Stripping painted furniture to restore its wood finish takes patience and the right tools.
If you own a piece of high-quality painted furniture you'd like to restore, it's possible to transform it for a few hundred dollars less than a professional restorer would charge. But according to Don Maxwell, owner of Maxwell's Furniture Restoration located in Mountainside, New Jersey, it's a painstaking and messy process. It requires patience and a willingness to spend the necessary time (a couple of days) to turn your ugly duckling into a swan. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
Preparation
1. Remove knobs, pulls and hinges. Label or number them and take digital photos to prevent problems reassembling afterward.
2. If the furniture is damaged, repair it with carpenter's glue and clamps. Let it dry overnight.
3. Assemble protective goggles, gloves, apron and respirator. Find a place to work outdoors or in a ventilated garage. Place cardboard, covered with layers of newspaper, under the furniture.
Stripping, Sanding and Staining
4. Evenly apply a thick coat of medium-fast stripper, containing a small amount of chemicals, with a paintbrush. Or use a slow-acting, nontoxic, water-based stripper.
5. After 1/2 hour (or 18 to 24 hours for slow stripper) paint should bubble and wrinkle. Use a scraper to lightly lift off the paint. If it doesn't yield easily, apply a second coat of stripper over the first. Wait another 30 minutes.
6. Remove sludge from flat areas with a scraper. Use scraping tools, such as cut paintbrushes, sanding cord or a pointed dowel, to remove paint from grooves, indentations and other problem surfaces. Reapply stripper to these areas if necessary.
7. Rinse off the remaining stripper with a commercially available wash or denatured alcohol. Let furniture dry thoroughly. Rub with 0000 steel wool. Sand very lightly with a power sander and 100-grit sandpaper. Hand sand with a sanding block.
8. Rub with a tack cloth to eliminate wood dust. Brush stain on evenly and let dry.
Tags: painted furniture
