Refurbishing Antiques
Can Reduce Their Value

January 25, 2005 -- Halfway through a recent redesign of her Boynton Beach, Fla., home, Elizabeth Thompson called in a furniture restorer to spruce up her husband's 19th-century Regency desk. To her dismay, the restorer told her that the cracks and bubbles on its surface weren't the fault of time or weather, but the result of a bad restoration a few years earlier.

"The earlier work had ruined it, cutting its value," says Ms. Thompson, an artist, who says the desk was valued at nearly six figures. "I had to hire one restorer," she says, "to fix the other's restoration."

As the home-renovation boom spreads to arts and antiques inside the house, restorers and fix-it specialists around the country say they're seeing a growing demand to revitalize objects from tarnished silver tea services to tattered living room rugs to scuffed-up Chippendale-style furniture. Dallas painting conservator Helen Houp says business is up about 10% this year, while Eli Rios, a New York furniture conservator, says he's getting markedly more commissions from young people. His clients seem to be "restoring grandmother's furniture" rather than buying new pieces, he says.

But some would-be "improvements" to antiques actually sharply cut their resale value. In 2003, a rare serpentine-style Boston bombe chest dating to the 1770s sold for $1.5 million at auction. It had been cleaned, and didn't have its original brass hardware. Last year, a similar, straight-front bombe chest made the same decade sold for $2 million, unrestored. Usually, the serpentine one would be more desirable, says John Hays, a deputy chairman at Christie's International.

Some furniture and paintings restorers report that business is up 10% to 20% in the last year.

Conservators usually charge $75 to $650 an hour, sometimes more for paintings, depending upon the size and scope of the project. To find one, check the Web site for the American Institute for Conservation (aic.stanford.edu), which lists experts in each state and field, or popular reference guides such as Kovels' Yellow Pages, a resource guide for collectors.

Here, a look at the do's and don'ts of restoration in different categories of antiques.

Jewelry

Think twice before updating heirloom gems by remounting them in modern settings or altering them from their original state. Such changes had little downside a decade or so ago, when most pieces were priced on the basis of intrinsic value. But in recent years, "estate" pieces with the look of their period have carried a premium in the market. Making them look modern cuts their value.

Even modest changes have risks. Resizing rings, bracelets and necklaces in a way that affects the jeweler's signature can take thousands off the price tag. A few years ago, Christie's offered two Cartier diamond bracelets at auction -- identical, except that one had been resized so the tiny Cartier indented signature was gone. The bracelet with the signature intact sold for $40,000, while the altered one sold for only $22,000.

Furniture

The rules here are very arcane, so get professional advice before touching an antique. Buyers of Early American pieces prefer the grunge and dust of decades, while collectors of European furniture dub it dirt, and like a piece polished. Meanwhile, a Tiffany lamp once valued at $100,000 could be reduced to $50,000 merely if it's polished too much. (Collectors don't like their bases shiny.) Upholstery can be altered on 19th-century wooden furniture without cutting its value sharply, because the "artist" is the wood carver. In 20th-century pieces by famous designers, though, the fabric is considered part of their design.

In general, Leslie Keno, director of Sotheby's Americana department advises caution before touching any piece of furniture that wasn't mass-produced. If you do undertake a restoration, leave the back of the restored area unfinished "so future owners won't be fooled" and can see what the original looked like, he says.

"I like to see the patina of age on furniture, I happen to like the look of wear," says New York collector Beth de Woody. "If it's a name piece, or a name designer, once you redo it, you could lose the value."

Rugs, Quilts and Textiles

Antiques dealers say that if your Persian rug is gray, worn and ripped, it's usually okay to go ahead and fix it. As long as new strands are matched to the old, a restoration may help it last longer -- and won't hurt its price. (These repairs generally cost about $70 to $100 an hour.) By contrast, a Navajo blanket or Amish quilt shouldn't be touched.

The general rule is that textiles that derive most of their value from their historical importance or rarity should be left alone, while those that are valuable primarily as décor can be restored. New York textiles conservator Patsy Orlofsky says she's had to "give a very difficult piece of news" to a few customers who've stitched up old quilts or flags: They may have cost themselves thousands of dollars. Stain removal, on the other hand, can actually help the price, provided it can be done without damaging the fabric.

Silver

In recent years, a number of new treatments have been introduced to remove tarnish from sterling. Most are a bad idea, says Robert Aretz, a New York jewelry appraiser. Some brands of popular labor-saving silver cleaners such as so-called battery baths or chemical dips can leave a chalky residue or strip the shine, says Jeanne Sloane, head of the silver department at Christie's.

Before & After - and After: Texas preservation agencies bought this portrait of Jim Bowie, defender of the Alamo, at auction in 2001 for $321,875. Dallas conservator Helen Houp was hired to restore it. An earlier restoration (left), to fix a tear and scratches, had overpainted it, and the varnish was discoloring. Ms. Houp stripped off that restoration (middle) and filled in the scratches (right), boosting its value by at least 20%, according to an appraiser.

Paintings

Restoration of fine arts is widely accepted, because a painting's primary value is aesthetic. A good restoration can even increase a painting's value, as long as much of what the technician does is reversible or removable. But, in some cases, the changes made to make a work more saleable can actually cut the potential pool of buyers. If there's any chance a museum might want the painting, for example, it shouldn't be restored as museums generally prefer to do their own restoration.

The key to paintings' restoration is finding a specialist in paintings, and in the era and type of work. Contemporary art is harder to restore than traditional art because of the materials used, says Mark Leonard, head of paintings conservation at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. "A little bit of varnish in the wrong place could totally damage the piece. Old Masters," he says, "are more forgiving."

Email your comments to rjeditor@dowjones.com.