Robert Bonolo is a master of a dying art, and as he approaches retirement he fears his craft could soon vanish altogether.

The 78-year-old grandfather is the last remaining antique metal restorer in Western Australia and one of a few people in the country with the skill and experience required for the trade.

For decades, the oldest and most precious metal items in the state have been brought to Mr Bonolo's unassuming workshop in Perth's northern suburbs for repairs and maintenance.

Priceless items from around the state are repaired in Robert Bonolo's workshop. ( ABC News: James Carmody )

Over the years he has breathed life into the tired family heirlooms of billionaires, repaired the country's most coveted sporting trophies and maintained important WA heritage items.

Mr Bonolo says the metal antiques left his workshop looking brand new, but they often arrived in incredible states of disrepair.

"Occasionally customers drop them, or run them over with a car, or they've been kicked by a horse," he says.

Among the list of countless trophies and medals Mr Bonolo has restored are the AFL premiership cup, the Melbourne Cup, the Perth Cup, the Cox Plate and the handle of the America's Cup.

He takes particular pride in having worked on the premiership cups and trophies of almost every country football league in the state.

The WAFL premiership cup has been brought to his workshop twice by winning teams after lively grand final celebrations ended with the silver figurines snapping from the top.

One year the Sheffield Shield, domestic cricket's most coveted prize, was brought to Mr Bonolo in pieces on the morning of the final.

The repaired Sheffield Shield hours before the end of the match. ( Supplied )

"And so I repaired it, fused it together metal to metal, and then presented it, and the taxi was outside waiting for it to take it straight to the WACA," he says.

'I try and try until I've perfected it'

Mr Bonolo is also the go-to man for the statues and artefacts in countless churches. He is the only person in the state certified to restore the antique fittings in some heritage-listed buildings.

At Saints Constantine and Helen Greek Orthodox Church in Northbridge, he spent two weeks restoring the chandeliers alone.

Robert Bonolo restored all the fittings at the Greek Orthodox Church in Northbridge. ( ABC News: James Carmody )

Before that, the historic gold chandeliers had been a cause for distraction during services.

"The little wires that were there were all breaking and dropping down onto people's heads," he says.

Mr Bonolo mastered his craft after years of study and through decades of experience.

Many of the items Mr Bonolo repairs hold priceless sentimental value for their owners. ( ABC News: James Carmody )

"I've also had a lot of help from a lot of beautiful friends and I do ask a lot of questions," he says.

"And I do a lot of experiments at night time in my workshop, I try and try until I've perfected it."

Mr Bonolo is hoping to find the right person wanting to take up the trade, to whom he can pass on his skills.

Otherwise his customers will be forced to send their antiques interstate or overseas.

"I hope to teach somebody, I'm looking very hard and advertising, looking for a sensible young person that I can pass on the knowledge to," he says.