[Fred Taylor]

This is Fred Taylor and I need to know what would be a fair price to charge just strip and refinish in doing a high quality job using top quality products such as Mohawk.I know that there will be variables depending on condition , veneer replacement , size of cabinet, high boy with 4 or more legs, doors , things like that. What would you guys pay for such a job? , and that no shipping involved , Say big console ? say a table radio ? Tombstone and cathedral? I need to know an average of what would be fair price to charge for such a service. Please, any feedback on this subject would be grateful. I am wanting to restructure my prices to become more competitive in this field and to draw in more customers.  Thanks

[Phlogiston]

A lot depends on if you are dealing with a licensed and insured business or just a "guy" that does these things.

[Fred Taylor]

A lot depends on if you are dealing with a licensed and insured business or just a "guy" that does these things.

Business

[klondike98]

Here's a benchmark of sorts. We had a small cherry table with a circular top (approx 2.5 ft in diameter). The top needed to be refinished. We got a quote from a business (with high Angies list marks) for refinishing the top only as follows:
-remove the top
-chemically strip and neutralize the strip
-sand
-stain to match color
-apply sealer coat
-sand sealer coat
-clear coat to satin finish
-sand between clear coats (5-6 coats)

$250

Not a radio but similar tho not the same activity.

[Arran]

Here's a benchmark of sorts.  We had a small cherry table with a circular top (approx 2.5 ft in diameter).  The top needed to be refinished.  We got a quote from a business (with high Angies list marks) for refinishing the top only as follows:
-remove the top
-chemically strip and neutralize the strip
-sand
-stain to match color
-apply sealer coat
-sand sealer coat
-clear coat to satin finish
-sand between clear coats (5-6 coats)

$250

Not a radio but similar tho not the same activity.

 Pardon me but any time I read an invoice, quote, or bill, where they mention applying stain to raw wood, without anything inbetween like a wood conditioner, it says to me "Amateur Hour". Really, they are actually invoicing sanding sanding sealer, or sanding the wood? What's more, even though it is a cherry top, no grain filler on the list? So this guy sprays five to six coats of "lacquer" I would assume, and then sands between each coat, that says to me that he is attempting to fill the grain with finish, which is not a very good idea, the thicker the finish is the more likely it is to crack and craze. This is a personal preference of course but I would stay away from the satin finish (really a matte finish), it's too soft, if you want satin you can rub out a gloss finish you can rub it out to make it matte. In my opinion they seem to be putting too many hours into the wrong procedures, and in the end charges too much for what is a very small project, if I were you I would take a crack at refinishing it myself with Watco lacquer.
 Finishing, or refinishing furniture used to be a proper craft and trade, just like a cabinetmaker, or an electrician, now it seems like every guy with a spray gun can hang out a shingle. In my grandfather's case he learned as an apprentice, in fact he was a French polisher, and knew all sorts of tricks for repairing water rings or removing cigarette burns, without stripping. Now most of them do exactly what this Angies listed guy does, strip, stain, N' clearcoat. I don't know whether you requested the matte finish or whether that is this guy's default finish, a lot of guys like to use that stuff because they think it will help hide flaws, and you can forget about tinted lacquer, ask about that and they look at you like are from Mars.
Regards
Arran

[Fred Taylor]

When I say strip and refinish , it would consist of a quality job including grain filling, repair scrapes , nicks, dents, etc,  then color toning the wood , then sanding sealer applied then re sanded ,,then spraying 3-4 coats of lacquer for top coat. That would be to me a basic strip and refinish doing those important steps for quality job. Any more than that like veneer replacement would cost more. What would be fair to charge for basic  refinish on average 1930s console?     

[GarySP]

Hi Fred.  It seems the old phrase "you get what you pay for" comes into play here.  In my opinion, radios end up being a labor of love.  A fair price for a proper restoration when broken down to hourly compensation would probably end up with a price higher than the radio is worth, with a few exceptions.  I've done a little custom woodwork for friends and family in the past.  I've never gotten rich from it.  We all know what your work is worth, but what it's worth and what it commands will unfortunately never meet.  I just do it because I like to.  Take care, Gary

[OldRestorer]

I used to do furniture restorations and for something the size of a console I would get about $300.00-$600 + materials.
thats nothing but a strait refinish of unpainted pieces. Scrollwork, veneer and breakage are more. I once had a small desk I wanted refinished. The business wanted $1100.00. Then i did it myself and that started me on the restoration track.

