Stripping and refinishing: The things I have learned (the hard way)!

I have been working on refinishing an old maple wood end table for my grandmother. When we went shopping for stain, she decided on a hickory stain, of which color only was available in gel form. So we bought it and I figured, what real difference will it make? It says it is best used for vertical surfaces such as doors and trim, but otherwise states no differences. Not that it can't be used on any other non vertical surface.

I spent the greater part of my first week completely stripping the old finish off. And then thoroughly sanding it down as much as possible to the bare wood. I had refinished my own book case last year with an ebony stain (liquid) and the process did not seem nearly as tedious and time consuming. But this part will take the longest! Just as a heads up...prepare your patience.

These are the main things I want you to know before you dive into your huge staining project hoping to master it on first try, since on my first try, I crashed and burned miserably!

What you need to know about the stripping process:

1)     Always, always use a stripping gel (if you want to keep your sanity)! This will help to pull off all the hard to get, super absorbed stain that has been sitting on the wood for the past umpteen years. Be generous and apply the stripper thickly! You do not want to let the stripper sit on the wood for as long as they usually say. (For instance, the stripper I use says leave on for 15-30 minutes) this does not work because by the time it's ready to go back and scrape, the stripper and the pulled up stain have both dried up again. Start scraping the old finish off about 3 minutes after applying the stripper. You will start to see the old finish bubble, or wrinkle. This is when you know it is time. Use a plastic stripping tool and scrape hard, pulling as much off as you can with the first application. In any hard to reach or curvy areas, use a synthetic steel wool (usually a plastic block) and scrub the stain off using a similar motion as when you would sand. 

2)     There may be some stubborn spots, and on those, simply put another coat of stripper and repeat this process. If they are small, they can always just be sanded out.

For a nice video, watch this!

What you need to know about the sanding process:

1)     Always sand in the direction of the wood grain. I highly recommend using the 3M brand sanding contour surface sponges, because they are angled on the sides which make it very nice to use when needing to sand in those hard to get to places, they do not lose their shape, they last through even some of the toughest/longest jobs, and they have one for any sanding need you may have! Superfine, fine, medium, medium course, course- all of which tell you exactly what they are good for (between coats, tough coat removal, etc.). They also have items specifically for large area sanding, small area sanding. You want to try to get as much of the original wood grain visible as possible, bare.

2)     I highly recommend NOT using an oscillating power tool with a sanding attachment, even if it has that capability. I tried it, and it definitely did not help the job. These tools tend to sand very inconsistently so they do not leave a smooth surface, and they can even tend to wear down certain areas more than others, leaving visible gouges and scratches in your wood. These will show through in your stain, and make for an extremely unattractive and unfortunately saddening finished product.

What you need to know about stain:

1)     Liquid VS Gel: Liquid stain penetrates the wood best, and doesn't leave a sticky finished feeling like gel stain. Gel stain tends to have a streaky finished look, while liquid is extremely smooth and streak free. Liquid is also much easier to use: can be applied by rubbing it into the wood with a cloth, allowing you to skip the step of removing off excess stain. Gel stains process is much more involved and difficult to master: apply very thickly with a brush, lightly wipe off excess with a clean cloth, brush back over with a clean dry brush to remove any cloth marks or streaks, and to give it a smooth brushed finish. Liquid stain can be sanded over once it has dried, which is a good thing if you notice small imperfections or spots where stain has collected, or pooled.Gel stain cannot be sanded down, so what you leave to dry is what you get. If you don't fix any imperfections while it is still wet, there is no easy way to fix them later.

2)     Always allow the coats to dry for the recommended time. This will prevent the finish from being splotchy, thick, or otherwise defected.

After all of the table was stripped down, I went back over and sanded out any stain spots that I could not get. After the table was sanded and ready for some stain action, I went ahead and put the first coat of gel stain hickory on. I brushed it on thick, let it sit for several minutes, and wiped of the excess. When wiping, use a large fibrous towel, and do not push down hard into the stain. Instead, just let the rag lightly graze over removing only what stain easily comes off. The reason for this is that by pushing down, you will leave areas where no stain is, which defeats the purpose when you want a full even coating.

