r/furniturerefinishing

I picked up some things from yard sales that I’d like to touch up and repaint, but I’m not sure what materials they are made of and if I’ll need to strip and prime both of them? Sanding the small cabinet isn’t doing anything, but I might have the wrong kind of tool.

I’ve refinished all my family heirlooms, so now onto an anonymous piece. Probably 1920-1940’s but solid cherry. Has #64 stamped above every lock (inside drawer) and #64 hand written inside the drawer panel and interior. Probably a mass produced reproduction. No other marks.

I inherited a cool chest of drawers. Structurally it’s in great condition. The surface has minor scuffs, and maybe heat marks and rings, a couple weird sticky patches that may come up with a good cleaning.

I got this from my aunt who inherited it from her parents who bought it at a PX in Panama in the 1940s.

Hi All, just stripped the top of this rosewood veneer dresser with some Benco B-4 and acetone. I am concerned about sanding as the veneer is super thin so any tips are appreciated, but also wondering what I should use to finish the top. Would an oil be appropriate? Thanks!

Edit: I am looking to match the drawers/sides, somewhat of a matte/satin with pretty open grain on close inspection

I decided I wanted an art deco kitchen and bespoke cabinets. The bottom cabinets are actually antique buffets. It also includes 2 radio cabinets for plant stands, and a modified waterfall vanity as a chair for my Dad. This was all great when I thought the contractor would be doing all of the work, but when I hadn't yet decided on the staining, he left me a couple of helpers for stripping and has checked out until that's done, and the colors are decided. The radios were easy, even with filler, bondo, and replacing a few pieces of veneer. I figured I'd learn my techniques on those, then I would be a complete master (not really). I figured I would have a pretty good idea, though. Then we started removing the finish on the other pieces. I have a gorgeous crotch mahogany buffet with the finish of a tank. So far we've used acetone, denatured alcohol, (which worked the best, liquid sandpaper, and actual sandpaper, first by hand, then with Festools. I decided to tackle the drawers with Strip ease chemical stripper first, then get a roadmap for a more efficient finish removal, so others could help.

I think I messed up. First, it was around 67 degrees when I started, but the temp dropped to around 50. I got one little bubble within 5 min. then nothing. I kept checking and doing swipe tests. I covered it with a trash bag pressed to it (the stripper was really thick) and put it in the sun. All told, I ended up letting the stripper sit for 3 hours. Good news, the veneer didn't let go. I was consulting with Gemini's AI throughout. At about the 2 hour mark, she suggested that I lightly craze the finish with 80 grit. I did so very lightly, then let it sit for another hour, checking every 10 to 15 minutes. I then cleaned it off with mineral spirits, took a picture for Gemini. She said to keep at it with the mineral spirits, and scrub lightly with my scotch pad (didn't have time to grab my 0000 steel wool) and brass scrubber. Some of the varnish came off, but this is what the drawer looks like now with a fresh wipe of mineral spirits. It's super dark and muddy without. Have I messed up? It's not down to the veneer, yet, but I don't want to make a problem worse by choosing to do the wrong thing. Ideas?

Hi everyone,

I'm refinishing a desk from the 1800s and accidentally sanded through the veneer on this drawer. When I first tried staining it, these weird patterns came through. I thought I hadn't sanded enough, but now I have almost sanded through the whole front piece and the pattern still appeared when I stained it a second time.

**Is there a way I can even out the coloring without painting/veneering this? (**This currently has 2 layers of gel stain, as I thought the gel might cover it better than oil.)

Previous home owners let dogs chew apart kitchen cabinet corners. Long term plan is a full kitchen remodel but I’m trying to think of a way to just add decorative trim for now. I feel like the metal corner covers wouldn’t look right so has anyone done this with subtle wood trim?

Picked up this old butlers style swing door that I am hoping to refinish to a sealed wood finish. First step I am looking to take out the glass… it looks like it is framed in with molding with pin nails. Are there certain pry tools that are small enough to work the best here? My usual brut force with a screwdriver or scraper probably isn’t the best bet haha.

Once the glass is out I need to rip about an inch off the top. From there I would sand (paint doesn’t look to thick so going this route instead of stripper) - would use a sponge type sand for the moldings, and then seal (few coats of water based poly). Glass back in and reframe with pin nails.

Sound like a plan? Anything I am missing? First time refinishing something like this.

Thanks in advance!!!

