How to Restore Furniture
- 1). Lay the dropcloth over your work area. Make sure the area is ventilated, with room to spread everything out. Put on your goggles and disposable gloves.
- 2). Coat the furniture piece with paint stripper, using a small paintbrush. Work one section at a time. Follow the label directions regarding how long to let the stripper sit before scraping.
- 3). Start scraping away the paint with your putty knife. Let the stripper sit for a few more minutes if the paint doesn't come off easily. Otherwise, keep scraping until you've completed your entire piece, exposing the wood underneath and leaving only traces of paint.
- 4). Apply lacquer thinner to a rag. Wipe down the entire piece of furniture thoroughly with the rag to remove the remaining traces of the paint stripper. Let the piece air-dry.
- 5). Sand the furniture's surface, working in sections, starting with the steel wool, followed by your coarse sandpaper. Sand the piece with fine sandpaper until the piece is as smooth as you can make it.
- 6). Wipe the piece down with a dry cloth to remove any sanding particles and get it ready for staining.
- 7). Apply your stain to the furniture with rags or foam brushes. Wipe off excess stain with a rag. Work section by section, staining and wiping the piece to avoid streaks. Be consistent in the number of coats you use to achieve an even color. Let the stained piece dry for 24 hours.
- 8). Brush on a thin coat of finishing varnish. Allow it to dry according to the label directions. Apply one to two more thin coats, allowing the varnish to dry between applications. Let the final coat of varnish dry as recommended by the label before using your furniture.
