Restored vintage shove ha'penny board
I picked up a battered old shove ha'penny board at a vintage market and Andrew restored it to - and I suspect beyond - it's former glory. It's now a real talking point and fun toy with coins gliding over the smooth surface effortlessly. It was a fair price to an agreed timetable and came with helpful onward care advice. Andrew was friendly and business-like.
Customer in Hertfordshire
Posted on 23/11/2025
, work completed 21/11/2025
Recommended
Terrific job
At short notice Andy stripped, sanded and polished two mahogany bedside cabinets that were the pride and joy of my late mother. He did such a good job that they look better now than when we first acquired them! He also did the same to a pretty jewellery box that someone had left a hot cup of coffee on. I'm thrilled with his work (and the overall quality of his service) and can recommend him without hesitation. Thank you!
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 13/11/2025
, work completed 11/11/2025
Recommended
Excellent work
From the moment I contacted Andy, he could not have been more helpful. I had a lot of work to be done, 30 internal doors and 2 staircases to be stained and polished. The outcome was superb, and we are very happy. The doors and staircases look beautiful. As a Which? member, I always try and use Which? Trusted Traders. We have no hesitation in recommending Andy and his team.
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 27/08/2025
, work completed 22/08/2025
Recommended
Beautiful work
I was thrilled with the beautiful job that Andy did on my 10-year-old, well-worn, Lombok dining and coffee tables. They came back looking far better than the originals. I've never seen such workmanship. I wholeheartedly recommend Andy and his team.
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 07/07/2025
, work completed 04/07/2025
Recommended
Scratch repair
I am so pleased that I came accross French Polishing & Finishing Ltd when I was looking to have the top of an antique card table restored after it had been scratched whilst in storage. Andy has done a superb job, there is no sign of the damage that had been done and I'm delighed that the table has been restored to its former glory. Andy responded quickly to my initial enquiry, he explained what would be needed to restore the table top and kept me informed on progress. The cost of the restoration was money well spent and I would have no hesitation in recommending Andy to my friends.
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 08/06/2025
, work completed 29/05/2025
Recommended
Restoration of our rectangular oak family dining table
Andy has done an amazing job to restore our 20-year-old oak dining table, which now looks new once again. Having been used on an almost daily basis the table had taken some punishment over the years, and we were particularly concerned about a red wine stain that had damaged one of the extension leaves. We need not have worried; the table has been returned restored to its former glory and the red wine stain consigned to history. Andy is a professional, knowledgeable and reliable craftsman - and very easy to deal with - we have no hesitation in recommending his work.
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 29/05/2025
, work completed 20/05/2025
Recommended
Rejuvenation of Rosewood veneered Sofa Table
Family heirloom had suffered a bit of ill-treatment and water staining over the years. Andy took it to pieces and repaired and replaced what was necessary to bring the piece back to its former glory. Money , quite a lot, well spent. Otherwise another item of character and charm would have been consigned to the rubbish tip. Item well worth the rescue now looks the part in a renovated dressing room. Thanks Andy for your efforts.
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 22/05/2025
, work completed 22/05/2025
Recommended
Restoring large circular dining table
Andy and his son have done a great job restoring our dining table which was showing definite signs of wear and tear. He was responsive and worked to the timetable and budget he set out for the work. I am delighted with the end result and recommend him completely.
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 07/04/2025
, work completed 07/04/2025
Recommended
true craftsman
Andy is a true craftsman who understands wood. He beautifully restored my oak table and gave me superb advice on the care of my wooden floor. He is a thorough professional I would recommend without reservation.
