Simple and Easy Techniques for Refinishing Furniture

Have a piece of furniture that you love but looks a little drab and run down because of the finish? You can easily turn that drab piece of furniture to its original beauty. Here are some simple and easy techniques that you can do yourself to refinish that piece of furniture and bring it back to life.

Cutting the fuzz

For fine antiques, you will want to use a methylene chloride-base stripper instead of using one of the newer and safer strippers. Most often the water in these strippers can make the wood fibers fuzz up, which can add another sanding step and it may cause delicate veneers to delaminate.

Choosing wisely

When you're purchasing a methylene chloride stripper, you want to choose the product that contains the most methylene chloride. The reason for this is because most manufacturers usually don't list ingredients by percentages on the can and means that you will have to compare weights. You can easily do this by holding a same size can in each hand, and simply go with the one that feels heaviest.

Furniture refinisher

Before you decide to resort to time-consuming strippers, try a furniture refinisher first. The reason is because refinishers work by dissolving a thin layer of existing finish and replacing it with a film of fresh finish, making it a lot easier to refurnish. They also preserve the patina of the piece of furniture, as well as your time and money, and who doesn't want to save time and money?

Prevent gouging

Because most strippers tend to soften the wood, you can round off the sharp corners of the wood with a putty knife with a file before using it to remove the stripper, helping to prevent any gouging of the wood keeping it protected and beautiful.

Use a spatula

By substituting a plastic spatula for a metal scraper when removing softened finish, you can prevent scratching and scraping of the wood because of the flat, flexible blade. Just make sure when you are removing the softened finish that you hold the spatula upside down and push it away from you for the best results.

Use cooking spray

If you occasionally lubricate the blade of a putty knife with a spray of nonstick cooking spray, it will make the sticky, gooey stripper scrapings just slide right off with ease.

Handy little brush

To make a handy little brush to help work stripper into tight spots and to scour off the dissolved finish afterward, you can saw off a two-row wide section of a stiff bristle scrub brush. This would be easier than trying to work with a wider brush.

Clean with shavings

You can easily clean loosened finish from carvings and other irregular surfaces with a handful of planer or jointer shaving, you can purchase these for free at most woodshops. The stripper sludge will grab onto the shavings, and will make it easier to remove.

Keep it clean

When refinishing tables, chairs, or any piece of furniture with legs, to help keep things clean you can place a disposable pie pan under each leg. The pan will catch the stripper while it drips as well as the softened finish as you scrape it off.

Use netting

After finishing a stripper job, you can use some nylon netting from produce bags that you buy at the supermarket. Use the netting to help clean up around the legs and spindles.

Spot remover

To treat a large area of water damage on a piece of furniture, you can smear on a generous coat of petroleum jelly and then let it stand overnight. When you wipe the surface clean, the finish should be rejuvenated.

Remove white water spots

You don't need to refinish an entire piece of furniture just to remove white water spots. All you need to do is rub a paper towel that is dipped in cigarette ashes gently over the damaged areas, and the white water spots should just disappear.

Stay safe with cloth

When you are stripping paint with a heat gun, it is safer to wear cloth gardening gloves rather than rubber or plastic gloves. The hot streams of air, along with the molten paint will easily damage or burn through the plastic or rubber gloves damaging the skin.

Resources: 1001 Do-it-Yourself Hints & Tips