AFTER
BEFORE
A friend had been planning to bring this sideboard back to life before realizing it may be too large a project for their workspace. So, a little drive with the cargo trailer and BOOM; I’ve got myself another project squeezed into the workshop! At 66.5 inches long, and HEAVY…what a Beast!!
Although the drawers and doors functioned well, there was damage to address. The finish was generally worn and dinged, deep scratches in the top and front of the drawers, chipped & missing veneer around the base, and a large damaged area on the top that bubbled the veneer and stained beneath the finish. Feel free to zoom in on the above pics to see more details of the damage.
STEP 1: CLEAN!
Inside and out, this piece was pretty dingy.
FUSION TSP Alternative is our go-to cleaner for grimy things and this sideboard was scrubbed inside and out with it. The drawers were removed, the interior case vacuumed and spruced up with Shellac in order to reseal the wood and eliminate any musty smells that could be lurking.
Hardware, doors and drawers were also removed for sanding. Cleaning and prepping is a great time to really inspect the entire piece and assess repair needs. I kept a pad on hand to jot notes on this one!
STEP 2: REMOVE OLD FINISH
Since we have a fabulous Festool sanding system, we were able to sand indoors without worrying about dust, and with the cushioned insert attachment beneath the sandpaper, sanding the curves on these drawers was a breeze. Do not try this with a standard flat, hard sander, as you will flatten out the curves and if it’s veneer, sand through it.
Removing a finish in preparation for staining is time-intensive regardless of strategy (chemical stripper vs. mechanical sanding). When sanding thin wood veneer, you need to take extra care and go slow with finer grits in order to insure you do not damage the wood. Each drawer on this sideboard took approximately 30 minutes to sand. When you start adding that to the time needed for stripping the sides, top and doors…well, you can see why this type of restoration is a true commitment!
The payoff is illustrated below, the old finish in the first pic was obscuring the beauty of the grain revealed in the second pic.
Without the old grungy finish in the way, we could also see how beautifully laid out the front veneer was to complete grain line details.
Below is a great illustration of the refinishing stages a) original finish b) natural, raw wood after finish removed c) the last pic illustrates the actual natural color of the unstained mahogany wood, revealed with application of mineral spirits.
a b c
We then applied Fusion Natural SFO and additional coats of Fusion SFO in Golden Pine to tone down some of the natural red tones. Since Fusion SFO contains both stain and finishing sealer, we had no need to add additional polyurethane on top of this beautiful, water-resistant finish. Ultimately, we also decided to paint the frame and base Coal Black since the damage was so extensive that it required patching. The condition of the wood often drives our “paint it or stain it” decisions. We strongly believe that both paint and stain have their place in updating antique and vintage furniture.
We couldn’t wait for curing to stage this for pictures, we were so struck by how handsome this former Beast turned out!
Below are the FUSION Mineral Paint products we used to complete this project and the link to purchase them from our online store. You can also visit our brick and mortar locations in Rochester and Sodus, NY!
Decor trends go through phases; faux-painted furniture was all the rage in the 1960’s, and you can find lots of pieces painted from that time frame in mustard or avocado with this faux wood grained antiquing finish.
If you haven’t yet tried painting with milkpaint, it’s a must-try! It is capable of such a variety of finishes; a solid stain on raw wood, a solid rustic finish using binder, and a chippy farmhouse look – it’s so much fun! Lakeside Restoration and Vintage Matters will be offering milkpaint workshops in February, so keep an eye out on the events page on Facebook for your chance to play 
After all, I have spent many, many years behind a desk studying, reading, writing, working… and now, refinishing and reinventing them! Did I mention – I really love a good desk!
The Staalmeester synthetic blend brushes can be used with all types of paint, but perform particularly well with Fusion Mineral Paint. Their unique synthetic/natural bristle blend has a short china bristle, blended with a longer, silky synthetic bristle. The natural bristle ensures better paint absorption while the synthetic bristle allows for a smooth, even application with minimal to no brush strokes.
Perfect for furniture that has flat surfaces accentuated with moldings and beveled edges. Also good for cutting in.
window frames, ledges, doors and furniture. The pointed head makes it perfect for edging work and cutting in.
The oval shape makes it easy to shift between narrow and larger flat surfaces with the same brush. It can be used on small surfaces such as spindles and window frames, but also on larger areas found on dressers, vanities, cabinet doors, etc.
Suitable for use on difficult to reach surfaces, due to the curved head. Fabulous for painting the insides of bookshelves, cabinets, and the cubbies in vintage desks.
I had a set of Staalmeester brushes I have been wanting to try out, but frankly didn’t anticipate being wowed by any cutting edge paintbrush advances…I mean, it’s just a paintbrush, right?
She was so very tired looking but was a quality, solid wood piece and very well constructed. The whole set of provincial bedroom furniture came from the original owners so there were no loose joints or missing pieces to contend with.
cial headboards is to the right of the dresser (painted in the same Little Whale blue) – but that will be for another blog post – and once the other bed is finished!
I busted out of my rut by jumping into some FUSION Midnight Blue (OK, not so different from Coal Black, but it’s a start!) and a little reverse stencil staining on top of this great (heavy) oak side table.
I was initially planning on lightly sanding and re-painting the whole thing. I’m not sure what made me curious to experiment on the table leaf…perhaps it was the factory marking on the bottom of it indicating “Cherry” in barely legible scrawl. 
A couple of coats of deep, rich Coal Black and this desk took on a whole new look. Considering I was painting black over bright white, I was impressed by how thoroughly Fusion covered the surface. I lightly distressed the edges after the first coat and then painted over those areas with the second coat so the final look would suggest a hint of distress without being overt.