Restoration and conservation

All furniture, by its very nature, has had something done to it at some point in its life. Antique furniture, in particular, needs periodic care and polishing to continue to survive the ages and be relevant for the next generation.

For over forty years, E. W. Nash & Son has focused on the proper care and preservation of such pieces. Our firm specializes in the conservation and restoration of antiques and decorative arts from the 17th through 20thcenturies. We employ old world methods, primarily French polishing and traditional waxing. We are a shellac-based firm and all of our finishes are hand-rubbed and burnished with natural oils and waxes. For restoration and finishing of period mid-century modern pieces we do use lacquer as that is generally the most appropriate for pieces of that era.

In addition to serving private collectors, E.W. Nash & Son has assisted numerous museums, institutions, and private clubs with their collections and our restoration work can be seen on display at the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens, the Lightner Museum, and the Ximenez-Fatio House Museum.

ON-SITE CLEANING AND POLISHING

While many times pieces need to come into the studio for restoration, there are also times when it is not practical or a collection is so large that it needs to be worked on in place. We offer such services for our clients who have chosen Collections Management and will travel to the client and complete the work on-site. This includes thoroughly cleaning and polishing selected pieces, including hardware, undersides, and drawers. Periodic waxing and French polishing of antique furniture are essential to its preservation and care. To this end, we only use the best wax-based products, oils, and polishes, employing Old World polishing compounds such as pumice and rottenstone as well as modern abrasives. We also make most of the products we use in our own studio from old in-house recipes.