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 05/04/2025
, work completed 21/03/2025
Recommended
Honest and forthright
Andy came to inspect and quote on reviving our Cherry veneered kitchen frontage, which we believed was looking quite tired, as a result of over-cleaning and general misuse by the previous owners of the house. He pointed out that the primary issue is that the glue used to lay/glue the veneers during the original, bespoke manufacture, were showing. Such glues remain a constant colour whereas the veneer itself changes over time with exposure to sunlight. Andy advised that Cherry is a particularly tricky timber to deal with, as it oxidises very quickly. We discussed chemically stripping the doors bare and then re-lacquering, to freshen the whole kitchen up, as well as potential colour tinting, all on-site. We also discussed whether sanding would work but concluded that it would produce a patchy look, so was ruled out. In the end, we concluded that Andy couldn’t help us, short of remaking the kitchen from scratch. He advised us on the best restorers we could use but refused to charge us for the time he spent giving us the benefit of his experience, which had gone well past the half-hour. We felt that other people looking to use Andy should read our story. He’s as straight and honest as you could possibly expect from a professional, trusted trader. We’d like to thank him for the time he spent - and hope he’ll be able to bring his considerable knowledge to your home in a way that solves your own issues.
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 04/02/2025
, work completed 23/01/2025
Recommended
Great Service
Brilliant work. Super easy to deal with and very good service and the result was amazing! Thanks so much!!
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 14/10/2024
, work completed 12/10/2024
Recommended
Assessed door and provided recommendations
I contacted Andy to assess our original 1930s front door which we were looking to restore, following some damage made to it by a fire protection company. Andy responded promptly, and was able to come and assess the door quickly. He provided us with a verbal assessment, which was that the door was beyond repair (there was more technical information he gave as to why it was not the best option to try and repair it). Andy sent us a follow up email with the specifics of what he had told us on the day he viewed the door. I appreciate the honesty and level of knowledge that Andy has, and I thank him for the report he provided.
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 30/09/2024
, work completed 19/09/2024
Recommended
Mid century renovation
Exceptional workmanship from Andy renovating a Georg Jenson Kubos coffee table. The table top was littered with ring marks. I was absolutely thrilled with the result, which brought the piece back to the way I remembered it looking in the 1970s. Job completed on time and in budget and with great care and attention.
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 15/09/2024
, work completed 13/09/2024
Recommended
Oak octagonal table - complete refresh
Amazing service and quality work to restore my grandfather’s oak side table to its original quality after several years of neglect. Work was done as agreed and returned earlier than I expected which was great and in budget. Really pleased with communication. The table was handled with care as over 80 years old and looks as good as new. Even the brass plate was removed and polished for us. We would highly recommend this family, quality business. Good service, lovely people and top quality work.
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 10/09/2024
, work completed 10/09/2024
Recommended
Beautiful work- front door and table
Andy restored our billiard table which was of sentimental value and we had spent a long time finding someone who could do it. He did a beautiful job and we are very pleased. He also refurbished our garage door and oak front door and wood in porch which looks so very smart now! He completed the work when he said he would and communication was good. I would highly recommend him.
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 10/08/2024
, work completed 08/08/2024
Recommended
Careful and considered restoration work
Andy worked extremely hard to restore a live edge Yew coffee table. The table was very special to me as I recently inherited it from my parents. However the beautiful table I remembered from my childhood had developed an orangey discoloured lacquer, a nasty ring stain and a broken leg, dodgedly repaired by my father. Andy restored it carefully and lovingly, using a slightly matt lacquer to bring out the beauty of the wood grain. To say I'm delighted would be an understatement; I'm just thrilled with the results and I have now asked Andy to restore an oak dining chair that belonged to a great aunt... He's extremely professional, thoughtful and communicated honestly about how long he thought it would take to do, how busy he was and thus when he might be able to actually complete the job and deliver the table back to me. I whole heartedly recommend him.
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 05/08/2024
, work completed 26/07/2024
Recommended
Another excellent piece of work by Andy
Andy collected two antique tables from us which were in a poor state of repair, with bits of veneer missing, falling off or messily stuck on by a previous owner. He managed to replace the missing veneer with wood from his own stock, and repolished the tables so they look absolutely stunning now. The price was extremely competitive too. Thank you Andy and I will no doubt be in touch again as we have other furniture which needs TLC. Recommended 100%.
