Before / After | Brettuns Village

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EXAMPLES OF OUR TRUNK RESTORATION AND REFINISHING WORK

The Before and After Section
Antique trunk restoration service

BEFORE

and

AFTER

The black covering on this beauty had been painted with melted rubber. OK, yes, it's waterproof, but smells like a tar pit and looks weird.	A little better looking after we beat the dayligfhts out of it in the workshop.
An MM Secors Wall Trunk from an abusive home	Looking a little better since it moved out on its own.
Nice paint job, but the red just didn't match the new drapes	This is more like it.
A huge Monitor Top Trunk Who would want this thing at the foot of the bed? Egads.
Leather-covered trunk from the mid 1800s, with a fabulous brown paint job (yikes!)	New leather, cleaned up and oiled the slats, new brass buttons. Replaced all the metal bands, polished up the original lock plate.
An old Louis Vuitton trunk. Nice trunks when they're in good condition, but sometimes a complete makeover is in order.	Ready to be put to use. Sure smells better than it did when we found it.
Duluth Trunk Company cabin trunk	Nice cabin trunk, just right for sliding under your berth aboard the train. We put cedar in the tray both for strength and to make the trunk smell like a gerbil cage. Or keep out moths maybe.
Another canvas box trunk, made by Rauchbach & Goldsmith, right around 1890
Tin-covered trunk - we removed all of the dull tin, the refinished the wood beneath. Had to remove about 600 nails, then put them back again.	This is actually more of a 'during' picture. Looked so great when it was done that we were too stunned to remember the camera. It happens.
Paper-covered trunk, Civil War era. The paper was shot, the handles were made from some old geezer's belt, and the inside was covered in newspaper from 1868.
Here's another paper covered trunk, quite a bit larger than the one above. Paper was used during the Civil War, all the leather and tin went off to war.
A small-sized animal hide covered trunk. It had been covered in fabric, and looked absolutely awful.	We had to fabricate a tin cover for the hole where the lock used to be.
Half trunk, which was canvas covered when we got it.
Leather-covered dome top. Not much leather left, and it had been kept outside for a while. Had lots of rust to deal with.
An old Vanderman stage coach strong box, the genuine article. Made from 1/8" steel with thick oak slats. Had six heavy handles so 6 workers could lift the payroll.	Notice it's resting on the dolly - this box weighed 110 pounds empty. Nice coffee table. Imagine banging your shin on that. Most Vanderman boxes were made to carry tools, but a few carried gold bars or payroll money. Nobody ever brags that theirs was used to haul plumber's tools - they all say theirs held gold bars. Imagine that.
A small flat-top crystal tin trunk. The owner wanted it painted to match something else in the house. We were able to clean out the inside and save the lithographs at the same time.
Marshall Fields standard box trunk, large size. We removed the canvas and cleaned it up inside. Lined the top with cedar.
Angled-top or hip trunk by M.M. Secors, quite a rare trunk. Had old, thick canvas that just had to go, and a wonderful aroma inside. We used clothespins for our noses.	A nice, warm pine stain and a little tung oil.
We don't have a before picture of this one, but it is such a rare trunk it needed to be shown. This style of trunk is covered in thin oak or hickory slats. Refinishing one of these is touchy business - the slats must be able to move independently of one another or the whole thing will start to crack. We've got the process all figured out here in the shop. These slat trunks can be worth a lot, so keep your eyes open for them. One of these sold on eBay in early 2006 for $2000 in as-found condition.
Canvas-covered trunk, needed a little help.	A nice cherry stain to match the bedroom furniture.


These kind are fun to work on. Pry out all the brass tacks, remove the old horse hide, polish the tacks in your rock polisher, put them back in place. This trunk was made in 1803 in Boston.
Was covered with tin, not too attractive. We took the nail prying tools to it in earnest.	Quite a different look.
Here's another ugly old tin trunk, sold for $10 at a yard sale. We love these old monitor top trunks. Some call them 'waterfall' trunks. 'Rust bucket' is what we should all agree to call them.	We removed the tin, lined it with cedar, and finished the outside. This picture was taken before all the slats were replaced. This one's in a mall in Las Vegas now: Along with some of our other trunks - a designer used them to make this kiosk in the mall. Thanks to Becky Blair from Iowa for taking pictures of them while she was on vacation!