One of the best ways to upgrade the decor of the home is to add a glass lamp shade. Maintaining the lamp shade appearance over time requires timely preventative measures as well as restorative measures over the life-time of the lamp. In the short term, lamps get dirty from oil and dirt when handled. In addition, little pieces of glass can flake or chip off when the shade is not handled properly. For small damages like this, the owner can try to do the repair him or herself. But for more severe damage like the breaking-off of large pieces or cracks that run across, the skills of an expert restorer are necessary.
For low intensity cleaning, make sure to dust off the shade regularly with a duster. Sconce shades on walls get very dusty. This can be done on a weekly basis as part of your regular house-hold activities. Glass can also be cleaned specially with a glass cleanser, although it is important to check that the cleanser does not react with any non-glass pieces that may be part of the shade. Tiffany-style shades are usually made of glass framed in a metallic structure that can react with some cleaning solvents.
If the glass has many etchings on the surface it may be hard to get into the crevice between etchings. In this case one can use a soft brush to get at the hard-to-reach areas. Other parts that are hard to clean such as the base of the lamp can be removed by disassembly. After everything is cleaned let the glass lamp shade dry out
Minor damage to the glass lamp shade in the form of chips, which usually happen near the lip, rim or edge, can be repaired in two different ways. The simplest way is to smooth away the chip which reduces its visibility as well as makes the glass lamp shade safer to handle as a smoothed chip cannot cut the skin accidentally. However, to eliminate the visibility of the chip entails gluing or cementing it back into place. This may require an expert repairer for a good job.
More extensive damage to the shade, for example shattering into several pieces, will need the help of an expert. An expert restorer can sometimes put a broken glass lamp shade back together with glue and make the cracks invisible. But this is not always possible.
Finally, if perfect repair is desired but no possible, one can ask for a replacement glass lamp shade made in the same style or mimicked down to the last detail. A glass maker's skills is required to blow and spin the glass. He or she must also have familiarity with coloring glass and recreating any surface trip and decoration.
For low intensity cleaning, make sure to dust off the shade regularly with a duster. Sconce shades on walls get very dusty. This can be done on a weekly basis as part of your regular house-hold activities. Glass can also be cleaned specially with a glass cleanser, although it is important to check that the cleanser does not react with any non-glass pieces that may be part of the shade. Tiffany-style shades are usually made of glass framed in a metallic structure that can react with some cleaning solvents.
If the glass has many etchings on the surface it may be hard to get into the crevice between etchings. In this case one can use a soft brush to get at the hard-to-reach areas. Other parts that are hard to clean such as the base of the lamp can be removed by disassembly. After everything is cleaned let the glass lamp shade dry out
Minor damage to the glass lamp shade in the form of chips, which usually happen near the lip, rim or edge, can be repaired in two different ways. The simplest way is to smooth away the chip which reduces its visibility as well as makes the glass lamp shade safer to handle as a smoothed chip cannot cut the skin accidentally. However, to eliminate the visibility of the chip entails gluing or cementing it back into place. This may require an expert repairer for a good job.
More extensive damage to the shade, for example shattering into several pieces, will need the help of an expert. An expert restorer can sometimes put a broken glass lamp shade back together with glue and make the cracks invisible. But this is not always possible.
Finally, if perfect repair is desired but no possible, one can ask for a replacement glass lamp shade made in the same style or mimicked down to the last detail. A glass maker's skills is required to blow and spin the glass. He or she must also have familiarity with coloring glass and recreating any surface trip and decoration.
