Preparing You Wood Project

Preparing Your Wood Project For Decorative Furniture Refinishing

No matter what material your furniture piece is made from, the quality of the finished project depends on time and effort put in before you start working on your project.  This means carefully going every inch of the piece with an expert eye.  You will need to make any necessary repairs, remove any hardware, disassemble the piece as much as you can, and remove the old finish.  Even though this can seem like a daunting task, the hard work and attention to detail is well worth it in the end.

Removing The Old Finish

The first step in preparing wood furniture is to disassemble it as much as possible.  This will make it easier to work with because it is less awkward in size and you can work on one piece at a time without accidentally touching the rest of the project.  Also, be sure to remove any hardware such as hinges, handles, and pulls.  This way, if you decide to reuse the original hardware, it will not be covered in paint or stain.  It will also give your furniture one complete finish throughout the entire piece.

Destressful furniture

Destressful furniture

Next, you will need to decide how to remove the finish from the product.  If the coating on the wood is relatively thin and the shape of the wood is straightforward.  You will find sanding to be the best option.  While wearing the right protective gear, use a heavy 80 or 100 grit sand paper on an orbital sander to bite through the lacquer.  Then, gradually change to a finer grit (120 followed by 150) with each pass until the finish has been removed.  You can fold a piece of 180-grit paper on the more intricate details.  A Dremel or detail tool also works well if you have a good steady hand.  When using a sander, you will need to watch very carefully to make sure that you do not sand too far or at the wrong angle. This can create a dip or change the overall shape of the piece and ruin the effect of the piece.

The other option is to use a chemical stripper product and a putty knife or scraper.  This is the fastest and easiest way to remove layers of thick paint or heavy clear lacquer.  It also works well on intricate carvings and shapes.  These products can be highly toxic and damaging to other materials, so you need to be extra careful and follow the directions closely.  Once all of the old finish has been removed, you will be able to see the condition the actual wood.

Repairing The Damage

The next step is to make any of the necessary repairs to your item.  Dents are the most common marks on well-used furniture, which are created when the item is dropped or something is hit against it.  Dents are characterized as an indentation where the wood has been pushed in rather than knocked out.  To lift the grains back up to their original position, place a cloth soaked with cold water over the dent and place a hot iron on the cloth to make steam.  After a few seconds, the dent should disappear.  For extremely large dents, insert a small-ringed nail or finish nail into the center of the dent.  Then, using a pair of pliers, pull the dent up.  The broken piece can then be sealed with glue and the edges coated with wood filler to hide the glue.

stylish wood cabinet

stylish wood cabinet

The best way to fix chips and scratches depends on the size of the mark.  Small scratches and tiny scratches can often be eliminated by sanding down a little farther until the white mark has disappeared.  Large chips and scratches will have to be filled with wood putty and sanded flush.  When using wood putty, you want to be sure to match the color of the putty to the color of the wood you are using.  If you can seem to find a match, you can mix different colors together.  To ensure you have the best match, test the product before you use it on your product; wood filler will often become darker and more pronounced once it dries.  Putty also sticks out underneath a stain because of its porous texture.

When reusing furniture, the corners and edges of a piece can often be chipped and broken and this can create serious problems.  If only a small piece is missing, you can mix wood filler with some glue and apply it to the damaged edge.  Once the putty has thoroughly dried, use a steady hand and the orbital sander to recreate the original shape.  The glue will cause the putty to stick to the wood better, but it will also make the putty harder and more durable.  You can also cut the area out in a square and gluing a scrap piece into it.  The other option you have is change the edge of your piece.  To do this, run across the edges of the piece with a router to put a decorative edge on it or glue a piece of decorative molding onto the sides.

Fixing veneer is a very different story.  If the veneer covering is damaged extensively, you will need to make a trip to the lumber store to purchase a roll of new veneer to replace it.  (By the way, if it is not pre-glued, you will need to get some of that too).  To remove the old veneer, heat it by using a rag soaked in cold water and laying it on the veneer.  You then heat the rag with an iron set on the highest setting.  Once it has been heated, the glue will soften and the idea is to use a putty knife to lift it off.  This does take a little more work than it sounds, but simply putting the new veneer over the old finish won’t last long before the whole thing begins to lift.

If the veneer is bubbled, you will need to glue it back down.  Use a fine crafting knife or carpet knife to cut along the middle of the bubble.  Then, while holding it open with the knife squish a little wood glue inside and weight it down with something flat and heavy until it dries.  Then, you can sand it off.

To fix a loose spindle, how you fix it will depend on how loose it is.  If it is only a little wobbly, take out the spindle and heavily coat the area that sits in the hole with wood glue until it squishes back to the top of the hole.  Then, carefully fill in around the spindle with wood putty and brace it into place with clamps or tightly tied string until it dries completely.

Once all of the repairs are finished, it is time to finish up by sanding everything one final time with 180-grit sandpaper.  As you sand watch the surface carefully for any slight surface scratches that go against the grain.  Although they do not seem important at the time, once you touch them with stain, they will stand out like a beacon.  The general rule of thumb is the darker the stain you use, the more prominent small surface marks will appear.  Use a piece of sand paper to sand the hard to reach area, just be sure to sand in the direction of the grain to prevent cross scratching.

Preparing the surface of your project can easily take up the most amount of time.  Remember, however, that any marks that are missed will show up through the finish and ruin the overall effect of the piece.  If you enjoy it and take pride in you work, it will show in the end result of your unique decorative furniture product.

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