How to Refinish Furniture

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Refinishing furniture is a great do-it-yourself project, through it can be messy. A chemical stripper is the quickest way to remove old finishes. Follow the directions and safety instructions on the container, and use a gel or paste on vertical surfaces.

      Apply stripper             Remove residue         Clean with solvent

Steps for stripping and refinishing furniture:

1. Apply liquid stripper to the old finish, and leave it on for the specified time.
2. After the finish is soft, scrap off the old finish with a putty knife.
3. Rub the surface down with steel wool or a plastic scouring pad dipped in the recommended solvent to remove the remaining finish and stripper.
4. Sand the furniture starting with coarse grit sandpaper and working up to a fine grit.
5. Apply a penetrating stain the piece. After a few minutes, wipe off any excess stain, and allow it to dry. Though they’re messy, rags give greater control than brushes when applying stain.
6. Topcoat with several coats of a clear, built-up finish such as polyurethane.

Sand stripped surface         Stain furniture               Finish furniture

For more information, see our article on The Proper Approach to Refinishing Old Furniture.

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One Comment on “How to Refinish Furniture”

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1. Wyola Says:
   May 13th, 2011 at 8:31 pm

   Danny,

   Thank very much for sharing your knowledge, I have some projects that I need done and wondering if you could help me finish the work. Recently I purchased a few Vintage/Antique pieces that I love but it needs work, mostly cosmetic and I wish to purchase a Sanding Machine but I need the one that can stand up to big or small job of sanding since I can’t afford to buy a few different machines.

   Please guide me to the best and affordable one with this project and many more await in the future.

   I thank you very much in advance, Wyola

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