Refinishing an Antique Mirror (An Ode to My New Favourite Paint Stripper)

Nicole furniture projects 0 Comments

Two years ago I refinished a beautiful empire style dresser. It wasn’t so nice when I started, but after a lot of hard work, it turned out beautifully and I love it. You can see that entire project here. The dresser had a matching mirror, but the support pieces to hold it on the dresser were long gone. The mirror was also in desperate need of refinishing, but I never planned to hang a mirror over the dresser, since I use it as a buffet. So I gave the mirror to my sister, promising that I would paint it for her. However, I was so tired after the amount of work that the dresser took, that I didn’t work on the mirror that year. Fast forward to the next summer, and I was busy working on other projects, so I didn’t get to it then either. Fast forward to this summer and I was still working on other projects and, again, wasn’t intending to work on the mirror. I started feeling tired whenever I thought about having to sand and strip that old, bubbled shellac finish off of the round beveled wood, that I couldn’t summon the energy to even start it.

You can see here that the finish was “alligatored” on the mirror too.

Then something happened; I had a minor disaster with my nightstand and the paint stripper and ended up getting a can of Circa 1850 paint and varnish stripper. I was so impressed with how well it worked, that it breathed new life into me and I started going around and looking for other projects to try it out on. Seriously! I tried it out on the handle of pair of tongs of my mom’s that had started flaking, and watched in amazement as the remaining paint slid off. Then I used it to finish removing the varnish on this chair I’d run out of steam to work on last summer, and it scraped off in a manner of minutes.

Suddenly, the antique mirror flitted through my mind! I pulled it out and did a test patch on one side. The finish softened in about 15 minutes and I used a scraper and then steel wool to bring it down to the bare, stained wood. Amazing! It took about an hour in total for the entire mirror, but all of the finish came off perfectly. (The colour didn’t come off- I would have to sand to remove that red colour). I wish I’d had this stripper two years ago when I struggled with the dresser restoration! Anyways, you can tell how excited I am by the Circa 1850 paint stripper. (Ps. I’m not sponsored; I’m just an excited- and now loyal- customer!)

So, to get back to the mirror; it also required a small repair as one of the wood corner details was missing. I have no idea how he did it, so I can’t share with you the process, but my dad traced out the curve and cut a piece to fit. I then painted it with a mix of brown and red acrylic paint so it would look the same when I did the “antique” paint finish.

I painted and finished this mirror in the same way I did the dresser, with Country Chic Liquorice black paint. I watered it down, not using a specific ratio, just mixing it until it was runny enough to streak, but not enough to drip. The paint was pretty thick, so I probably did about a tablespoon of water to a 1/4 cup of paint.

Then using a paintbrush I painted with long brushstrokes leaving it thin enough that you could see areas of the red wood showing through. Any areas that got too thickly painted, I wiped with a damp rag to remove some of the paint. Then using the rag, and in some places just my finger, I strategically rubbed off tiny bits of the paint. Mostly just on the corner details and the edges around the inside of the mirror. Once I was satisfied with the way it looked, I left it to dry. Painting took about 1/2 hour from taping off the mirror to pulling the tape off the wet paint.

After drying overnight it was time to wax it. I used a wax brush to work the Country Chic wax into the paint. In some places I used my hand to work the wax in and smooth it. The Country Chic wax I used is natural so it was OK to get on my skin. (And my hands felt amazingly smooth afterwards!)

It’s amazing how much the antique finish pops with the wax on top; gorgeous! Using a linty rag, since I didn’t have a lint free one, I buffed the piece and then used my hand to remove as much lint as I could. (And then the next day purchased some lint-free rags at the paint store). The bits of paint that had leaked underneath the painters tape easily scraped off with my thumbnail.

After letting it cure for a few weeks, it was ready. It turned out so beautifully I honestly was tempted to take it back and keep it for myself….but I really don’t have anywhere to hang a mirror! Here’s what it looks like with the dresser.

Do you know how hard it is to take a picture of a mirror!? You not only have to set up the mirror, but make sure that the reflection is nice too! And then on top of that, this was a black mirror, so sorry for the less than amazing quality of some of the photos.

The mirror glass has such a pretty patina, as you can see in this photo, below.

So that’s the story about how I fell in love with a paint stripper, and started knocking projects off of my to-do list this summer, which was rather nice. I think this might be the last restoration project I have for this year, though I am hoping to finish one more new-build project before the weather turns too cold to work outside. Which means I should probably get out there and work on it!

Nightstand Refinishing Project (The Third Time’s the Charm)

Nicole furniture projects 8 Comments

Another day, another furniture refinishing project: this time my nightstand. I was starting to wonder if this little wooden unit was cursed, but considering how nicely it finally turned out, I think it has redeemed itself. This is the third time I have painted this particular piece of furniture, and if ever I decide I don’t like it, I’m just going to have to get rid of it and start fresh with a new piece. Yes, you read that right, this is the third time I have painted this particular piece of furniture, and the second time stripping it!