Table radios of course need a lot more work for that grain filled perfection. They are smaller so that is cheaper.

Lonnnnng story short, For a radio refinish I would probably go for $250 + materials. For a console it would be $350+

I had a guy that had a $100.00 cabinet but it was baaaaaad so I told him it was not worth it. Family heirloom speech and it got a $560.00 refinish. Now it is worth $250.00 lol

P.S. I am not a business so I do it cheaper. Your fantastic work is worth the price.

Kirk

[Fred Taylor]

A oldrestorer, Don't you mean consoles would take more work I grain fill those as well. I am refinishing radio cabinets for the RADIOMAN as sub contractor at his shop, I know all the little things like veneer work and inlay work and doors, 4-6 legs on high boy cabinets would require more work. I am going to try nation wide cabinet restorations with discounted prices to offset shipping cost. I need to charge a fair price with high quality work, we also offer full electric restorations . Check us out at new web site at The Radioman.com

[Arran]

 I find that the stripping can be one of the most time consuming parts, that is until you work out an efficient technique which even a lot of so called "professionals" can't seem to manage, not to mention they often don't strip things properly. One thing I learned to do a long time ago is to make any repairs before you strip the old finish off like gluing down loose veneer, or patching the veneer, taking apart and regluing joints, that way you don't have to go back and clean off the glue residue off of bare wood. I think that probably one of the best things you can do as well is work on a sort of production line basis, line up several cabinets to repair and strip at one time, and likewise with the other steps.
 In the end I think that what you can charge will be determined by how much people are willing to pay, so to make money at it you have to work on the efficiency end to minimize how many hours you put into each. Radio cabinets were made and finished on a production basis, to a certain extent the repair and refinish goes the same way, but slightly in reverse before going forward. One thing you will also need to learn to do, and I know this from servicing radio chassis, is how to say "NO", there are some that just can't be or should not be taken on within reason. If you can tint your own lacquer, with dyes, that would save quite a bit on materials, spray cans are good for a handful of projects but add up quick if you are doing a lot. Lacquer, sanding sealer, solvents, stripper, sand paper and steel wool can be bought in bulk.
Regards
Arran

[JimZ]

^^touched on a couple of points and I can add what I observe on the subject.
Most of us collectors appreciate and often do complete "all the steps" cabinet restorations on our own cabinets.
Chances are well never get our time ($) back when we do them....and probably explains why we often prefer "good+ original" finishes on what we buy.
What I observe on venues like Ebay are refinished table  radios that have been "refinished light" often without any toners and usually no grainfilling.  Im thinking of at least two active sellers that generally sell about 4 or 5 radios every 10 days.  There seems to be a market for that sort of refinish.  If I had to guess at the time value?  Might be 100-125 or so depending on size/complexity.  Just a thought.  Sure we all like to do the full boat restorations/refinishes yet at the same time we like to feed our families.  Maybe there is room to offer "clean up specials" to customers that simply aren't interested in paying the freight on a common table set.
And no way am I suggesting I like cutting corners with my sets ...just as a practical matter I can understand
consumers that just want a clean redone example and don't want to pay huge $

Fred. You know what Im getting at. Get em in the door with a "clean up special $$" and go from there. Then its a sales/education job.

[Fred Taylor]

All you guys have great points, keep em  coming next week I will compile everything and go from there, thanks .

[codefox1]

Well, over half the old radios I have been (given, scrounged, picked up, and inherited) needed carpentry repair as well as refinishing to be fully "restored." That said, I think a reasonable retail price for, let's say a table radio that has all its parts and isn't too beat up to be refinished nicely would be $65. Amd we're not talking museum quality...

Of course shipping and insurance can easily double the cost to the customer, especially if the whole set comes to you and must be returned.

[JimZ]

Fred to go along with what I was getting at with my post above search out a newly listed little Philco PT-44 on Ebay.
I wont post it here because it might confuse your thread and make it go in a direction you don't want.
Its a perfect example of what we might call "refinish light" that illustrates that indeed there is a market out there
for a refinish "package" (not top dollar) that some buyers are happy with. Point is? It may be something worth considering to get business in the door for yourself. Not the sort of refinish we do for ourselves but then again we aren't exactly the "typical consumers".