Antique Restoration – Paul Nixon

paulnixonart.com

336 707 5502

Step 1.

Step 2.

Drilling through a hacksaw blade

Step 3.

By twisting a piece of wood through the hole creates a dowel to match the drill size.

Step 4.

By drilling both portions of the thumb the dowel and clue can be applied . Then the thumb is pressed into it rightful place.

Step 5.

The repaired thumb.

This beautiful lime wood statue now at St Paul’s Catholic church in Greensboro, came to me with both hands broken off and damaged. After repairing and refitting the right hand. I have documented some of the repairs to the left hand as shown above. Reattaching the thumb. After both hands were refitted I was able to hide the joints by using a formula to blend in the color with the patina of the wood.

Navajo Sand Art.

This panel came to me last year in very poor condition. The couple who brought this to me had been away for several weeks, and on returning home they found their home flooded. The ball cock in their upstairs toilet had rusted through and the water ran for six weeks before being discovered. Needless to say, a great deal of damage was done. This pane, l which measures 20″ by 20″ lay in 6″ of water for that duration. The board had been made of composite wood and sawdust had warped so badly and began to break up around the edges and corners. What held the panel together was the glue that the artist used to apply the sand. I used resin and sawdust to repair the weakened areas. Next, I applied, moisture and weight to the warped areas to press it back to its flat position. After a week of carefully working with this, I was pleased with how it looked. Finally, I was able to remove all the stains and mold that had built up on the surface.

Damaged oil painting

This painting was damaged due to something falling against it, leaving a marked impression about 9” long and also a tear in the canvas. Very thin paint had been applied to this area. My challenge was to make the hole disappear. First, carefully align the torn canvas so that it was evenly flush as seen in the second image. The impressions were then removed and the canvas was checked for firmness. When satisfied I applied paint to the repaired area and blended to match.

Russian Icon dated 1897 with gold plated tin oklaid Segments of the Halo had broken away.

Examining the halo to ensure proper alignment and stability of each segment.

Four nails at each corner were removed to separate the painting from the oklad which allowed access for me to remove the halo and make the repairs necessary to reinstall the broken pieces. At some point in this icon’s history repairs had previously been made to the halo.

Before I begin any wood work layout of the leg positions have to be determined. In addition, I have also researched the Italian-style carvings of these wood carved pieces.

Three of the legs and part of the right ear are missing. Restoration work has been carried out on a wood-carved sheep, part of a 19-piece German-carved antique nativity set for Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church in Greensboro.

Punch, Cigar store fiberglass statue

Punch was brought to me with two broken feet and wanted to be restored to his former glory. I bought two pieces of plumbing pipe to the diameter of Punch’s legs. Both of these fitted snugly into Punch’s legs as I worked fiberglass resin and matting in place. With both pipes secured in place I set Punch’s legs into his shoes. Setting him in position I then began adding more fiberglass resin and matting into and around his feet. When the fiberglass had set I began grinding and sanding removing all the unwanted residue. When satisfied with the end results I proceeded to repaint Punch’s feet and legs to match.

Antique Religious Wood Statue Restoration.

An antique dealer asked me to restore this old wood carving of St Roch. Making her aware that this will devalue the statue as an antique. She was unaware of who St Roch was and felt the statue represented a somewhat vulgar pose. St Roch 1295-1327 is credited with miraculous cures when treating plague victims while traveling throughout Italy. He eventually became ill himself and the infection broke out on his leg. He himself was miraculously cured. Within the Catholic church, all of the statues of St Roch are represented in this manner.

Stained Glass Restoration.

A lady inherited this original Tiffany lamp from her mother. A moving company while transporting the shade wrapped it only in a blanket which resulted in severe damage on its arrival. With over 262 pieces of broken glass, and a distorted shade the process of restoration took time and patience. My client was very pleased with the finished result.

Recently I took on this restoration project that involved this beautiful 15″tall porcelain sculpture of Mother Mary and Baby Jesus.
Due to possible poor packaging or rough shipping as it came from Europe to the USA.
Unfortunately, my client thinking that the broken pieces were no longer of any use threw them out.
Taking on this project I was allowed to use my own artistic skills to recreate and blend my work with the existing porcelain.
My client you can guess was immensely pleased.

This lovely statue of Our Lady came to me in need of serious help. Someone had left this statue in a hot car for a lengthy period of time in the summer months that caused the statue to blister and flake. I took on the restoration that allowed me to recover her appearance to her former glory.