I have referred several times to the possibility that Antiques Road Show might do a clarifying statement about refinishing antiques and lowering value. Someone on WoodMagazine’s board posted this for our information.
http://www.refinishwizard.com/index.htm
Gretchen
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People who are unsure whether refinishing would harm the value of any given antique should get it appraised. That'll usually settle the question.
Typically if the antique wasn't top quality when it was originally built, it won't be a highly valuable antique. Which means that most antiques will be worth more if refinished properly.
I've got an antique "waterfall" style vanity from the 30's or 40's that I was given. It was mass produced and had significant problems. In fact I suspect that it was originally sold as a factory 2nd (meaning that it had flaws). While I've refused to refinish certain antiques in the past until the owner got the piece appraised, with this vanity it was obvious that it was never going to be on an auction block in New York. I didn't just refinish it, I inlaid some exotic veneer first. It's definitely worth more than it was before I refinished it, although still not anything that I could retire on. LOL
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