Topic: Restoration / re-polishing

[petern00]

For GMB members in Australia / New Zealand (or further afield!) ... Can anyone recommend someone in this part of the world who will undertake re-polishing / restoration work on our valued treasures? Any leads gratefully accepted.

[tropdevin]

Hi peter

I can't give a direct lead, but here are some thoughts.

If it is a really top quality piece it might even be worth sending it to the UK or USA.  Polishing is going to cost anywhere from £25 to £60, depending upon the nature and degree of damage, plus extra if it needs facetting or a concave base cleaning up - and it is rarely a quick operation!  Antique paperweights made of lead glass are softer, easier to polish, and bruises tend to be shallower.

Modern weights are usually harder, and particulary in the case of earlier Paul Ysart weights, more prone to cracking during polishing if there is any latent damage.  Hertzian ring cracks, if you will pardon the technical term, are not always visible to the naked eye, and can reveal themselves on polishing:  a weight that has 'just the odd scratch' can reveal significant bruises beneath the scratch, or elsewhere, once the surface is disturbed.

It is also worth checking whether the polisher uses water lubricated diamond belts - which tend to run cooler - rather than cork / cloth / felt mops, as the heat of the latter can occasionally cause stress fractures.

Hope this helps

Alan

[petern00]

Alan

Thanks for all this; knowledge, advice and tips that are useful as I consider restoration for the first time.  The prospect of revealing further damage was something that I hadn't realised. (Thanks too for the prompt to learn about Hertzian* stress forces, cones, contact theory, etc. .. I'm still reading! )

Wary of the risks, I'd planned to trial any local polisher with a less-precious piece.  Your advice gives me some additional questions to ask before committing anything.  Even so, for more valuable items or complex work, the recognised workers in the UK and US undoubtedly offer safer options.

Thank you once again.

* An addition for the site's spell-check dictionary ..?

[Sach]

You may want to ask here: http://www.ausglass.org.au/  These are professional glass workers and should know who would have to skills and equipment.

As a side comment I spent four hours on Saturday having a go at polishing four of my own paperweights.  I can only call the results amateurish and I have a new and solid respect for the folks who do this work professionally.

[petern00]

Thanks for the lead, Ann.

And with regard to trying oneself ..You're braver than me!

Best wishes