Back in 1982, Mick was invited to a tour around the original Ercol factory, which proved to be a real eye-opener. Mick was shown the end-to-end process as to how Ercol furniture goes from raw material to the finished product. Mick viewed all of the processes involved in the Ercol manufacturing line, which provided him a great appreciation for the level of care and control Ercol employ to maintain the quality its products. After the tour, Mick was lucky enough to have lunch with Mr Ercolani.
A couple of years after his visit Ercol contacted Mick and asked if he would be an approved restorer/polisher in the Midlands, Staffordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire areas. Since then, Ercol customers in the area, requiring work on their furniture, have been passed our details. Mick has been conducting such Ercol restoration work for nearly 30 years now.
We take great care of all furniture that comes into our hands and Ercol pieces are no different. When restoring Ercol furniture we make sure it is hand stripped rather than dipping it into a stripping tank or sandblasting the piece. We do not French polish the furniture and also avoid using oil or wax-based finishes. This is because it is not like the original finish used by Ercol. Instead, we use hard wearing AC Lacquer on all pieces, which is what the original finish would have been, to ensure the most appropriate finish for the piece.