Rescued Desk {tutorial}

Last spring I was on the hunt for a dresser to refinish for one of our spare bedrooms. I have yet to find a dresser I want to refinish, and have actually given up my hunt for now. However, one day on craigslist I found a dresser I thought would be worth looking at. Based on the add they seemed fairly close to where we live. So my husband gladly took me to look at the dresser.

It turned out they lived like an hour away, in the middle of nowhere and the dresser was a bust. They did have a desk that I offered her $20 for.  I didn't really need a desk, but I wanted more experience refinishing furniture. Plus, there was no way I was going to make my Husband drive me that far and leave empty handed. We rescued a desk to refinish.

I like how the desk turned out, but this project was a little questionable at first.

The desk had like 4-5 different layers of paint that were all chipping at different layers.  I needed to strip all the layers away to have a smooth surface to paint on. After attempting to strip the paint, which took forever, I decided to use an orbital sander instead to remove all the layers of paint. Here is how I refinished my desk:

Supplies:

Orbital sander with medium and fine sandpaper

Sandpaper block/cube

Steel wool for a fine finish

Kiltz spray primer

Foam roller

Paint of your choosing

Minewax finishing wax

Mask and protective eye wear

Use medium sandpaper first with your orbital sander to remove all the layers of paint (If you have a piece of furniture that already has a smooth surface and you are going to repaint but not stain the wood; then all you need to do is remove the "shine" off the paint). Once all your paint is removed then use fine sandpaper to give yourself a smooth finish. You will want to wear your mask and protective eye wear during these steps because there is so much dust.

Gently rub the surface with steel wool and spray the entire wood surface you will be painting with primer. I like to use spray primer because it goes on quickly and also dries quickly. Once your primer is dry, rub your surface with steel wool again. By "roughing-up" your surface a little bit  it will allow your paint to adhere better and prevent peeling or chipping later.

I used a quart size of Behr paint that I had color matched from an old paint chip. I am not sure what the actual color is, but I used an eggshell finish. I don't really like my refinished furniture to be a high gloss.

Start painting your furniture. I like to use a foam roller because I have pretty poor painting skills and a foam roller gives you a smooth surface. I have also found that it is best to paint your edges with a paint brush then use the foam roller on your main surface. Allow each layer to dry before moving onto the next and rub your surface with steel wool in between each paint layer. I did four thin layers of paint.

Next, I distressed the corners and high traffic areas of the wood using a sand paper block. I use to be anxious about distressing my beautiful new paint job, but you really can't mess this step up: it's all a personal preference to distress as much  or as little as you want. One last time, use your steel wool on your surface then cover with minewax finishing wax. All you do is rub the wax on with an old shirt, wait 10 minutes and rub the wax off.

Last, I added my new hardware from the Home Depot.

Right now the desk is sitting in one of our spare bedrooms. My spare bedrooms have very little decor. I don't really want to spend the money to decorate rooms that I only use to fold my laundry. Plus, all our family lives within 30 minutes of us so we rarely have overnight guests. Someday, I will incorporate the desk into the decor of the room.

I also refinished this chair. I got it at a garage sale this summer for one whole dollar! It was originally dark wood with a black pleather seat cushion!



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