefulness,”Kay said.
“It can save a lot of money to restore furniture rather than replace it,” Gies said. They also do small repairs of furniture and woodwork on-site, but major work is done in their shop. Refinishing usually takes about two to four weeks. Cost is estimated on a per-piece basis, rather than by the hour. Estimates within the Madison area are free, but they do charge for estimates needed for insurance purposes. “The quality of the finished product that is possible through CertiRestore’s products and techniques is phenomenal. There is a sense of satisfaction when you present a piece of furniture that was once labeled useless and it is now transformed into a quality piece of furniture that can be passed down from generation to generation. That is underscored by the fact that CertiRestore certifies its repair work for 50 years.” Tim Gies,Owner of CertiRestore.