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 29/05/2024
, work completed 29/05/2024
Recommended
Excellent work
Andy is a professional French Polisher. He arrived at my property on time. He was highly skilled in his trade and pleasant to deal with. Andy completed his polishing on my Dining Table beautifully and I have no hesitation in recommending his services. Thank you Andy. I look forward to engaging your services again in the future.
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 16/05/2024
, work completed 15/04/2024
Recommended
Great work
Andy undertook the restoration of a much loved cabinet which had been neglected by a family member (thanks sis). He responded to the query quickly, assessed two levels of pricing depending on what level of restoration was needed as he progressed in his workshop, kept me updated throughout, on consultation undertook restoration of the old lock (which ultimately failed) however then sourced some discrete and pleasing magnetic latches as a substitute. The cabinet is back looking splendid and smelling of polish and care. Andy clearly cares passionately about what he does and has the skills to do it well which is what you want when you want your furniture or banisters or whatever it is restored. Would highly recommend and will be using his services again.
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 09/05/2024
, work completed 08/05/2024
Recommended
Restoration of small antique table and five antique dining chairs
Andy undertook two jobs for us. Firstly he restored a slightly water damaged small hall table and we were delighted with the result. All sign of the damage had disappeared and the table was a pleasing uniform colour. Secondly, he was able to much improve the dining chairs which were creaking badly. We are very happy with the improvements. It was a pleasure to do business with Andrew. He was always on time and extremely helpful and reliable, and the work was finished at the agreed time. We would recommend him without hesitation .
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 21/04/2024
, work completed 03/04/2024
Recommended
Very skilled and very helpful
Andy and team offered some very helpful advice and options for the refurbishment of my vintage dining table with 2 leaves. I hated the colour, the finish and the extending mechanism was not smooth. Andy helped me choose a more suitable finish and luckily when removing the previous polish found that the table was already the perfect colour. My “new” table is even better that I imagined. Also, delivered on time and kept me up to date. A perfect experience. Thank you.
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 23/02/2024
, work completed 02/02/2024
Recommended
Excellent job
Andy came and sorted out two drawers which were completely stuck on a chest of drawers, and also repaired an antique box for me. Workmanship was excellent, and Andy was very punctual and tidy. So grateful to him and very happy to recommend.
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 05/12/2023
, work completed 04/12/2023
Recommended
Reliable and Friendly
Andy restored a set of six dining chairs for us. Some of them were in very poor condition but he worked wonders with them. He even sourced some African hardwood to patch them up.
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 22/10/2023
, work completed 06/10/2023
Recommended
STUNNING WORK
I inherited a 1950s Gordon Rusell dressing table (plus rattan stool) which was in a sorry state. It was very faded, had a huge water mark, numerous blemishes, and the support for the mirror was busted. When Andy and son brought it back last week, it was a true Repair Shop I moment - I literally had tears in my eyes because of the transformation. The gorgeous warm colour of the wood is incredible. It genuinely is a pleasure doing business with Andy. He is amazingly knowledgeable, polite, punctual and good at keeping in touch on the progress of the job. I cannot recommend him highly enough.
Customer in Greater London
Posted on 09/09/2023
, work completed 07/09/2023
Recommended
Recommended and Didn't Disappoint
We have built a new house and Andy from French Polishing and Finishing Ltd was recommended by our staircase manufacturer and installer. It is an open tread, double flight staircase, with quarter landings and carpet inserts. We had sent photos of the colour we wanted this new oak staircase to be and the samples sent through by Andy were very good, so it was easy to choose our colour and finish quickly. The French polishing was booked a couple of months ahead. French Polishing & Finishing Ltd turned up on time and completed everything in 5 days as promised. The work was of a very high quality and draws compliments from everyone entering the hall
Customer in Hampshire
Posted on 25/06/2023
, work completed 19/06/2023
Recommended