When I got it years ago, it was Varathaned pine, so I simply scuff sanded it, primed it and painted it white. However, the paint never cured properly. Because it stayed slightly tacky, the drawers stuck so every time I opened the drawer I had to pull them firmly enough to “unstick” them. I figured that the primer I had used was too old, so the next summer I took the nightstand out and stripped it down to bare wood.

I had noticed that the knotholes were bleeding through the white paint, so I purchased BIN shellac primer and primed the whole piece. I purchased new semi-gloss white latex paint and painted it. It looked great, but three weeks later it still felt slightly soft, and wasn’t curing to a hard finish….almost like latex. I didn’t realize that latex paint wasn’t good for furniture, so I still had the same problem with the drawers and items sitting on the top sticking to the paint. Over time the knots also started showing through, and to top it all off the semi gloss finish didn’t look sleek; it looked bad because you could see the texture of the wood.

I was so demoralized that I’ve been living with it like this for about 7 years now. I couldn’t bear the thought of stripping and starting over for the third time, so I started looking on Kijiji for a nightstand. However, I have been on the lookout for a few years now, and still haven’t come across anything that was as functional as this one or a price I wanted to pay for a piece that I was planning to paint… and if I did see something promising, it sold before I could pick it up.

So, a couple of months ago my mom suggested I take a closer look at this nightstand to see whether I could improve it. Originally there were four large, flat bun feet on the bottom, which I removed years ago when I painted it. The bottom of the nightstand was boxed in, but hollow underneath so it collected dust, but was impossible to clean under without completely lifting it up. I discovered that the brace on the back could be removed, and the wavy decorative piece of the front could be removed without compromising the rest of the construction. Once I figured that out, I was willing to strip and refinish this piece….again.

So, here is the process for turning this sticky mess into a lovely vintage inspired green nightstand!

First things first, I removed the beveled piece at the bottom and then started sanding. I used 80 grit sandpaper and a hand-held power sander and it took about 30 minutes to do all the flat sections.

Next I used stripper to remove the paint on the beveled edges. I was very excited because the paint immediately started bubbling. However, that was a bit of a premature celebration, because while the majority of the paint came off, some stubborn residue remained and I’d run out of stripper. I was concerned about sanding too much and softening the edge, so I purchased more stripper. This is where the story takes a turn and becomes a disaster.

The stripper I got was from SamaN and it came out of the can brown and almost smelled like vinegar. I thought that was weird, but since I know some of the citrus strippers are orange, I kept going. Instead of trying a small patch, though, I applied it along the edge of the nightstand top and then moved onto a drawer. However, as I finished applying it to the drawer, I looked back at the nightstand and was horrified to discover that the brown goo had completely absorbed into the wood. Furthermore it hadn’t softened the paint at all. I don’t know what was wrong with the stripper, but it honestly looked like I had opened a can of oil wood stain (or BBQ sauce) and applied it to the edge. It stained the wood dark brown, and made a huge mess. In a panic I called the store where I had bought the stripper. I sent them pictures and went in and talked to them and they had no idea why that had happened.

They traded me that can for a new one of Circa 1850. I have no idea if the SamaN product had gone bad, or what was wrong with it, but it almost wrecked this project. I was really starting to think that I would never have this nightstand! Of course, I ended up having to sand those edges; exactly what I didn’t want to do, but with the sandpaper and the Circa 1850 stripper I got the sticky residue off and wiped it all down with mineral spirits. The wood was stained permanently, as you can see above, but fortunately I was planning to paint this piece anyway.

And, one good thing to come out of this disaster is I’ve now discovered my new favourite paint stripper!

After that fiasco, it was time to cut out the new bottom front piece with the jigsaw. I was following my line pretty closely, but going slowly, so my dad said if I sped up the saw I’d get a cleaner cut. So I sped up the saw and got a cleaner cut…completely crooked! Oops! With much sanding I was able to get it “almost” even. I attached it with wood glue and the “L” brackets that had been used on the other piece and caulked the cracks.

Now it was ready to paint, and this time I decided to try something other than white. The Sage Advice paint by Country Chic matches my quilt perfectly, so I did two coats, sanding lightly between coats with a 280 grit sandpaper. I chose to use chalk paint, though my first thought had been milk paint, because of that brown residue. I didn’t know whether the milk paint would adhere on those spots and chalk paint gives a similar look. I didn’t shellac prime this time, because I’m going with the rustic vintage look and the knots will probably show through over time anyway. The wood grain also shows through a bit and I’m OK with it and it suits the style of the piece.

And then after I’d painted it, the project came to a screeching halt because I couldn’t figure out how to finish the piece. Should I oil it, or wax it, or use a tough coat poly?

I waxed my black antique dresser, and while it was a bit of a learning curve, I love how the wax turned out. It’s got a lovely smooth and natural finish with a slight shine. Hemp or linseed oil is also a nice way to finish a piece of furniture and gives it a vintage look. I’ve used it on bare wood before. However, I did a test piece with this wood and paint, and the finish was almost dry and rough. I kept searching online trying to figure out how to fix that. I was afraid to commit to the wax, because while you can wax on top of oil, you can’t put any finish on top of wax. Finally I found this tutorial to create a smooth finish with hemp oil and 400 grit sandpaper. It was buttery smooth! I also read this post from Miss Mustard Seed, all about the wax vs. oil and it was super helpful in making my decision on how to finish it.

