How to refinish what you have...a VERY random blog post

Two blog posts in ONE day! That must be a record right?! **crickets***

Ok moving on.

My lovely sister in law mentioned that she has A LOT of furniture that needs redoing and wanted me to write a tutorial post on how to go about that. Were talking 80's ugly oak, metal, furniture with stickers on it, etc etc. She has 4 amazing kids so you can only imagine the beating some of the furniture has taken!

Ok here we go...

Wood-
Is it real or fake?
How to tell-Turn it around and look at the back of it. Do you see a thin overlay on top of particle board? Fake!
Do you see wood grain? Real!

Ok now that we know what kind of wood we have lets get to refinishing it.

What do we want to do with it? Do we want to strip it down to its bare nekid original form? Do we want to add amazing turquoise paint and distress it to high heaven? Decide that part first!

I am a BIG fan of sanding. It smooths out the surface...fixes imperfections...and makes the piece ready to look brand new again. If you plan on painting over something then usually just a light sanding on the entire piece is good enough...except for those deep dings and scratches which will need more love.  I use a cheap Ryobi Corner Cat palm sander from Home depot that I got about 3 years ago. It has a dust catcher on the back and I have used and abused that sander. Its still going strong and I'll use it until it breaks! I think it was about 30 bucks! If the piece just needs a light scuffing up before paint use 120 grit sandpaper all over and then wipe clean. If there are some severe dings use 80 grit and then 120 grit...and.wipe.clean.


Did you find out that you have fake wood? Particle board Ikea quality cheapo furnishings? Nothing wrong with that at all...you can still make them look pretty...just can't sand them!
In the case of particle board with a veneer overlay your BESTIE is gonna be primer. I love and use Zinser oil based primer. Apply it with a good quality brush (Purdy brushes are THE BEST and worth the small extra investment) and aim for see-through coverage. You want the whole outside of the piece to be covered...but not thickly. It'll give the paint something to grab on to and make the finish really even and durable. You can get Zinser at HD, Lowes, Ace, etc.

Are you wanting bare naked wood...maybe oiled to bring out the grain...but pretty natural? You are gonna hate me here...you are gonna have to strip...the paint that is! Stripping paint or varnish is an ICKY job. I detest...loathe...stripping furniture but sometimes its necessary! If you must strip...you will want to use Citristrip. Its bright orange...smells like...uh...Oranges...and is sold at HD or Lowes. It works great! Follow the directions on the back and watch your old nasty 80's finish bubble up before your very eyes! Make sure to invest also in a good metal scraper while your at the store. You will be doing LOTS of scraping. You might also want to grab a wire brush to remove hard to reach finish in grooves. After your finish has been totally stripped (this may require two or 3 applications of stripper) then you'll need to wash and dry your piece thoroughly (i usually leave it overnight to fully dry) and then sand as mentioned above.

Ok now that I mentioned how to prep your wood surface...now lets get to painting or staining.

Once you've primed your piece and let it dry (in the case of painting the wood) you'll want to choose a latex paint that you like ( I adore the oops section at HD) and paint your piece. If its a large piece you can either use a sponge roller...which are great but don't leave your finish very smooth...or a nice brush (enter your newly purchased Purdy brush). Brush on two coats of your paint color...letting it dry fully in between coats. Satin, semi gloss...doesn't really matter that much on furniture what kind you pick because you are going to seal it with a poly or wax after the paint is dry.

Now that your paint is dry you can distress it lightly, heavily, leave it alone, etc. I really like distressing because it tends to make you less irritated if natural dings happen to it later. I ALWAYS distress furniture that's gonna be around my kids...so that pretty much means I distress EVERYTHING. Only distress your piece in the places that would naturally get dinged. Aim for edges...corners...legs...etc. Never the low points of the piece...always the high points. Get it? Good!

Now time to seal that bad boy! I ADORE.POLY.SO.MUCH!! My favey fave brand is Minwax wipe on Poly (metal can). Satin or gloss finish is your choice. If you want a smooth as a baby's bum finish and wipeable durability then this guy will be your best friend! You apply it with a rag or paper towel...no brush strokes...lightly sand with 220 grit in between coats...and you have a finish that'll stand up to pretty much anything your kids can throw at it! Literally! I use poly on any piece that I stain or paint a darker color...but if you are painting a piece white SKIP poly and use a basic furniture wax. Poly can slightly yellow over time and it'll piss you off if your pretty white dresser looks yellow in six months! Apply wax with a cloth...let dry for about 20 mins..buff off with a new cloth and see a nice sheen. I usually apply at least 3 coats and the finish will be almost as durable as a poly coat!

