Stripping & Refinishing

Monday, April 25, 2011



I didn't get a great "before" shot of this furniture that was given to me.  Can you believe it was FREE?! A friend from church brought it to me!

 This was my first refinishing project and I learned that you shouldn't let the citristrip dry on your piece!  However, I also learned that if you do, all you need to do is smear some more on it, wait a few minutes and start scraping it off.  After that it really did come off pretty easily.


After stripping, I used a hand sander to go over the entire piece before I primed it.  My plan was to completely strip the top so I could re-stain it and paint/distress the bottom.  Once I finished sanding I cleaned it off completely with a damp rag and let it dry.  Here they are ready for primer...

And here they are ready for the first coat of paint...



Finally, this is with the first coat of ivory paint...



I thought the tops looked great even without the new stain after the way they had looked when I got them. I'd even started a little distressing at this point.

Here is the side table with the final coat of dark walnut stain and wipe on poly.  I also used some of the stain to rub on the bottom half.


I'm not quite finished with the dresser yet, but this is what she looks like at this stage.  
I haven't decided if I like the handles black or if I want to paint them ivory and distress them.  But overall I am so excited that I tackled this project.  I thought it would be overwhelming but I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed the process of turning something "ugly" into this!

Now, I'm thinking I want to turn that headboard into something wonderful for my youngest daughters room...adding that to the "project" list!

I'm linking up to...










Domestically Speaking


My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia

15 comments:

  1. They look great!! I'm considering doing this with a craigslist table (I've yet to find, haha!). Thanks for the inspiration!
    Lindsay @ www.thatvillagehouse.blogspot.com

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  2. french provincial is my favorite style furniture. I can't believe someone just GAVE it to you! Great job :) I'd love for you to check out all the french pieces I've done and maybe share this on my WhateverWEDNESDAY link party.

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  3. What gorgeous furniture and someone even brought it to your door! You are doing a fabulous job, Clydia. Are you using a paint brush, or spraying?

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  4. I'm back to tell you that I found a table on Craigslist that I'll be working on... paint the base and restaining the top. Wish me luck!! :)

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  5. It's gorgeous, you did a fabulous job!
    Thanks for linking!
    XO

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  6. Wow, I can't believe you got all that for free! The dresser is absolutely gorgeous! You did an incredible job :)

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  7. Wow, wow and wow! Did you say free? Did you say delivered? The transformation is simply elegant and beautiful. Thanks for sharing I'm so glad I came to the party.

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  8. How lucky are you to get that great set for free?!?! I can't even find one on craigslist that nice. You did an awesome job refinishing it. Thanks for sharing.

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  9. love them! they turned out beautiful. thanks for sharing this at my party!

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  10. I love these!! I want them both really bad =)

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  11. oh my gosh both pieces look GREAT!!! Especially the dresser, WOWWWWWWW!!!!!!

    www.iheartmygluegun.com

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  12. what brand of stain did you use? I LOVE it!

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  13. These both look great! I've been dying to find a piece where I can strip and stain the top! Now I want to even more! You did a great job!

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  14. You did a great job!! They are beautiful!! I find transforming something ugly into something beautiful is so satisfying and the process is a lot like therapy :))
    Keep up the good work!! I love your blog and your projects!!
    Your newest follower,
    Michella

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