The first coat looked pretty good when I went back to check on it the next day, since there is a 8-12 hour drying time. However, the stain can does say that you can add another coat if it is left looking uneven or too light for what your goal is. And for me, it just didn't look... right. It was too light, streaky, and uneven. So, I added another coat, and almost instantly after finishing the second coat on the entire table, I knew this was not going to work. The gel stain started to take on a chalky look, and it began to look very thick, paint meets mud, sort of thick. 

I did some research only then, to find out the best way to apply gel stain, thinking that maybe my technique was what ruined it. I watched some youtube videos, and this one showed me the tricks to getting a great finish.And yes, he makes it look WAY too easy. The thing was that I had done almost exactly what he said to! This is when my frustration set in pretty good. I decided to dig deeper into why I may have had this issue, which is when I found an article that talked about the different woods that gel stain works best on. By the way, maple wood is NOT one of them. "Something that could have been brought to my attention yesterday!"(A little tribute to my favorite film, The Wedding Singer)

Anyways, long story slightly less long, I ended up deciding to completely strip it again, buy a different stain (liquid), and vow to never use gel again! No doubt it has it's place, but I think it is extremely messy, hard to work with, the process required is too involved, which when you have many projects to do, overly involving is no good. In conclusion, the table that took me 10 hours the first time, has to be completely redone. So do your research, and make sure that what you're using is going to work for what you are doing! This will save you time, headaches, and frustration.

This is what I highly recommend using. Minwax is a really good stain, they have endless shades/colors, and it's inexpensive!

        

Not so Hobbyless...

I have noticed, as I am sure you have also, that Im not doing very well at posting new stuff for you guys. I guess that I have been too consumed with doing some of my projects that I forget to come back and write. Which was the whole point of this blog initially, anyways.

I've got about 146 projects on the to-do list.... or so Josh says. I'd say I really only have about 60! But that's what happens when people start finding out that you are capable of making things, refinishing things, painting things, etc. And I can't help it that I WANT to do it all... for everybody who wants it. In fact, I try to get people to let me make stuff for them, because it makes me happy to do it, and it's fun to use my creativity for people other than just myself! 

So needless to say, I have 1 project that I am going to be helping my mom with (refinishing her dining room table and chairs), I am making a suitcase chair for a friend of mine, and I am refinishing 3 large wooden furniture pieces for my grandma as well as painting some of her kitchen items (knife block, mirror, mug rack). On top of that, I plan to refinish that bench of mine, make a whiskey bar, and reupholster an old lazy boy chair we found on the street.

So here is something new! 

I did finish the vintage suitcase chair that I told you about 2? blogs back... and it turned out amazingly! I am absolutely in love with it and have already gone out and bought another suitcase to make another chair soon. I am looking into renting a small space in someone's shop where I can sell some of my things, now. And I have a list of stuff that I will be able to make consistently as well as some of my pieces that I will probably only ever have one of. 

The thing I think I'll like about making these suitcase chairs is that you can find so many different colors, and styles of suitcases, and in turn you can have tons of different material print options and color combinations, etc. Not to mention making some accent pillows for the chairs, which also adds some character and makes it all just kind of pop!

I was fairly impressed with myself to have been able to figure out how to construct this chair and all it's parts (along with the help of my husband's ideas) without ever having found someone else's tutorial on how to do it. It all started with a picture I saw of one a girl had made, but it was ONLY a picture. And hers was done sort of crappily, where she just added some legs and kind of stuffed a couple of large pillows in the suitcase and called it a chair. I am not entirely sure it was made to hold any substantial amount of body weight... ever. Maybe it was meant to be a clothes rack for her bedroom?

It looks like a little pet or something! My 4 day old pet... the cool thing is that it can be closed with a cushion in it. Take the legs off, throw them into the suitcase, and you have a very easily transportable chair!

We walked around home depot for about an hour trying to figure out what to use to brace the bottom to the top, when we came across this yellow chain link- that an employee cut off and gave to us for FREE! Apparently I didn't need enough to make it worthwhile to charge. I'll take it!

