Do you need to Prep?
What harm would it be really if you just skipped the prep? Would it REALLY make a difference?
I got this beautiful piece. It was reduced to €80 and I have never been more thrilled with a piece. I was looking for something like this for my walk in wardrobe and this was small and gorgeous. It also looked like it didn’t need much work. There was formica on the top which I thought taking off and sanding back the wood might be the biggest job.
Cleaning the Furniture
I know that one of the claims if paints are no need to prep, you can paint straight away. You do really need to clean it. There could be dirt and grime built up for years on that piece of furniture and that will not help you paint stick to the surface. It may paint on but it might easily come off.
Treating Woodworm
The first thing I spotted was the woodworm. This broke my heart. I usually just try and avoid woodworm. But on this piece I didn’t spot them at all until I removed the top and flipped it over to find a lot of them. It’s not really a problem but does hold the whole project up. I have a more detailed blog post on how to spot and treat woodworm HERE if you want to have a read. If i wasn’t into prep really and wanted to give it a ‘quick’ paint job I might not have removed or even painted underneath the top of this vanity and would have never even seen the woodworm that’s the worrying part.
Using Filler
When we are prepping a piece, you are as close as you will probably ever be to the piece of furniture. You need to to fill an area, old marks, handle holes, dents etc. You can buy different types of wood filler. I recently started using the two part wood filler, it needs to be mixed with a hardener that comes in the kit. This filler dries quicker which is a great advantage, you can also pick one up that is stainable, so can stain it to the finish if you were keeping it wood another huge advantage. It has super adhesion power as well. A really good filler knife is also essential, it just makes your job easier. These are the ones I have from Crown Paints (CLICK TO VIEW)
Sanding
Sanding is crucial to a long last finish. It helps that paint bond better on the surface. It doesn’t take that long but can really increase the durability of your piece of furniture.
When we are upcycling furniture, we need to think about why we are doing it.
Is it to save old furniture from going to landfill and creating something beautiful that was made well with craftsmanship and give it a whole new lease of life? Yes
So if you ‘save’ a piece of furniture, wouldn’t you want to do a really good job on it so that it may be in your home for years and years to come and not just a quick job where it starts falling apart and you have to get rid of it again in a year or two.
This piece was really frustrating to make over with all the problems. This is how to learn anything there is a problem to solve and every time you are faced with it, you can think of better and faster ways of fixing it.
I know that what I have done to this piece will make it last more years than if I gave it a quick paint job and not got into the nitty gritty.