Ok so say you want to stain a piece. Good for you!! ;)
Staining is fun...it makes wood pretty and I enjoy it.
My fave stain is Minwax Dark Walnut. In my humble opinion its the perfect dark color. Here's a piece where I used it...check it out....here....You apply it with a rag to bare wood....allow to sit on for a few mins...and wipe off gently. ( I really like using old soft t shirts for applying and wiping off stain. No lint and they apply only gentle pressure) After the first coat...if you like the darkness of it then you're done and need to let it cure (dry for about 24 hours)...if not then let it dry for a couple hours and apply another coat in the same way...wipe off. Once all the coats have been applied and wiped off you need to leave that baby alone for a while. Preferably in a not too cold place...so it can cure and the color can harden. Give it about 24 hours before you touch it again!
Once its cured you can poly it like I mentioned above. it'll look gorgeous.

Metal:

So lets say you got a killer deal on a SUPER ugly brass lamp from good will! The shape rocks...but the finish is blech! Spray paint is your friend! I use lots of different brands but Rustoleum is my fave. There are TONS of color options and it just goes on really pretty.
Here's your process....
1)Clean lamp thoroughly and dry
2)Put on a ginormous costco box out in  your yard away from anything that you don't want painted
3)Prime that sucker (use spray primer...rustoleum is the best)...aim for a very light coat...keep the can moving and spray from a ways back. Let fully dry.
4)Paint time! Spray it lightly. You do NOT want full coverage on your first...second...or even third coats. You want to apply short...light bursts of paint from a ways back and lightly dust the piece with paint...it'll minimize drips and make it look a lot more professional. If you are painting something super small then one can should do it. If its a piece like a bar cart or a metal shelf unit you will need at least 3 cans of spray paint. do yourself a favor and get double what you think you'll need...it'll save you trips back to the store and you'll use it later if you have leftovers.
5)Let dry fully in between all those coats
6)You can use a spray on clear coat to protect the finish if you want...but I usually skip this step if its a piece that won't be getting a lot of abuse. If it will then by all means use a clear coat!
7)Place in home and marvel at your craftiness!!!

Ok so I think this about covers the basics of painting wood, metal, particle board...if I missed anything please let me know in the comments section and I'll edit and include it! I hope this helps someone create furniture that they LOVE with the stuff that they already have!!!

Refinishing a veneer table...a tutorial

Hey there! I wanted to share a little project that I just completed with all of you. My next door neighbor came over the other day and mentioned how much she loved my dining table. Well I was looking to unload it and get a rectangular dining table that fit at least 6 chairs comfortably. She had the rectangular table that I was looking for....and I had the oval table that she was looking for. She suggested that we trade and I was all over it!! Her table was a rather typical farmhouse style table. Orange-ish wood laminate top over particle board, with solid wood white painted legs. I'm sure you can all picture what I'm talking about. It looks kinda like this...

Mine has slightly cooler legs and a way less cool/rustic/antique top. Even though the top was not solid wood the table is STURDY and has a leaf and I loved the size. I knew I wanted to re-stain the top of the table but didn't know how to go about that considering it is particle board with a VERY thin piece of veneer on top. Have any of you ever tried to research how to re-stain veneer? There is very little information out there! I found a great tutorial on Young house Love showing how to refinished a veneer dresser...but they cautioned against re-staining a piece of furniture that has a very thin veneer...which mine does. Well I figured I'd just go for it...I didn't have anything to lose since the table was free and I figured if it turned out horrible I could always just paint over it.
If you have a table like mine, and the top is a little worse for wear then assemble the following items and lets get this party started!!
You will need:
Paint stripper-I used Klean Strip but have used Citristrip before and liked it just as well.
Metal scraper-Mine is a husky brand scraper that I use ALL.THE.TIME. HD carries it.
Paint brush-I recommend digging out the old crusty brittle brush for this project...the stripper softens it and removes the built up gunk and afterwards you can wash it and it's usable again! Added bonus!!
Rubber gloves/mask-or you can be like me and work outside where there is lots of airflow...do use gloves though!
Wire brush
Power sander and 120 grit sandpaper
Steel wool-any grade will work. I used a fairly coarse kind.
Pre-stain conditioner-Made by Minwax and a VERY necessary step of this project!
Stain-My go to stain is always Minwax liquid stain in Dark Walnut.
Poly coat-I use Minwax wipe on poly in Satin. It works great and no brushes to clean.