All in all, I think I did spend about $80 in all the materials to make this. And I put in about 12-14 hours of work. I spent about 4 days on it, with a few hours each day. That sounds like a lot, but because it was my first I ran into unexpected issues, and had to figure out how to get around them. Now that I have done one, I think the next ones will be breezy! And I plan to shop a lot more thriftily for the next ones, too. I'd love to be able to make one for about half the cost if I plan to sell them and make any sort of profit. I didn't mind spending $80 for what I plan to keep for myself. And my own time doesn't cost me anything!

This is the suitcase I bought a couple of days ago. It should be a ton of fun to make! 

I'm still working on getting everything in order so that I can post a step-by-step on how this project was completed.

Until next time!

CookBook

Today, while talking to my sister-in-law, we talked about: how her fiance (who lives in England) may not even be getting his visa in time to make their tentative wedding date in California. How we're all going to have to save really hard to make our tentative Africa and Europe trip happen next October. How she needs to learn to cook well, but lacks time and energy, and non-complicated recipes (all the very important motivating factors) and so she therefore hasn't been practicing very much, but hopes it will come to her once they are married, because she wants him to eat well. Also, because then they wont have an 8 hours time difference, and have the impossible communicating schedule like they do now, which is half the reason I imagine she is tired, and lacking energy, on top of her having a job, and sharing in the full time ministry work!

Mind you, we didn't talk only of all the stressful things... but I could totally relate when talking about finances and cooking, because I am married, and work, as does my husband. We have bills, as well as desire to travel. But how do we do it all?

Most often, we don't. We compromise, or forego what things we really want sometimes. But that is life.

However, I wanted to come up with some ways that I might be able help alleviate some stress that many couples have at the start of a marriage, so, this gave me a good idea that I could make them a cookbook as part of their wedding gift, full of all of my tested and true, simple, not so time consuming recipes by going on Blurb.

In the starts of my researching the best way to go about this, and getting ideas from other people online who have done this, I came across this hilarious blog that someone wrote, basically mocking all of the people who for some odd reason feel the desire to post photos of all of their meals, or any sort of food/drink intake they have throughout their day. And these aren't the people who are traveling the world, eating exotic foods, at a fancy boutique or cafe that you would never find anywhere else. THAT would be okay...

And so I felt the need to share. Enjoy!

Wine Cork Back Splash

This is the month of do-it-yourself.

I know that in my 'about me' paragraph, I talk a big talk about giving you some DIYs and tutorials... and then for the first month, didn't have a single one. But at last, I live up to my own description!

This time, I decided to do a back splash made of wine corks (yes, it will show all the world, or just your friends and family, how much wine you really drink. Who cares?) to add to my mom and dad's new faux granite kitchen! And I do some day plan to make one of my own... though mine may be less classy, and made of beer bottle caps. We like drinking, but no, not in a way to be called an addiction.

*sips 12 year El Dorado rum*

This project was supposed to be finished along with the countertops when I did them, but I realized that a week to do the faux granite and this cork board was just impossible, at least for my first time on either of them! I could probably make it happen now that I think I have a clue what I am doing...

Getting on with it: Wine Cork Back Splash Tutorial

What you need:
Hot Glue Gun
Corks
Knife (exacto works splendidly)
Fiber Wood (if you don't want to glue directly to your walls)

1. The most important step to this project is knowing your space- measurements, mostly. That is measurements of space width and height, divided by measurements of wine cork height and width size (the average wine cork measurements. Don't go through measuring each cork you have)

2. The second, pretty important step is having the wine, drinking the wine, which then gives you number of said corks. Try not to get lost in all of these algebraic formulas!

Since I had to do this project from my own home for a space that was not at the same location, I took my measurements first and cut a piece of finished particle board to match the size of the space I needed to fill, and ended up gluing my corks to that board.

3. To maximize your usage of corks, cut all of your corks in half, vertically! This way you technically get two cork widths from one. Or if you're like me, and want to get really involved, you can cut slices. (I did some of both)

4. Now you want to draft your layout of corks. For me, I laid all of my corks onto the board, arranged, rearranged, replaced corks, etc, before ever touching the hot glue gun. You want to know that you are going to like the design and pattern first, before you make it permanent. Get Creative! If you use a board, you'll find this step is much easier, due to the fact that it can be laying horizontal, instead of working on a vertical space, such as directly on your wall.

5. Once you have the exact design or pattern laid out that you want, it's time to plug in that hot gluing bad boy and get to work. One by one, pick up the corks, put a dab of glue on, and replace it.

