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Furniture Refinishing Essentials for Hobbyists/Beginners
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items Refinishing furniture is such a rewarding hobby, especially when breathing new life into well made furniture. I love working with vintage Mid Century Modern furniture featuring solid walnut, walnut veneer, and brass components. Over time I’ve found a...
Sections
4
Tools & Supplies
Paint & Stain
Cleaning & Finishing
Hardware
Tools & Supplies
The right tools make refinishing so much easier. From sanders and brushes to protective gear, these essentials help you safely and efficiently prep vintage walnut and veneer pieces without damaging them.
My favorite and most frequently used tool for sanding wood and veneer furniture. Tried and true and super easy to use.
Random Orbit Sander, 5-Inch
220 grit sanding discs for your trusty orbital sander. I use 220 as the finest finishing grit for wood or veneer.
220 - Sanding Discs
150 grit sanding discs for your trusty orbital sander. I use 150 to remove knicks, scratches and old finishes from wood furniture.
150 - Sanding Discs
80 grit sanding discs for your trusty orbital sander. I use 80 grit to blast through stubborn knicks or scratches from wood furniture. This is too coarse for veneer!
80 - Sanding Discs
Little paint rollers and tray make painting large furniture, like dressers, tables, credenzas, etc., easy and fast!
Mini - Paint Rollers
Extremely durable wood filler to fill dents, broken pieces, gouges big and small. It's not stainable so I only use this when painting furniture.
Bondo 2 oz. Wood Filler Ready Mix Pouches, (2-Pack) WF-2PK-ES
Paint & Stain
Choosing the right finish is key to highlighting the natural beauty of walnut and other mid-century woods. These paints and stains bring out rich tones, add depth, and protect your pieces for years to come.
This is THE paint of all paints for refinishing furniture. It goes on smooth and covers in two coats every time. It has a very limited selection of colors but each color is the absolute perfect shade in its color family. Hands down my favorite to use...
General Finishes Water Based Milk Paint, Basil
I refinish mainly Mid Century Modern furniture and Golden Oak is always the exact match for the vintage walnut. I always have this on hand as my go to for any Mid Century furniture.
Golden Oak | Semi-Transparent
If you need to spray paint handles or knobs to look like vintage brass, this color is pretty spot on compared to others I've tried.
11 oz. All Surface Metallic Vintage Gold Spray Paint and Primer in One
Use before stain if wood is extremely dry. It conditions the wood and allows stain to go on perfectly even.
Varathane 8 oz. Wood Conditioner 342085
Cleaning & Finishing
Proper cleaning and finishing give furniture that polished, professional look. These products help remove years of grime and create a smooth, durable surface that lets the wood and brass shine.
Perfect for polishing up tarnished and crusty vintage brass furniture handles and knobs. Makes them look like new every time!
Brasso Multi-Purpose Metal Polish, 8 oz
Sometimes this is all you need to make a vintage piece of wood furniture look like new again. It hides scratches, conditions the wood and gives it a healthy shine. It comes in different colors as well… I prefer Golden Oak.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Howard-16-oz-Restor-A-Finish-Golden-Oak-Wood-Conditioner-RF3016/100592964
For darker wood, use this to hide scratches or knicks. It's magic in a bottle.
Old English 75144 Scratch Cover Dark Woods 8oz
Use this for lighter woods. Covers and hydrates scratches like magic!
Old English 8 oz. Scratch Cover for Light Woods 62338-75462
A little of this mixed with warm water does wonders for cleaning wood furniture and drawers. It does great on stains, build up and odors.
Original Oil Soap
This makes finishing and protecting furniture so easy and cuts the application and drying time down so much!
Wipe On - Polyurethane Wood Finish
I like to use this for painted furniture, especially for high traffic surfaces. It adds a hard wax layer that protects paint and offers some water resistance. It takes a few applications to master the technique, but it adds a great texture and sheen ...
Paste Finishing Wax - Wood Polish & Protection
Fine steel wool is amazing at lightly buffing out scratched finishes and is sometimes all that is needed instead of sanding!
Steel Wool
Don't skip out on these for staining and finishing wood furniture! You don't want lint and dust smashed into your perfectly prepped wood after all that manual labor! And they're reusable!
Paint and Staining Cloth - Paint Rags
This stuff paired with fine steel wool will buff out stubborn paint stuck in wood grain or remove paint transfers off wood furniture.
Tung - Wood Oils
Hardware
Mid-century modern furniture often features brass or unique hardware details. These supplies make it easy to restore, replace, or polish hardware so it complements your refinished piece perfectly.
Replacing old handles on vintage furniture can completely transform the piece. I love all of the solid brass options from Rejuvination, especially the mid-century inspired designs.
Boomerang Drawer Pull
Mid-century inspired solid brass pulls. I've purchased these exact ones to have two completely different vintage mid century modern dressers look like a matching set!
Sharp Arch Drawer Pull