Long Beach Lamp Repair Shop: Antique Metal Finishing

Some lamps are not broken so much as tired. The brass has gone brown, the finish is flaking, and the wiring is a hazard waiting to happen. For that kind of lamp, a generic repair counter is not enough. Antique Metal Finishing, at 1201 Newport Ave in Long Beach, is a restoration shop that has worked on metal for more than 60 years. It is open Tuesday to Friday from 10:00am to 4:30pm and Saturday from 10:00am to 1:00pm. The shop phone is (562) 597-1636.

The shop describes itself as a family business since 1949 and says it has been operating for more than 60 years. That history matters for antique lighting, because the chandeliers and lamps that come in are often older than the shop. A shop that has handled metal for that long has seen cast brass, plated finishes and worn surfaces of every kind, and its listed services center on polishing, matching and replacing the parts that wear.

The business is not primarily a lamp store. It is a metal finishing house with a dedicated page for antique lighting restoration, which says that with its help your precious chandeliers or antique lamps can be saved. That promise is a good summary of the shop's pitch: restore, do not replace.

The restoration list is short and specific. It includes rewiring, refinishing, replacing missing parts, cleaning, matching and polishing. Together these cover the usual story of an old lamp: wiring that needs to be brought up to a safe standard, a surface that needs to look right again, and a missing finial, arm or bobeche that needs a match.

The shop also lists plating services, including gold, silver, bronze, copper and brass plating. Plating is how a worn surface is rebuilt, and it is the answer when polishing alone cannot bring back a chandelier whose finish has worn through to bare metal. The site also says the shop ships throughout the USA, though this article is about the walk-in route in Long Beach.

This is the right stop for a lamp or chandelier with sentimental or antique value, a damaged finish, or missing parts. A flea-market brass table lamp that merely needs a new cord can also be handled, but it is fair to say that simple socket swaps are not what the shop advertises. If your lamp is a plain modern fixture, a bulb store will be faster.

Bring pieces that have a story. A family chandelier that has hung in a dining room for decades, a Victorian oil lamp converted to electric, and a pair of mantel sconces from an estate sale all fit the shop's skills.

The site says the shop ships throughout the USA, which means collectors in other states send lamps to Long Beach. For Southern California owners, the walk-in route has a clear edge. You can show the piece, point out the damage and talk through the finish in person, and you avoid the risk of a fragile chandelier traveling in a box.

If you live farther away and decide to use the mail route anyway, photograph every angle before packing, wrap each arm and glass part separately, and insure the parcel for its full value.

The shop keeps Tuesday to Friday hours of 10:00am to 4:30pm and Saturday hours of 10:00am to 1:00pm. It is closed Sunday and Monday. Because the day ends early, plan to arrive by mid-afternoon on weekdays and before noon on Saturday if you want time to talk through the work.

No prices are published online, so the quote follows an in-person look at the piece. Pack the lamp carefully, bring every loose part you can find, and take photographs of the piece before you leave it so you have a record of its condition.

Plating is the part of the shop that most ordinary lamp stores cannot offer. A worn lamp base or chandelier arm may have lost its finish in spots, and no amount of polishing will bring it back. Plating rebuilds the surface with a fresh layer of metal, which can restore the look of brass, bronze, copper, silver or gold on pieces that would otherwise be retired.

The choice of metal changes the character of the finished lamp. Brass gives the familiar warm yellow of a library lamp, bronze reads darker and more traditional, and silver suits a formal candlestick or a mantel piece. Owners who are unsure should bring photographs of how the lamp originally looked and let the shop recommend the closest match.

Restoration work involves choices. Ask whether the finish should be polished and lacquered or left with some patina, since many collectors prefer a softer, aged look. Ask which parts will be replaced and whether matching parts can be sourced or made. Ask how the wiring will be done and whether the original socket types will be kept.

It also helps to decide your goal in advance. Some owners want a piece that looks new, while others want it clean and safe but still showing its age. Either choice is legitimate, and a clear statement of the goal lets the shop price the work correctly.

The shop is a short drive from Long Beach's east side, where Retro Row along 4th Street is the place to browse vintage clothes, records and cafes. The Art Theatre of Long Beach, a neighborhood cinema, is on the same street and is a pleasant evening stop after a drop-off.

The nearby parks are modest but welcome after a morning inside a workshop. Plan for a relaxed errand rather than a rush, since the best results in restoration come from patience, not speed.

Address: Antique Metal Finishing, 1201 Newport Ave, Long Beach, CA 90804.

Phone: (562) 597-1636.

Hours: Tuesday to Friday, 10:00am to 4:30pm, and Saturday, 10:00am to 1:00pm, per antique-metalfinishing.com. Closed Sunday and Monday.

History: family business since 1949, in operation for more than 60 years.

Services: antique lighting restoration, rewiring, refinishing, replacing missing parts, cleaning, matching, polishing and plating.

Plating: gold, silver, bronze, copper and brass.

Prices: not published online.