How to Refinish Furniture & a Damaged Veneer China Cabinet

Refinishing furniture can restore its luster.

Over time, the finish of your furniture takes a beating. It can begin to fade from exposure to sunlight, get scratched or dinged by other objects and begin to look dingy from dirt, dust or grease accumulating. While cleaning the furniture and touching it up can help improve its appearance, refinishing the furniture can make it look like new again. When refinishing veneer, you need to complete the project somewhat differently than a standard wood piece.

Things You'll Need

• Dropcloth
• Screwdriver
• Paint stripper
• Thick bristle brush
• Scraper
• Putty knife
• Toothbrush
• Cleanser with mineral spirit base
• Wood putty
• Fine-grit sandpaper
• Primer
• Paint brush
• Paint
• Thick paste finisher remover
• Fine putty knife
• Liquid stripper
• Steel wool
• Lacquer thinner
• Wood glue
• 220-grit sandpaper
• Sander
• Rag
• Stain
• Semi-gloss clear coat
• Finishing wax
• Super-fine steel wool

Instructions

Refinshing Furniture

1. Take the furniture outside to a well-ventilated area and place it on a drop-cloth. Remove the doors and hardware, like hinges and doorknobs.

2. Apply a thick coat of paint stripper to the wood with a stiff bristle brush. Allow the stripper to interact with the paint for the time specified in the instructions.

3. Scrape the paint off of the wood. Use a scraper or putty knife on large, flat areas and a toothbrush in the corners and on any intricate designs in the wood. Add more paint stripper if necessary. Make sure that you don't dig into the wood when you're scraping off the paint.

4. Scrub the wood with a cleanser that has a mineral spirit base. Allow it to dry.

5. Patch any nicks or gashes in the wood with wood putty. Sand down any rough patches with fine-grit sandpaper.

6. Paint the wood with a coat of primer. Use long, sweeping strokes to cover about four inches of wood at a time. Allow it to dry.

7. Paint the wood with the paint color of your choice. Use long, sweeping strokes to cover about four inches of wood at a time. Allow it to dry. Add a second coat or touch-up spots as needed.

8. Put the hardware and doors back on the furniture.

Refinishing Veneer China Cabinet

1. Take the furniture outside to a well-ventilated area and place it on a drop-cloth. Remove the doors and hardware like hinges and doorknobs.

2. Brush thick paste finisher remover onto the cabinet. Allow the finisher remover time to get the finish to begin bubbling up.

3. Scrape up the finish with a wide putty knife, working in the same direction as the grain. Do not dig into the wood.

4. Cover the cabinet with liquid stripper and scrape away any remaining finish with steel wool.

5. Wipe down the cabinet with steel wool dipped in lacquer thinner to remove the residue from the chemical strippers.

6. Repair any areas where the veneer is sticking up by applying wood glue to the underlying wood and pressing the veneer down on it.

7. Sand the surface of the veneer with 220-grit sandpaper. Sand enough to smooth any rough spots, but don't go too deep as the veneer layer is thin. Wipe the surface down to remove the dust from sanding.

8. Stain the veneer by brushing the stain onto the cabinet. Use long, sweeping strokes to cover about 4 inches of wood at a time, going in the same direction as the grain. Allow it to dry for 24 hours.

9. Paint the cabinet with a coat of semi-gloss clear coat, working with the grain. Allow it to dry, then sand the cabinet with fine-grit sandpaper and wipe it down with a dry rag to remove dust. Repeat this two more times.

10. Rub finishing wax on the cabinet with super-fine steel wool.

11. Buff the wax with a soft rag after you have let the wax dry for a few minutes.

References

• AZ Woodman: DIY Tutorial--How to Strip Paint Off Wood
• Refinish Wizard: How to Strip Wood Furniture
• Ron Hazelton: How to Refinish a Table