How To Refinish Furniture

Furniture refinishing is a good way to make an old piece look new if it’s worn out or too old-fashioned. Refinishing can also be used to restore items you have bought at the auction or make used furniture look brand new. Read on to learn how to do it.

Choosing And Preparing Furniture

1. Choose the right piece of furniture. Not all items are good candidates for refinishing. For instance, valuable antique items should be refinished by a specialist, as the refinishing process may damage it. To choose the right piece for refinishing, keep in mind the following advice:

• Pick furniture made of sturdy wood. Furniture made with high quality wood (that is easy to damage) or particle board is not a good option for refinishing.

2. Make a refinishing plan. Take a look at the furniture you have picked and make a plan of turning it into a perfect item for your dining room, front porch or kitchen.

3. Buy all the needed supplies. Now that you have the plan, you will need the following items:

• Protective equipment.
• Paint and/or finish stripper.
• Brushes for paint stripper.
• Sandpaper.
• Stain to your liking.
• Protective polyurethane coating for stain.

4. Remove all the hardware. Remove all the pulls, hinges and other metal parts to prepare the furniture for refinishing. These elements may get damaged by the chemicals used for stripping paint.

Stripping Old Paint And Finish

1. Prepare the work area. Chemicals used for stripping paint and finish are toxic, so it is of utmost importance to keep the room well-ventilated. For this reason, work in a garage, shed or outdoors.

2. Apply paint stripper. Dip the brush into the can with paint stripper and apply it to the surface of the furniture. If the piece of furniture is large, strip old paint section by section instead of stripping all of it at once. The stripper will remove the paint when applied to it.

3. Scrape away the paint. Use steel wool or scraper to remove both the paint and the stripper. The paint should come off in large sections.

4. Remove old finishing. When you have removed the paint, it is time to remove the finish lying under it. Take a brush and apply finish stripper, then use steel wool to scrape it. Let the furniture dry.

5. Sand the furniture. Sand the furniture thoroughly using a sanding machine or 100-grit sandpaper. To get even finish, you should sand all the sections the same way. Then you are to use sanding machine to ensure perfect smooth surface. Remove the dust with a cloth to prepare the piece for further refinishing.

Apply The Stain And Protective Coating

1. Apply the stain. Use a brush to coat the piece evenly with the stain you have chosen. Do not apply more stain to the same place, as each new stroke will make the hue darker.

2. Apply the protective coating. Take a brush and apply protective polyurethane coating to the surface. When done, let it dry completely.

3. Sand the furniture. Use sandpaper to sand the surface evenly as soon as the coating has dried. Sand all the sections in the same way to make them look even. If needed, you can apply one more layer of coating, let it dry and sand again. Repeat the process as many times as needed.

4. Attach the hardware back. Screw the pulls, hinges and other parts to dry and finished furniture.