Ok so the first step to this project is to strip your table top. You can sand off your finish on a solid wood table but with veneer that's really thin like mine, I recommend stripping instead....much gentler on your table top!
Apply the stripper in an even layer all over your table top and use your brush to make sure it gets the top totally covered. Make sure that the stripper gets into the grooves and around the edge. (make sure you do this in your garage with the door open, or outside so you get tons of airflow...strippers are NASTY smelling and toxic...you want to be safe with this stuff!!) After you've applied the stripper you want to let it sit on the top for about 20 mins. If you are in an area that is really hot you can apply wax paper in a single layer over the stripper to keep it from evaporating and getting sticky. I didn't do this step. After a few mins you will notice little bubbles starting to form and the finish will start to look clumpy and weird. That's good! After 20 mins or so has passed scrape off a little and see if it gets down to the bare wood. If so then you are good to go. Scrape off the old finish making sure to go in the direction of the wood grain. Put the gunky finish in a plastic grocery store bag as you scrape it off. Once your table top is totally scraped off then use your wire brush and scrub the grooves and edges with it. That'll remove any finish that's stuck in grooves or around the edges. If any of the finish is still clinging stubbornly to the table just add a little more stripper and repeat this step. Mine took 2 full coats of stripper! After the top is all clean wipe it down with an old towel soaked in hot water...really scrub the top and sides...use the wire brush in some soapy water if you have to. Make sure its really clean.
Once the top is fully dry you want to give it an even light sanding. I used 120 grit sandpaper but you could use 240 too and that would work great. I just used what I had. Sand lightly over the whole top and sides in the direction of the wood grain. Make sure not to let the sander sit on any area for too long as it'll wear down the veneer and the stain won't adhere correctly.
After the sanding step you want to wipe down the whole thing with a damp cloth and let it dry.
Next use a paper towel and apply a light coat of the pre-stain conditioner. This will prep the surface and make sure that the stain adhere's evenly! There is NOTHING worse than have a leopard spotted table. I have been there and it's not fun! After it's sat for a few mins wipe of any excess. 
Here comes the fun part...the stain! Slap on those rubber gloves...you'll need them!
Ok so there are several schools of thought on stain. You can either apply it with a cloth, a brush, or a sponge brush applicator. I used the sponge brush because it lays down an even amount of stain with each stroke and you can throw the sucker away afterwards! Love that part. :) Lightly apply a thin layer of stain over the whole top and sides of your table...make SURE you don't leave streaks and make sure to go in the direction of the wood grain!!! Let it sit for anywhere from 5-20 mins depending on how dark you want your table. I let it sit for about 15 mins. Lightly wipe off the stain with a clean lint free cloth. I used an old tee shirt. After that I let the table dry for a couple hours. After it was dry to the touch I applied a second coat of stain in the same way. I let this one sit for about 20 mins. Wipe off again. You could apply a 3rd layer if you want but I liked the color after the 2nd layer so I stopped there. Let table sit OVERNIGHT. Do.not.get.overly.impatient with this step...you'll thank me later!
Ok its the next day and your table has had overnight to cure! Sip your morning coffee and give your trusty can of Wipe on Poly a thorough shake! Slap on those "clean" rubber gloves again and grab another tee shirt (or if you have about 50 mate-less athletic socks like I do you can put one of those guys over your gloved hand and use it to apply the poly...kind of like a car wash mit! Works GREAT!) The back of the poly can says to apply a little to a cloth and rub on the table in a circular motion. You could do that if you want...but I'm impatient and I don't like all my poly absorbing into my cloth so I just dumped a small amount directly on to my table top and rubbed it around evenly with the athletic-sock-poly-applying-mit. Works even better that way! You will see a small amount of stain residue on your sock...that's ok. After the poly fully dries you want to rub the whole top lightly with steel wool to smooth the surface. You will see small scratches and you will have a momentary freak out moment thinking that they will ruin your finish. Don't freak. It'll be fine! Wipe down table top to remove dust and apply a second coat in the same way. Let dry...wipe even more lightly with steel wool and repeat with another coat. After your 3rd coat dries you shouldn't have to use any steel wool. If you use it in between the first and second coat then you normally have a VERY smooth surface by that point.
After your table is no longer fumy you can bring it inside. I wouldn't recommend using it for normal use until at least 24 hours after you finish it. It says on the can that it takes like 4 weeks to fully cure so you want to use it very gently for a while...or at least try!

Phew!! You guys still here?? Want to see my finished product?? I thought so!

Pretend you don't see the pile of randomness on my kitchen counter in the 2nd pic! So there ya have it! I'm gonna be touching up the white paint on the base of the table thanks to some unfortunate paint stripper drips...but that's gonna wait a bit. I adore my new table and I know you will adore yours too!!! Oh and this may seem obvious to some of you but make SURE when you refinish your table that you do the leaf too!!!!! I did most of my table before I remembered the leaf. There's nothing worse then forgetting and having everyone over on thanksgiving and being sheepish about your two tone table top! So do the leaf too ok? Ok! I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!!!

Linking up to these parties:
Twice owned Tuesday @ House of Grace