Bedroom Furniture Refurb

I guess there are always jobs that some of us hate. Actually, I bet all of us hate some job or the other. I also would venture to say that we have to do it anyway to grow as wood workers, or any other kind of work for that matter.

For example, I hate refinishing. So why do I take on a refinishing job? That is a very good question. One day I will figure that one out and get back to you with an answer.

When this dresser and chest of drawers set came into my shop it was a mess. I originally thought the stain or whatever kind of wood this was just simply needed a little tender loving care and it would be no big deal. Boy was I wrong.

The surface I was looking at, I should have used a light and took a closer look before I agreed to the job. However, by the time I realized this, I had already told the lady I would do it, and I am a man of my word. So the sanding began.

First though, let me show you how bad it really was so you can see why I kicked myself throughout this job.

The tops were bad enough. This part really didn't worry me and it is mainly what I looked at. It appeared to be some sort of stain on a lighter wood. Like I said, no big deal, right?

Then I started disassembling everything.

I don't know if you can see it well enough in this photo. I know it's there because I seen it up close. This was where I realized what the finish really was. It is that gunk stuff you get if you try too hard to get every last drop out of a rattle style spray can. Someone actually spray painted this.

That isn't even starting into all the runs I found that made me think that whoever did spray paint this should have their painting privileges revoked. 

So, it wound up taking a lot (A LOT) more sanding than I originally thought. As I got further into this project, my heart sank a little bit. I am not positive on the wood, but this looks to be light cherry. It is beautiful wood. I would have loved to sand this all the way out and clear coat it, showcasing the beauty of this wood. This proved to be a problem though. About two days of trying and too ruined sanding attachments later as the paint in the carved details gunked up and turned to a nightmare, I realized that it was simply going to be too large a job based on my time frame to remove everything.So this is where I had to stop on the sanding. 

I stained it with Minwax dark walnut stain so I could blend everything as best I could with the paint that was left in the recesses of the carved areas. 

Then after five coats of polyurethane, I put all the original hardware back on. 

While I was a little disappointed that I couldn't get it down to the bare wood, I am pleased at the end result. 

I just don't think I wish to take on any more furniture refurbishing projects any time soon. Every single time I do, it always turns into a lot bigger headache than I ever imagined. For the business side of this equation, I always wind up giving a price way too low. Then, since I stick to my word, I am severely underpaid for this type of nightmare.