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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;blooey, post: 3381000, member: 12007&quot;]Lovely box. If I were you, I would leave it alone.</p><p><br /></p><p>Boulle work like this is not easy to restore/repair effectively unless you are very familiar with the materials. The shell is wafer thin so in a case where the shell has lifted and can be pressed back into position without damage, it is possible to &quot;re-stick&quot; it.</p><p><br /></p><p>This has to be done very gingerly however, as getting too much glue and/or not getting intimate contact with the wooden substrate will make more of a mess than what you started with. If you can get under the bubbled or loose section with a pin or needle, take some thin Krazy glue and place a drip on a work surface, like an old plate. Use a needle to lift a tiny amount and plop it behind the loose section. Then, using a pencil eraser end as a pusher, press the shell for about 20 seconds. Do not get ANY glue on the front as it will disfigure the finish.</p><p><br /></p><p>If the brass is loose, it too can be secured, but with the brass I would use a slower curing glue like carpenter&#039;s glue and clamp. Again, <b>very</b> little glue is needed - too much will mess up the job. If the brass is bent or distorted I would not try to re-stick it, that usually fails and the failed attempts can be quite noticeable.</p><p><br /></p><p>Cracks are not always &quot;cracks&quot; but seams where shell has been pieced together during manufacture. As far as bringing the surface up to polish and removing the dullness of the shell, well, not easy. I haven&#039;t tried the method you mention but all my efforts to restore the sheen from shell that has greyed have not been successful so I can offer no advice on that.</p><p><br /></p><p>Replacing losses can best be accomplished by buying an old broken boulle clock stand or some other article and using bits of the salvaged shell to repair your piece.</p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway, from the photos you supplied I can&#039;t really see any major issues with the piece and in my opinion, probably best left alone.</p><p><br /></p><p>oh and BTW. The&nbsp; f&#039;t after SMAL or whatever stands for &quot;Fecit&quot; = made or made by[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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