Elbers Antiques & Refinishing

The repair and refinishing process was quick and Ron did an excellent job, also cleaning up the piece as part of the job. Ron is friendly, knowledgeable and enthusiastic about his work. Any future jobs will go to Elbers.

I have had several antique and vintage pieces refinished for me by Ron of Elbers Antiques & Refinishing on Queen St. E. He did an amazing job and the finish was perfect to colour-match a sample piece provided and any damage to the items repaired as much as possible. Ron was always friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. This sort of work takes time but it was done within the timeframe promised. Very happy with the quality and service. Thanks Ron!

I dropped off two solid wood beside tables that had a lot of wear on the top and had them stripped and refinished in a soft grey. They are absolutely stunning. Exactly what I wanted. I dropped off a sample tray and he matched it perfectly. Highly recommend the service.

Great refinishing job. Grain in the wood was brought out beautifully on a lovely old end table.
The job was completed within the indicated time frame. I am a very happy customer

We had a cherrywood dining room table my parents had bought in 1955. Since then it had been in plenty of moves, refinished once, spent years in bright sunlight.

We asked Ron to restore it and to make the colour and finish compatible with some chairs that had a completely different provenance.

He did a wonderful job: the finish was perfect, the damage to the table repaired as much as possible, and a colour chosen that showed the grain beautifully and gave the table more poise and elegance than it ever had, even when brand new.

And it came in at exactly the price estimated.

Ron is a consummate professional and perfectionist. I would definitely recommend him to anyone who has a treasured piece of furniture that they want restored or transformed. Ron's pricing is not low, but it's worth it for a job that is perfectly executed. Especially when the piece in question is something special.

Magic! Ron Elbers' attention to detail is impeccable. Ron's antique furniture restoration skills are top notch. He has a deep knowledge of how each piece has its' own unique design and custom tailored his restoration work to the requirements of each piece. The integrity and quality of his work is excellent.

I had Ron refinish an antique chest and paint an antique side table with blue paint. Both turned out beautifully, and Ron was a pleasure to deal with, friendly, cooperative and knowlegable.

Elbers has refinished several antique pieces for me. It's a lengthy process but the work was done within the timeframe promised. The results were great and the finishes have held up well. In one case, the charge was slightly more than we had agreed in advance. That's because Ron found it was more complicated than expected and did more than what I had asked. I wasn't consulted before the extra work was done. I would have agreed anyway but would have preferred to be asked first.

In a way,it is my own fault for being too easy going. It took Elbers over four months to restore an antique drop leaf Georgian desk, in part because I suggested they take their time as I wanted it done right. Still four months is rather long.
The piece was walnut that had been stripped and restored to walnut on the outside but with a lovely patina mahogany finish on the inside. It had a few scratches but lots of depth and could have easily been set right. I pointed out that I wanted the outside to match the inside. Instead they stripped the entire desk, excluding the interior drawers, including the interior finish on the leaf. Perhaps they didn't want it to be there for comparison with the new finish.

When I went to check on the piece before they brought it to my house, I was very disappointed. There was no depth to the finish, perhaps they skimped on the number of layers of laquer they applied. It did not have a smooth, glass like finish but you could see ridges of grain when the light hit it on an angle. The owner bragged about using 320 grit sandpaper on it but I subsequently learned that the final sanding should be done with a 400 grit sandpaper. This may account for the ridges of wood grain.

I feel as though the desk was vandalized not restored. When I expressed my dissatisfaction the owner and his worker became quite hostile. When I opened the drop leaf after delivery, I noticed it was missing two screws for the hinges. The owner came up and rectified this oversight. However he used mismatched screws, Robertsons (not in use in Georgian times) instead of slots. When I noticed this, I was so fed up, I let it go.

This occurred last year and although I can't really afford it, I am going to see if there is another company who can strip and refinish the desk properly for me. The desk has become a thorn in my side and I wince every time I look at it.

Is it possible to post photographs here? If so I would be happy to do so.