How to Refinish Your Furniture like a Pro

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How to Refinish Your Furniture like a Pro

You may have tried on a number of occasions to refinish your furniture but you notice that the result is not what you had expected. Before you give up and call in the experts, here are some tips to help you learn to refinish your furniture like a pro.

Tools are everything

There might be a saying that a poor workman blames his tools, but trust me there are tools that can help you become a professional. It is only natural that the tools you use will determine how well your furniture will turn out. For example, sanding the wood plays a big part in deciding what it will look like in the end, now if you just got sand paper and started sanding a chair, it is not going to look as nice as one done using a belt sander or a random orbital sander because they are going to be more consistent than your arm and it will not get tired.

Choose the right paint/varnish

As much as painting may be a case of preference, it is also important that you choose the right paint for a particular type of furniture. Oil paint tends to look much better on wood than water paint and it also lasts longer so choosing oil paint would be better. If you are refinishing outdoor furniture, it is advisable not to use varnish because the weather will affect it much faster.

Be patient

Refinishing is an art that can be achieved through patience. This is more so when it comes to allowing the wood to dry. After washing the wood, many people are in too much of a hurry to move to the next step and they do not give the wood enough time to dry. This also applies to applying different layers of varnish or paint. If you do not let the wood or paint dry sufficiently, the paint will not stay on long and the color of the wood when it finally dries is going to change.

Use primer

The pros always use primer, this is an inner coating that will protect the furniture. You can use 2 to 3 layers of primer but once again you need to remember to be patient. Always let the primer dry before you add another coat otherwise it will just be like one thick layer of primer which does not help you much.

Know what to paint and what not to paint

I have on occasions seen people’s drawers painted both on the inside and the outside. A true pro knows that the drawers should only be painted on the outside but a cabinet door will be painted on both sides and to bring out the hinges on a door, do not paint them. This means paint the doors before you install the hinges.

Use tape to protect edges

Sometimes you may not want to apply paint or varnish on the edges of furniture, the simple solution is to put tape over them as you paint the other parts of the furniture. This also helps when you want to mix colors on a single piece of furniture.

With these tips, you are bound to see a change in your workmanship.

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