All laid out, ready to be glued!

I have seen this idea done in many different ways. I wanted to do a pattern, because I feel that nothing is ever truly random, even if you say you want random. And I am far too picky to be satisfied if I have just slapped a bunch of corks onto a wall and called it decoration.

This project was extremely simple, while being very tedious. So you do need to have a bit of patience to complete this project. But trust me, it adds so much character to the space!

Completion!

So... call me a garbage picker

I have been thrilled these last couple of days to find so many amazing steals... and deals!

It started off with my looking for cushions that would be the correct size to use when I make my suitcase chair (because nobody sells cushions precut in the measurements of 17''x 24''x 4'', or anything big enough while being in my budget). I stopped at Savers, a slightly more upscale goodwill... and to my surprise they had tons of couches, and chairs, and benches for sale that had just been dropped off for donation that day!

There were a few really nice (mind you, very outdated) chairs that were in fantastic shape. And then I saw a wooden bench, with 4 huge cushions... and instantly knew these were the perfect size cushions I needed.

Me to the cashier: "Is it possible to buy just the cushions without the bench?"
Cashier (laughing): "Um, no... you have to buy the whole set because nobody will want the bench on its own."

Ugh, okay... I'll go see how much it is I guess. And of course, no price tag to be found.

Me again to cashier: "What is the cost of the whole bench set?"
Cashier: "Hi again. I'm not sure... you have to ask the donations people."

So I find the donations girl and she goes out and gives me a price of $14.99!!! I'll take it! (I ''yell'' without trying to sound ridiculously excited about someone else's disgusting, used, ancient furniture") But seriously, this was awesome. The cushions are in amazing shape... still firm and clean, unlike the cushion covers. I could not have gotten a better deal, nor had better timing if I wanted to.

Also, they don't know that I am going to refinish the wooden bench and make it all nice and new looking, for less than 2 dollars... only use two of the cushions for my original intentions, and leave the other two, maybe dye the old covers, so that I can probably re-sell the set again for $10+ more than I even paid for all of it! Talk about thrifty...

The original cushion covers on the $14.99 bench set. Hmm, I take back what I said... these are actually kind of sweet in an old retro sort of way! Heh?

THEN... later that evening, Joshua drove to the bank, and when he gets home he tells me that he drove past a wingback chair on the side of the road just around the corner from our place (almost exactly the type of chair he has been looking for). So in the car we go because I am not letting anyone else have that piece! Sure enough, it's still there, and it is in unexpectedly good shape, beside a loose footboard, and shredded fabric on the seat cushion. But it is perfect for what we want, because I have been wanting to try reupholstering, but not on something I have already, of which I probably like and spent a decent amount of money on. You can't beat free!

The Little Pink Beauty

If you're thinking of doing a reupholstering project and need some awesome tips, I highly suggest checking out allthingsthrifty's blog. This couple is amazing, and so very talented! They have step-by-step restoration and upholstering tutorials... and many other things!

The original piece that started my collection of garbage picked goods was this armoire that my neighbors had put outside on the lawn when they were moving out. Its pretty banged up, and the finish is in really bad shape, but nothing a little restoration won't fix. I plan to make a bench seat out of it to put by the front door, so Josh has a place to sit, put his shoes on/take them off. I'm even thinking of making a storage area in it for a couple pairs of shoes... but this one is a little ways down the list yet. So you have to use your imagination on how that will work until later, when I can tell you all about how I did it!

Enough about all my 'junk'... let me tell you what project is in progress!

I decided to make a chair out of a vintage suitcase. I found an awesome old terracotta colored Samsonite one at an antique shop for $15!

Meet Suitcase. Vintage Suitcase.

I have to put legs on it and form some sort of a frame for my cushions. The frame will then be attached to the suitcase inside, probably via a hinge...

Bought these 14'' legs at Home Depot for less than $20. They are now stained ebony!

This is my awesome, bold, fun material that will be used for the cushions. I got it on sale at hobby lobby for 50% off... totaling less than $15.

At this rate, I can have a totally adorable, unique, self-made usable chair for under $80!

Tutorial will be coming soon... please keep posted!

