agab6601 Posted November 8, 2011 Report Share Posted November 8, 2011 I was wondering if anyone here does repair or refinishes furniture for $$$ and wondered if that is a viable business idea. I have done recently a good deal of refinishing and repair and have done a few pieces for people but nothing serious. Or is refinishing and repair its own little off shoot, just wanted peoples thoughts. Thanks, Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwacker Posted November 10, 2011 Report Share Posted November 10, 2011 Personally I think its a Niche business that you have to be very good at to make living. People have high expectations of you preserving grandma's old dresser? I think even a guy that has been around the industry for a long time is lacking on the repair side. Don 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoboMonk Posted November 24, 2011 Report Share Posted November 24, 2011 I did furniture repair and finishing for about ten years. My family was in the restaurant business, so I started a "Table and Chair Hospital" to repair and refinish these namesakes. Having a locked in specially market made this venture successful. I also repaired, refinished and re-purposed old furniture from a variety of sources. I once bought and refinished more than a hundred bedside cabinets from a hospital where I worked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AceHoleInOne Posted November 26, 2011 Report Share Posted November 26, 2011 For me, my name is out within the circle of friends and family word gets around, I don't advertise. When I was younger, I took on everything and anything. Refinishing is a lot of work. Rare, I get to work on nice pieces of furniture. Seems mostly it's that cheap nut and bolt furniture with the wood plugs of late. The nail polish and nail polish remover spills. For me, not enough juice for the squeeze, most folks just don't want to pay enough money for refinishing. The hassle of getting the color close to match the other pieces of a set (which are perfectly fine and don't need refinishing....yea, yea) they never want to pay for a refinish of the entire set. I do work out of a home workshop in the basement, so spray finishes and chemical stripping are a hassle in the winter time. Heating the garage to spray and all that fun stuff. Most of the phone calls seem to come my way this time of the year. That's just me and my personal experience. I do enjoy the challenge. And the reaction on the customers face is very rewarding, but will it feed the bulldog...doing it full time.....good question? -Ace- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agab6601 Posted December 6, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 6, 2011 Great insight guys! I myself like to build furniture rather than refinish pieces too. I have a day job and this is nice because I can do this in my spare time LOL! If I make afew bucks that it is great, but I do not think it would put food on the table unless I was to really market myself as just a refinisher, but I think it is good expirence for anyone who enjoys wood working just to see how furniture is made and also sometimes how well designs can hold up thru the years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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