I oiled the piece and sanded it lightly with the 400 grit sandpaper, and then after waiting a week for the oil to dry, applied the wax to the top for bit more durability and sheen. The finish still feels “dry” but smooth. I probably could have done another coat of wax, but I wanted to finish the piece and put it back by my bed!

There were some stains in the drawers, so I lined them with the same wallpaper I used in my antique dresser; a reproduction Flora Art Nouveau paper from 1910 by Crown wallpaper. I glued it in with Mod Podge. The paper coordinated beautifully with the green colour.

Then the final touch was to change out the knobs. The brass ones were off a cabinet my parents took out of their house, and were always kind of a placeholder. I think these white porcelain ones (also off an old cabinet they had!) really give it a vintage, cottage feel which goes perfectly with my bedroom.

And there you go, third time’s the charm where this piece is concerned. I am reminded of a quote I saw recently, “We do this not because it is easy, but because we thought it would be easy”. That was definitely the case with this project, but I’m so happy with how it finally turned out. And I love being able to open the drawers without having to pry them open!

Have you ever started a refinishing or refashioning project that turned into a bigger problem then you first thought it would be? Were you able to save it?

Antique Ice Cream Parlour Chairs | A Restoration Project

Nicole furniture projects 13 Comments

My parents bought two vintage wire ice cream parlour chairs at a garage sale years ago, and gave one to me and one to my sister. They are not the most comfortable seats in the house, but are definitely one of the most stylish. I didn’t know anything about this style of chair at the time, but one day when we were watching The Waltons, they had chairs like this in one of the episodes. Since then I’ve also seen them in several Western films and other TV shows from the 1940’s-1970’s. Ice cream parlours were popular from the late 1800’s to the mid 1900’s, and often were furnished with this style of wire chair. While I don’t know how old these particular chairs are, they had definitely seen better days and were in desperate need of a restoration!

I didn’t do anything for the first few years I had my chair, and lived with it as-is. These pictures above are from the first year we had them, when we used them at a party. After a few years, when I got tired of the lumpy paint, I stripped my chair down to bare metal and painted it. The seat was splintered, but I didn’t have a different piece of wood, so I flipped it over and upholstered it with some cream and yellow gingham fabric. (You can see the chair like that here in this craft room tour) I used it for years that way, but the fabric got dirty and there was no way to clean it, so it desparately needed a new seat.

I didn’t remember to take a before picture until I had disassembled the chair!

Earlier this year, my sister downsized and sold me her chair, so I decided to fix it up and turn them into a matching set. They truly were a labour of love, and took much longer than I thought they would, but here’s the process. 

First, paint stripper. I wish that I’d known about my new favourite stripper Circa 1850, but I didn’t so I used a can we had in our basement. It softened the layers, but didn’t go all the way through to the metal. There were at least four layers of paint on this chair- the lumpy gold and cream on the top, light turquoise, a different yellow cream, and in some places black! I think those bottom layers of paint were oil or enamel, because they didn’t want to come off.

It took many coats, and while the back and seat of the chair came off easier, the base of the chair took a lot of work. I wrapped it with plastic wrap at one point to keep the stripper wet for longer.

I used a wire brush and steel wool for much of the smooth metal, but ended up using a wire brush on a drill for the twisted pieces. In a few areas the old paint simply wouldn’t come off, but since I figured it wouldn’t be noticeable through the new paint, I left it.

After I’d gone over the metal pieces with steel wool, it was time to prime them with the BIN shellac primer. I thought I’d use this primer and see if it has better adhesion, since the chair I did years ago, did start chipping over time. We’ll see if this one holds up better!

The primer was a bit rough after spraying, so I did a light sanding with steel wool.

Then it was time to paint; I used the Rustoleum spray paint in the colour Heirloom White. This is the colour I’d used years ago and it’s warm, creamy white. However, when I painted the “new” chair I discovered the colour was slightly different than the old one! So, I ended up completely repainting the other chair instead of just touching up spots.

After the paint was done, I cut new seats. We recently pulled this thin plywood out of the basement, and it was perfect for the seats. I cut the wood with the jigsaw, not worrying about whether it was a perfect circle since the edge was hidden. This was my first time using the jigsaw, so I’m pretty glad with how it came out! The wood was a bit thinner than the plywood that had been there before, so I had to use shims along the edges when I assembled the seat.

Then I reassembled the chairs (one went together very easily, and the other one took at least an hour of fiddling!). Of course I didn’t think about putting down a towel for when the chairs were upside down on the table, so I scratched some of the paint. I had to do touchups on the bolts too, so I touched up the paint the next day…and then they were done.

I don’t actually have anywhere to put these chairs, so they are going back into storage, but thankfully this time not as a “project”. The reason I wanted to refinish them is because when I have guests for art afternoons or tea parties, I sometimes need extra chairs, so it will be nice to have these on standby.

They make a nice outdoor bistro set, perfect for consuming ice cream on a summer’s day. What do you know, it’s almost like they were designed for that!