Furniture refinishing is a great home improvement idea because you can either have a totally new look for your furniture or give them a little brush-up to make them look new again.
This can save you tons of money because you will be using your existing furniture to improve your interiors instead of buying new ones. Refinishing wood furniture such as coffee tables, cabinets and chairs is quite simple.
For a more detailed look at how you can work on this project from start to finish, check out the following steps provided below.
Furniture Refinishing
Preparing the Furniture
Before you can successfully refinish your wood furniture, it is important that your first prepare the surface to give it a good, even finish. If your furniture has a paint finish, strip off the old paint first.
You can use paint removers suitable for wooden surfaces and these can be found in your local hardware store. Apply the paint remover as per instructions. On the other hand, if you want to get rid of your old varnish, there are likewise varnish removers that you can once again find in local hardware stores.
Once you have completely taken out the old paint or varnish, lightly sand the furniture to give it a smooth surface. Get rid of dust remnants with the use of a special woodworking cloth called a tack cloth.
Make sure that the surface is completely dry before applying your new coat of varnish.
Refinishing Process
With a natural bristle brush, apply your choice of varnish. It is best that you pour out a small amount of varnish into another container so you won’t contaminate the entire varnish as you continue to dip and brush your furniture.
Once you have dipped your brush into the varnish, shake off the excess varnish to avoid having droplets of varnish on your surface or the surrounding area. Follow the natural pattern of the wood as you apply your varnish.
Allow your first coating to dry off for the night. Check if the varnish has completely dried off the following day and then proceed to sand the surface. After sanding, you will again need to eliminate the dust remnants with the use of your tack cloth.
Apply a second coating as per instructed above. Depending on your specified finish, you may need to repeat the above process at least twice more.
Once you are content with your finish, and the varnish has completely dried off, you can further even out the finish with the use of a fine-grade steel wool.
