Furniture Refinishing & Wood Restoration in Montreal
Stripping, sanding, staining and refinishing for wood furniture — tables, dressers, chairs, rocking chairs and antiques. We strip the old finish, repair loose joints and bring the wood back with a durable new finish. Free written estimates, pickup across Greater Montreal. A family-run upholstery workshop on Cavendish since 1967.
Strip the tired finish — bring the wood back
A solid wood piece almost never wears out — the finish does. The varnish clouds and peels, the top collects water rings and scratches, the colour fades in the sun, or an old coat of paint hides good wood underneath. Refinishing fixes the surface without replacing the piece: we strip off the old paint or varnish, sand the wood back, re-glue any loose joints, re-stain to the colour you want, and seal it with a new durable finish. A tired dresser, table or chair comes back looking like itself again.
Atlas has been an upholstery workshop on Boulevard Cavendish since 1967, and stripping and refinishing wood has always been part of the trade. Being an upholstery shop is the difference here: when a wooden chair needs both its frame refinished and its seat recovered, we do the wood and the upholstery together, in one place, rather than sending you to two shops. The honest part of the job is telling you when a piece is worth refinishing and when it is not — and, with antiques, whether the original finish is better preserved than stripped. You get a free written estimate either way.
The furniture we refinish most
Tables and dining tables
Dining tables, coffee tables and side tables with worn tops, water rings, heat marks or a dated finish. The top is stripped, sanded and refinished, and we can change the stain colour at the same time. Table leaves are refinished to match.
Dressers, sideboards and cabinets
Dressers, chests, sideboards, buffets and cabinets — stripped and refinished, or taken from an old painted finish back to stained wood. Drawers that stick or run poorly are eased while the piece is in the shop.
Wooden chairs and rocking chairs
Dining chairs, armchairs and rocking chairs with loose joints, a worn finish or both. We re-glue the frame and refinish the wood — and if the seat is padded, we reupholster it at the same time. See also dining chair reupholstery.
Antique and vintage furniture
Older and inherited pieces, handled with care. We advise honestly on whether a full refinish or a gentler revive keeps the value and character — and when the original finish is best left alone.
Desks and office furniture
Wooden desks, bookcases and office pieces with scratched or worn surfaces refinished to a clean, hard-wearing finish that stands up to daily use.
Colour changes and restaining
Take a piece darker, lighter or a completely different tone. Once it is stripped to bare wood we test the stain and show you the result before we commit the whole piece.
What your piece actually needs
Refinish — the finish is tired
The wood is sound but the surface is worn, ringed, scratched or dated. Stripping, sanding, staining and a new finish give you back a piece that looks and wears like new — the most common job we do.
Restore — it needs repair too
Loose joints, cracks, a wobbly chair or a piece that has been apart for years. We re-glue and repair the structure as part of the restoration, then refinish, so the piece is both solid and good-looking again.
Refinish and reupholster together
Wooden chairs and settees where the frame needs refinishing and the seat needs recovering. Because we are an upholstery workshop, both are done together here — see our reupholstery and furniture repair work.
How refinishing works at Atlas
1. Photos and a free written estimate
Send clear photos of the piece and the wear, in daylight if you can, or bring it to the Cavendish workshop. We tell you whether it should be refinished, restored or left as it is, what colour options are realistic for the wood, and put a written estimate in your hands with no obligation.
2. Stripped and refinished at the workshop
The piece is stripped of its old finish, any loose joints are re-glued and repaired, the wood is sanded, then stained and sealed with a durable finish — each coat given proper drying time so the result lasts.
3. Back to you
Most refinishing takes about two to four weeks. Pickup and delivery across Greater Montreal is included, so you do not have to move a heavy dresser or table yourself.
Furniture refinishing across Greater Montreal
Our workshop is at 2535 Boul. Cavendish in Montreal, on the NDG and Côte-Saint-Luc border, open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 6pm. We refinish and restore wood furniture for homes and businesses across the island and off it — including the West Island, Laval and the South Shore — with pickup and delivery throughout Greater Montreal.
FAQ
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Yes. Stripping and refinishing wood furniture is one of the services we offer alongside upholstery at our workshop on Boulevard Cavendish. We strip off old paint or varnish, sand the wood back, re-glue loose joints, re-stain to the colour you want and apply a new durable finish. We refinish tables, dressers, cabinets, sideboards, desks, wooden chairs, rocking chairs and antique furniture. Every job starts with a free written estimate.
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Yes, and we treat older pieces carefully. With antiques the honest question is whether refinishing is even the right thing to do — on some pieces the original finish and patina are part of the value, and stripping them can reduce it. We look at the piece first and tell you plainly whether a full refinish, a gentle clean-and-revive, or leaving it as-is is the better call. When a refinish is right, we keep the character of the wood rather than making it look brand new.
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Usually, yes. Once a piece is stripped back to bare wood we can re-stain it darker, lighter or a different tone, then seal it with the finish you prefer. How far we can shift the colour depends on the species of wood and its grain, so we test the stain and show you the result before committing to the whole piece. Going lighter than the original is harder than going darker, and we tell you up front what is realistic for your furniture.
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Yes — these are the most common reasons furniture comes to us. White water rings, heat marks, scratches, dull or sun-faded tops and cloudy or peeling old varnish are all fixed by stripping the failed finish, repairing and sanding the wood, and refinishing. On a solid piece the result is a surface that looks and wears like new, and we can match the sheen from matte to gloss.
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Yes. Loose or wobbly joints, cracked rails and separated glue blocks are common on older chairs and tables, and we re-glue and clamp them as part of the restoration while the piece is apart. If a chair also has a padded seat that needs recovering, we can reupholster it at the same time — being an upholstery workshop means the wood and the seat can be done together in one place. Structural repairs on non-wood or upholstered furniture are covered on our furniture repair page.
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Every refinishing job is quoted individually, because the cost depends on the piece, its size and condition, how much stripping and repair it needs, whether the colour is changing and which finish you want. Refinishing a single wooden chair and stripping and refinishing a large dining table with leaves are very different jobs. We do not publish fixed price lists, because a number that ignores those factors would mislead you. Send photos and we will give you a free written estimate, usually within 24 hours.
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Most refinishing jobs take about two to four weeks, because stripping, staining and finishing each need proper drying time between coats — rushing that is how a finish fails later. We give you a realistic timeline with your estimate. All the work is done at our Montreal workshop, and we offer pickup and delivery across Greater Montreal so you do not have to move a heavy piece yourself.
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Our refinishing work is on freestanding furniture — tables, dressers, cabinets, desks, chairs and similar pieces — done at the workshop. We do not refinish hardwood floors, and built-in kitchen cabinetry that cannot be brought to the shop is usually better handled by an on-site cabinet refinisher. If you are not sure whether your piece is a fit, send a photo and we will tell you honestly.