This first All Things Home post, I've decided to share with you one of my most recent projects. My chiropractor gave me a super nice toy chest a few months back, but it didn't match Seth's room at all (he has dark wood furniture). Take a peek at the before:
It had great bones, solidly made, perfect size ... I loved everything about it except it's finish. At first I was thinking of just painting it, but then I thought of down the road when Seth gets bigger and rougher and he'll be throwing toys in and out of it ... I could already see the paint being scratched away. So I decided to strip the current sealer/stain off and re-stain it to match the rest of the furniture in Seth's room. It's definitely a whole-weekend project, but it's relatively simple and it turned a free piece of furniture into something Seth will have for years to come (and it looks great!). Keep in mind, this is the very first time I've ever done this. I had watched my mom refinish one or two pieces of furniture back when I was in elementary school, but that was many, many, many years ago. So if I can do it ... you definitely can. I knew I'd need stripper and new stain, so I just went down to Orchard Supply and read the back of the the bottles to see if there was other stuff I'd have to get too. Here's what you'll need:
-Chemical stripper (that's safe on wood)
-Mineral spirits (to clean off your paint brush ... water won't do the job and it's illegal to put these chemicals down the drain)
-Stain color of your choice (I ended up getting a stain with polyurathane in it ... polyurathane is a sealant that helps protect the wood ... make sure your stain has it or make sure to get a can of it to put on after your stain has dried)
-Metal can (to put the mineral spirits in to clean your brushes; I had to buy one, but you can use an old metal coffee can or something you have around your house)
-Paint brush
-Putty knife
-Chemical resistant plastic gloves
-Face mask
-Newspaper
Now here's what to do:
1. Make sure you're working outdoors, because the fumes can be intoxicating!
2. Lay out newspapers under your piece of furniture, and lift the piece off the ground using old paint cans or pots, etc. (so you can make sure you get down to the edges).
3. Clean the piece free of dirt and dust.
4. Apply the chemical stripper following the grain of the wood (following the directions on the can) with a paintbrush, scrape off with the putty knife.
5. Clean the piece so that all of the stripper is off.
6. Apply the stain with a paintbrush in the direction of the wood grain, making sure your brush strokes are even.
7. Allow to dry in between stain coats, but feel free to add as many layers of stain you want. The more coats you put on = the darker the finish.
8. If your stain didn't come with a polyurathane in it, apply it last and allow to dry.
Kind of a lot of steps, but they're all really easy! Here's my finished project:
(I made a cushion for the top too in a coordinating fabric to Seth's bedding)
Here are a few tips for first-timers:
-When stripping and staining, make sure to lay the piece down so the surface you're working on is parallel to the ground. I didn't do this, and ended up with drips which I didn't notice until after it had dried.
- If you do get drips, use extra fine steel wool (0000) to sand off the drips and restain that section.
-Make sure to use your gloves! That stripper burns pretty bad if it makes contact with your skin.
All in all, it was fun! Hope you are inspired!
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