Easy Furniture Restoration…I Mean It !

Hastypearl

How many times have you seen a piece of wood grained vintage furniture

and thought it was in too terrible a shape, but you still wanted it?

I can tell you that for me…it’s been a LOT!

A while back, I enjoyed having a space at a local

antique shop and had the Complete Pleasure of attending auctions

to purchase items to fill that space.

(Learning how to buy at auction should be an entire posting!)

Some purchases required more work than others,

but often times, they just needed a good scrub and a little freshening up.

You will be looking for pieces to restore, or at pieces already in your home,

that could benefit from a little  sparkle!

Here is how I did it.

You will be amazed at how simple it can be.

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While there are Plenty of products available,

Howards, Restor -A-Finish, is one of my favorites.

I found it at a local Home Improvement store,

and you can check and see if yours has it.

You need to select a color that suits your piece.

I own a couple of colors, that I find to be useful on almost every wood.

I’ll show you what I did with this fantastic Vintage Dolls Rocking Chair,

that I recently sold at Hastypearl Etsy.

                                                          

Most of these products have great oils in them, with some added color.

They just seem to make the old dried wood, sing.

You’ll see!

                                                          

1. (See how dry the wood looks under the seat?)
3.     First, give your piece, a good cleaning, with a damp rag.

I usually put a tiny drop of soap on my rag.

Don’t get it super wet.

The idea, is just to get rid of the surface dirt.

Never underestimate the value of an old paint brush or toothbrush,

to get in those tiny places.

I’ve actually purchased furniture that had mud dauber nests built on them!

Anything that has been stored in a garage, attic or workspace

can have had creatures happily living on your piece 🙂

                                                          

(Now, look how rich the wood looks under the seat)

After the wood is good and dry,

just wipe the product on with an old clean rag.

I wear plastic gloves.

They are cheap and keep your hands from getting stain on them.

Apply as many coats as you like, until you are happy with the color.

Its remarkable how easy it is to transform something from hopeless,

to completely beautiful!

This handmade rocking chair just needed one coat

and it looked like Grandpa had just made it.

                                                         

Having this knowledge, will get you a piece, that many will pass over.

This rocking chair had been listed less than 24 hours,

when a doll collector snatched it right up from Hastypearl Etsy!

I hope you will give this a try.

I promise, you will begin to look at vintage purchases completely different once you do!

I hope you will let me know how your restoration projects go!

Im so happy that you stopped by…

Im always up to something and I love sharing my secrets ;).

I hope that you will sign up to receive an email notice for when I post next!

Best as always…Laura aka Hastypearl