1.  A reliable restorer should be easy to find by going to Google and typing "oil painting restoration".  Be sure to put oil painting restoration in quotation marks.

2.   Do not expect a firm quote over the phone. Sometimes a quote can be given from an E-mailed image. 

3.   Don't look for a cheap restorer. 

4.   Look for a restorer with fair prices.  Remember restoration is not only  tedious and time consuming, but that you are commissioning the time of an artist.  Restoration materials are also quite costly.

5. One can learn to be many things, an artist is not one of them.

6.  Make sure your restorer has a website and E-mail address in addition to a cell phone number which he/she is willing to share with you.

7.  Whether they have their own studio, a booth at antique shows, a space at an antique market, they should have a public exposure that gives them accountability.

8.  You should expect to pay for half of the restoration in advance and not a penny more.

9.  Get a completion date written on the recipt for your down payment.

10.  If you are within 10 to 30 miles of the restorer, they should be willing to pick-up and deliver to your home or business at no charge.  Many restorers will also be willing to meet you at a Starbuck, etc. if you are not comfortable with them coming to your home or business and you do not want to go to  their studio, booth, or antique mall space.

11. If you are shipping your painting to them, you should enclose your downpayment in an envelope attached lightly to the back of the painting.

12.  If you are shipping your painting out of state, you should be prepared to pay for shipping both ways if the painting is too large for priority mail.  The restorer should give you a 15% discount on the restoration to reimburse you for part of the shipping.

13. If the painting will go Priority Mail, you should pay for the shipping to the restorer. He/she should pay for the shipping back to you.

14. The restorer has spent many hours on your painting.  Send a check for the balance of what you owe them immediately when you receive the completed job and are satisfied with it.