Pew & Furniture Refurbishing and Refinishing

Servicing CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, & VT

Frequent dusting, periodic cleaning and polishing (usually every 6 months), and making minor repairs during routine care will keep your wood furniture and finish looking their best for years to come. Even with the best of care, eventually wood church pews will start to show some wear.  You can give your church or temple a dramatically refreshed look by bringing new life to the pews finish. A quality pew refinishing job can make your old pews look like new again. If your pews do not need to be removed or the finish completely stripped, we can refinish and restore your pews on-site. This means a quicker turn-around time and less cost to your church.

Refinish Wood Pews

Artech’s crew can refurbish pews on-site with minimal disruption to your services.  Pews would be commercially cleaned, touch-ups performed, and then polyurethane top coats applied to seal the finish.

Minor repairs such as fixing damaged or missing decorative moldings and seat end caps or updates such as replacing or adding kneelers and hymn book racks can be performed at this time.

Almost anytime is a good time to refinish or reupholster your pews onsite with minimal interruption to your church attendance.

What is the difference between pew refurbishing versus pew refinishing?

Wood refurbishing is budget-friendly way of refreshing your existing pews and/or chairs which can be accomplished on-site at your Church or Temple:

  • Protect work area, leaving pews and chairs in place. 
  • Deep scratches and surface blemishes are filled and/or sanded to become less noticeable.
  • Surfaces are lightly sanded and new stain is blended in to the existing finish.
  • Scuff sanding is done.
  • A protective top coat finish is applied to the pews.

Refurbishing is a good alternative to refinishing if the pews are in good condition and/or have attached upholstery that needs to be preserved or will be reupholstered following refurbishment.  Refurbishing is not recommended if there is a desire or requirement to change the stain color. 

Optional services such as repairing, reinforcing, or replacing damaged parts are available for an additional fee.  Ask your Artech consultant for a budget for more extensive work.


Refinishing is typically performed off-site and is ideal if a color change is specified or if the pews require extensive repairs.

  • Make a basic floorplan.
  • Label all pews.
  • Loosen pews from floor and load to trucks.
  • Transport to Artech’s shop for refinishing.
  • Fully strip all pews.
  • Make necessary repairs.
  • Apply two coats of premium stain, in selected color, with light sanding between coats.
  • Apply a premium protective top coat finish.
  • Transport pews back to the Church or Temple.
  • Reinstall to previous locations, per plan.


A full refinishing can cost roughly 2/3 of the price of new pews.  This option is ideal if the existing pews are all wood, antique, or have custom features.  Advise your Artech consultant if you would like a comparison budget and recommendation of refinishing vs. new pews.

Before

After

Artech will evaluate your existing pews and help you understand how to make them look like they just came off the showroom floor. We will also examine existing traffic flow and suggest different ways to open up walkways or increase leg-room.

Refurbish Church Pews

When you want to change the color of your pews, or if major repairs need to happen, we will refurbish them offsite.  Refurbishing could involve cleaning, repainting or refinishing, restoring & repairing, or converting from wood to upholstered pews. Artech offers a full line of paint and stain colors, and will match the new pew cushion fabric to the carpet.  Kneelers can be replaced on the original pews with modern kneelers that are lighter, stronger and quieter than the older styles.

If your pews need to be stripped before refinishing, such as to change colors, the work will be completed off-site at our facility.  Artech’s crew understands the complexities of moving pews out and then back in while keeping your carpet in pristine condition. (When originally installed, your pews were aligned and leveled to a specific place on the floor. They must be labeled and carefully loosened before they are refinished and returned to the same spot – so they fit perfectly.)

Frequently, when refurbishing pews, there are accent items that need repair or replacing.  The custom wood craftsman that Artech relies on can match accent items that have broken or are missing, so the finished pew looks as good as new.

Before

During

Add Comfort to Your Old Wood Pews with New Upholstery

In some cases, a wood pew may be in such poor shape or so uncomfortable that simply refinishing is not advisable. In such a case, we recommend converting a wood pew to an upholstered pew.