Bet my hit counter goes way up tonight....
My asshole aunt gave me this neat old desk when she moved a few months back. She bought it from a used furniture store and slapped a coat of white latex paint on it as soon as she got it home. OK rule number one- latex paint is NOT the proper finishing material for furniture... it NEVER fully dries and even if you do a good prep job any objects left on it for any appreciable amount of time will either stick to it or lift the paint when you pick them up!
She also decided to put different pulls on the drawers so she filled in the original holes with wood putty and drilled new ones in the center so she could install cheap plastic Walmart pulls in place of the nice original brass ones! Genius!
Despite the mess she made with the paint and the pulls I felt the desk was worth saving and after peeling some paint away I was convinced it was made of walnut, one of my favorite woods! I'm sure you can imagine my excitement!
Let the stripping begin! Woo hoo, Go Baby Go!!!!
The chemical stripper slop smells god awful but it sure works good! Took the old varnish off underneath the paint too.
Getting there! For the most part the entire desk is in very solid shape. They made shit to last back in them there days!
I didn't use chemical stripper on the sides and tried out my cabinet scraper instead. It did a much less messy job but I still have to use the chemical to get the rest of the old varnish off. So in the end I'll still have to make a mess *sigh*
Imagine covering this beautiful walnut desktop with white paint! "da horror.....da horror...."
The drawers are no fun because she goobered so many paint drips down the sides and inside them, it took a lot of scraping and sanding but in the end they clean up pretty nice! I've decided to make my own pulls so all the holes will get covered up. I'll make'em out of black walnut just like the ones I did for my bathroom which should make a nice contrast with the regular walnut.To be continued...
11 comments:
Well aren't you handy. ;)
...
Love the desk!
And the title to this piece...
I saw it show up in my sidebar while ago, and thought, "What in the hell is he up to, now?" ;)
Ha.
Diary of a Stripper...
Clever, clever.
And yeah, I bet your statcounter goes through the roof, tonight.
I'm surprised my excessive use of the words 'Blow' and 'nightgown' and 'dirty' (as in ANGELS WITH...) have yet to come back and haunt me. ;)
...
Looking forward to see how the desk turns out!
Sweet of your aunt, to give it to you. Even if she did cover it in paint, and cheap pulls. :)
Ginger - heheh i was hoping for something like that!
put those words in your title and then see what happens!
she only gave it to me because there wasnt enough room in the moving truck! She dont do nothing out of sweetness, believe me.
Luv your title. Man what a job for you. But Im sure you love the challenge. More furniture for you I see. Where will you putting this one?
It was your destiny to beautify this dresser so thank you to your aunt. The universe knew. Would the job be easier if she didnt cover it? or a welcome challenge and discovery.
Hmmm :P
The title made me laugh. The desk is absolutely beautiful though. I'm glad you were able to save it. Can't wait to see the new and improved finished product!
pixiedrivein.blogspot.com
Please go easier on the old lady! There was something about that generation that drove them to cover lovely wood with gobs of paint. My dad's paint of choice was green enamel. You got off pretty easy with that white latex.
Looks better already Artman! Can't wait to see the finished product!:)
well, you sucked me in, you old reprobate! I comes all the way over here, fully expecting the bare nekkid ladies, and all I gets is some poxey furniture! ya swine!
LotusFlower - not sure where i'm gonna use this desk, lots of options so i't ll depend on how it comes out and where i end up thinking it'll serve a purpose of some sort.
and i defnintely would've preferred she didnt paint it!!
Francy and BrighestBlue - it'll probly be a while for this one because it's one of those projects that I'll only work on in between other more important projects. too many projects, not enough projects, i need more projects....
Margaret - Green Enamel? blech!!!!
Joe - haw, sorry old China, but think of how it's errr, broadening your intellectual horizons!
oink oink.....
Did I miss the finished desk somewhere? Or maybe you finished it and forgot to post it....
You went through a lot of work to get is as far as it is in the pictures.
nope you didnt miss a thing, its still sitting in the shop waiting for the last few finishing touches before i stain and clear coat it. just kinda got sidetracked with oh i dunno about 246 other projects! story of my life! thans for looking tho!
Hahahahaha.... sounds like some things I have sitting in my garage.
We found an old phonograh at a yard sale for $50. The old one you had to wind up. It is sitting in my garage waiting for the Hubs to finish it.
Post a Comment