Sunday, 31 August 2014

The Antique Lighting Restoration Procedures

By Marlene Blevins


An antique is an item that is old but still collected. Despite of the age, these antiques are usually still desired by many. This aspect can be attributed to their beauty, age, utility, state and sometimes emotional connections to persons. These antiques usually stand for a past era in time. They are highly valued in the market especially when restored. This takes us to the process of antique lighting restoration.

Several models and designs of olden day lighting systems are in use today. These include the crystal chandeliers and many others. Their complex designs and artistic beauty makes them very highly priced items. Due to passing times though, these items get damaged and their proper function is hindered. When this happens repair of the antique is the only way out.

This lighting restorations concern itself with the repair of these valued items to their original stature. This is restoration of beauty, function and value. This is no child play as it involves a number of procedures to accomplish. This explains why it takes a well-trained person to repair one. The delicate nature of this job and value at hand is what makes a professional a necessity.

Just like any other patient, the first step is a diagnosis. This enables the specialist to determine the cause of this problem within the item. A thorough inspection is conducted both for beauty and designs aspects. Also the function of particular item is put to check for any abnormalities. This is very crucial if the lighting is to be restored properly. Any haphazard work here can cause terrible endings.

After inspection and determination of the cause of error, this professional now starts opening the system. This too is not simple and should be done with a lot of care. These lighting systems are usually made of glass and other delicate reflective materials. These break very easily once not carefully handled. Therefore the work area of this task should be clear of any distractions whatsoever.

Accumulation of dust and dirt is usually one of the problems devaluing the item. In this light, the first procedure in restoration is to get rid of dirt and dust. A clean cloth, detergent and spirit are required for this. Each component is cleaned separately and care is taken to remove all the dirt. This enables restoration of the antique to its original color and beauty.

The next procedure is repairing the damaged elements. This repair can include rewiring the entire system and repining it at the same time. The wires that run the lights could have been damaged and disconnected over time. This necessitates running of a new wiring system the entire antique in order to solve the problem. Other damaged parts are checked too and fixed accordingly. The solutions here can include redoing the metal finishing, casting, sandblasting and lacquering at times.

Finally the specialist labors again to assemble all the numerous components together. This is the most tedious and involving part of the job. It takes a lot of experience and knowledge to figure out exactly where every component fits into the big picture. This is the final stage in the beauty and design area. But as for functionality, testing has to be done before installation is undertaken.




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