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to get a ballpark estimate before committing to a furniture repair, and I’d love some input.

I have a wooden bureau that’s in decent shape overall but needs some work:

• Water damage on the top and on two drawers (right side)

• A few nicks/surface wear throughout

• Three small wooden pieces missing from the handles (I still have 2 of them, but they need to be properly reattached — glue didn’t hold when I tried)

• One of the front legs is broken from when it was moved

I’m basically looking for a “full tune-up” to bring it back to life, not just a quick fix.

I did get one estimate already, and it came in at $4,000–$6,000. I understand good craftsmanship isn’t cheap, but I’m trying to figure out if that’s in the normal range or on the high end.

Does that quote sound reasonable for this kind of work? Or should I be getting a few more opinions?

Also, if you’ve had similar work done, was it worth it vs. replacing the piece?

TIA

Hi there. I have this old filling cabinet that I painted with modern master copper paint: it has real copper and zinc added. I thought I could heat it up like regular copper to bring out some beautiful reds and turquoises but it’s not happening with any heat I apply. Does anyone have any ideas on how to get this look?

Hey! This step stool is a family piece from my great grandmother’s home. I plan to refinish it but have absolutely no idea where to start. I’m a 22 year old women in an apartment, so please let me know where I can rent/buy the necessary things! The top is padded, but we are ok with taking it down to the metal and not repadding the top. I mainly need to know how to remove the rust from the unpainted metal. I’m thinking of leaving the painted steps and seat rim as they are to show the piece’s age, but let me know your thoughts!

I’m in the process of stripping the varnish, then sanding. I practives on one chair first, as this is my first time. I only have experience refinishing hardwood floors. This is the chair after stripping and first run with the orbital sander. Still need to go in and sand the harder to reach areas by hand. Any tips so far? I had posted in hear before and someone said to take the whole chair apart to do this job. I didn’t do this for this chair. Perhaps it would have made it easier, but I didn’t think it was too bad.

Oh, and what kind of wood is this? Oak?

I found this Ace-Hi dresser at a thrift store this weekend and am madly in love, but there’s some wear and tear I’d like to clean up - if I can do it without ruining the piece. I’ve done any kind of restoration or refinishing so I need advice!

There are some scratches and discoloration on the top - I don’t mind the discoloration but I’d really like to fix up the scratches. I’m hesitant to sand it at all because the stain (or lacquer?) is so pretty and I’m afraid I won’t be able to match it, but is that the best option?

Then one of the legs is broken - still sturdy and I don’t think it will get worse but is that fixable?

Aaaand the back is falling off - do I just staple it back on? Nail it?

Also looking for any maintenance tips! This is now the nicest thing I own and I’d really like to keep it that way haha.

Thanks friends!

Hello all, I decided to stain my kitchen cabinets, but I think I might've bitten off a little more than I can chew. My girlfriend posted in this subreddit a little while ago, and after looking through all the advice, I frankly don't know how to proceed. To everyone who commented on that previous post, thank you, we learned a lot from it. The current status of our kitchen is that some kitchen cabinet frames have been sanded with 80 grit sandpaper (pic #1). I was going to hit them with 120 next. I used Citristrip on some of the cabinet doors and drawer fronts (pic #2). I sanded down a trim piece with 80 grit, 120 grit, and 320 grit and then stained it, but I don't think it's as dark as it should be (pic #3). So, I'm at a loss for what to do next to ensure that everything looks at least somewhat consistent. Is that even possible at this point? I'll also upload a picture of what the cabinets I haven't touched look like (pic #4), and I'm pretty sure they are oak. I also have been afraid to start sanding the cabinet doors and molding because of how curved they are. Are there any tricks to sanding complicated pieces like this? (pic #5 and #6)

As I said before, I'm unsure of how I should proceed to keep the cabinets consistent and attractive after they've been stained. Any advice would help me out greatly. Thanks in advance.

Hi! I recently thrifted this cool old vanity from the salvation army store in town and I'm wondering how to go about sprucing it up. The wood finish seems mostly in good shape wotb a few scratches here and there but it could use a polish or varnish maybe... also the mirrors have pitting and staining behind or in them and I don't know how to repair it. The central mirror seems to be pushed in at the bottom a little on one side and I'd like to know if I can fix that or should I leave it.

any help would be appreciated and I'll try to post photos but sometimes they don't load.

thanks!