Refinishing Wood Furniture

Before the move, I had one last DIY project to finish up.  J's parents were nice enough to give us a Buffet and Hutch that they were no longer using.  J's dad built it himself, and it was a very nice piece of furniture.  However, lightly stained wood with enamel hardware isn't really our style.  For the cost of paint and new hardware, we have an awesome piece for our dining room.  In fact, it looks so good, her mom has threatened to take it back!

If you don't have parents donating furniture to you, thrift stores are a great place to find wooden pieces of furniture that are just in need of a little love.


Materials:  Piece of wooden furniture, Painters tape, Latex paint, Liquid deglosser/sander, latex paint brushes, drawer pulls

This what I started with:

1.  Clean your piece of furniture.  Using just soap and water will get all the dirt and anything else that might ruin your hard work.  Remove all the hardware and as many components of the furniture as you can (ie shelves, drawers, etc.)  Many parts of my piece of furniture could not be removed, but I was able to pull out the drawers and remove all the hardware.

2.  Liquid Sand the entire piece of furniture.  Get some liquid sanders on a cloth and generously rub down your piece of furniture.  I love liquid sander!  It works great if the piece of furniture you have doesn't have any spots that need serious sanding.  It roughs up the surface and removes gloss with minimal effort.  If the piece of furniture you're working on has some dents or drips, use regular sandpaper on those spots.  Let your liquid sander dry completely before moving on.

3.  Carefully apply painter's tape to any area on your piece of furniture that you don't want paint on.  I taped off the grate in the hutch so paint wouldn't get on it.  I also taped off the hinges on the cabinets so they wouldn't get paint on them.

4.  Paint your furniture.  I used Valspar Latex Enamel in Satin Black.  It was a great color, but slightly thicker than I would have liked.  Just like when spray painting, multiple thin coats is better than one thick coat.  When painting a larger area (like the top and sides), use long brush strokes.  The advantage of latex paint is that it dries very quickly.  By the time I was done with my first coat on other parts of the hutch or buffet, where I started was dry.  Keep adding coats until you're satisfied with the color.

A work in progress

Note:  My biggest pet peeve with this project was the clean-up!  Cleaning paint brushes is one of my least favorite things to do.  I used mineral spirits and soap and water for clean-up, but it was more work than I thought it should be.

5.  Let the paint dry.  Different people have different opinions on latex paint.  Some people will tell you that it will never completely dry while others will say they've never had a problem.  I was painting in warm and dry conditions, so I didn't really have a problem.  I let my piece dry for a few days before I did anything else to them.  I would rather be safe than sorry.

6.  Add the hardware.  I chose brushed nickel pulls because they matched the grating that is in the hutch.

This piece went from being old school country to modern industrial in two days.  Now, I have a piece of furniture that I can enjoy for many years to come!