Category Archives: Ornaments

Restoring a treasured memento

By Vilnis Vesma

This commemorative plaque came in one Saturday with its paint scuffed and looking in a very sorry state. Could we restore it in time for the forthcoming birthday of ‘Gyp’, one of the two people it commemorated?



This was a job to take home because it was going to take a lot of time and care. Fortunately it went smoothly: the lettering was lightly engraved into the surface so after a coat of matching paint I was able to pick out the engraved letters with a sharp blade.

The stories behind the plaque were immensely sad and the job was of great personal importance to the person who brought it in, so I was pleased to be able to do it and complete it on time.

Urn repair

By Vilnis Vesma

CHANNELING KIRSTEN FROM “THE REPAIR SHOP”… I have become a total fan of epoxy putty. To deal with this hole in the side of a ceramic planter I used a steel-filled putty which bonds well to concrete and glass etc. Hard enough to sand down in 20 minutes, painted with a coat of B.I.N. primer (dry in 15 minutes), pattern loosely touched in with watercolours and sealed with a coat of metal lacquer to give it a glossy finish.

You can still see the join (as they say) but OK for a little over an hour’s work.