How To: Faux Granite Edition

Remember that time I told you all about my family's 'famiversary' tradition? And how I would keep you posted with what I would be doing for the ones I picked to buy for this year? And then you probably thought to yourself: ''yeah right, we'll never find out, because she'll forget all about it.''

Well, wrong...this was too fun not to share!

My parents went away on a week long vacation to Aruba this past week, so I took the initiative to do some updating. Because, you see... my parents have about twenty never ending to-do lists, honey-do lists, someday-do lists, would love to-do lists, etc. But the main thing I've been hearing about from them lately is wanting to update their kitchen. However, it's fairly low on their list, along with being a fairly large expense and needing time they don't have.

So I decided to do a complete countertop makeover for them.... using paints!

This is why: Beautiful blue and white outdated counters... with matching cabinet hardware!

Here is a list of the things I needed to complete this project (and no, its not difficult, but it is quite time consuming)

-A photo of real granite: I looked at photos of granite to get an idea of what would go, and what I wanted my project to resemble. I suggest doing the same, so that you can examine what colors are present in the granite. This helps when picking your acrylic paint colors.
-Zinsser brand all surface tintable water based primer - can be found at most hardware stores: Home Depot, Lowes, etc.
-5 to 7 different colored acrylic paint tubes (yes, the cheap arts and craft ones you can find at a hobby shop or craft store)
-One real dead sea sponge
-Foam roller
-A paint brush (or foam brushes if you need to stay cheap. However, a good brush will give you a better smoother finish)
-A small paint tray
-Painters tape
-Sanding bricks
-Mineral spirits for cleaning
-Minwax brand Polycrylic clear gloss finish (use polycrylic instead of polyurethane, due to its non-yellowing tendencies)
-A good amount of free time and patience! (The most important of all)

Now, step by step I will show and explain how to complete this project from start to finish!

1.) Tape off all wall surfaces or other non-counter surfaces that may come into contact with your painting tools.

2.) Have your foam roller and tintable primer ready. Start rolling your first coat of primer directly onto your need-to-be new counters. (Sanding the old surface is optional when you use the Zinsser all surface primer because it will stick to anything. I did not pre sand. However, if you use a different brand of choice that hasn't been tested on other surfaces, I highly recommend sanding your counters first.) Be sure to let the primer coats dry fully before moving onto step 3.

The above photos are taken after 3 primer coats to achieve full coverage. The amount of coats needed will vary depending on your starting counter color.

3.) Pick out which color of your acrylic paints you would like to have as your base 'granite' color. Keep in mind, this color will be the one to least show through on your finished project. Squirt small amounts of the first acrylic into a paint tray, and gently dab the side of the sponge in. Then, with absolutely NO rhyme or reason, sporadically dab the paint all over your counters. (Random is important! You will find it begins to look too patterned if you try to plan where your sponge dabs will go)

My starting color was silver, because I was aiming for a more warm finished product, but still needed a bit of a stone color to 'peak' through. Notice how some areas of silver are thicker and more filled in, while others may seem nearly bare. This is good!

Also, if your counters do not have rounded edges, a way to give them the rounded edge effect is to roll your sponge over the sides every so often, so that it makes the top and the side panel of the counters seem connected.

4.) Repeat step 3 with color #2..#3...so on and so forth. Always remember: Random and sporadic! Just continue this process until you have used all of your acrylic paint colors. There is no need to wait for each acrylic paint to dry, nor to clean the sponge or the paint tray after each color. Just squirt the new paint color into the tray, and keep going at it.

After I applied three of my colors: silver, brown, black.

Notice that I tried to go lighter on the black than the others, because black is a much more dominant color, and will more easily show through any lighter colors layered on top of it. So if you don't want black to be a large portion of your final product, but want it to act as an accent, then follow my lead. If you desire an all around darker product, feel free to go a bit heavier on black.

After 2 more colors, khaki and buttermilk were added. (Totaling 5 colors so far)

At this point, you should start to see whether or not the color is meeting your expectations. If not, no big deal! Just go back through and add more of the colors you feel you want to see more of! Or maybe you notice that it all looks a little too sponged still, adding more layers will help this. It will fill in some of the seemingly open areas, as well as give your granite a more speckled character, rather than having chunky color. 

For me, I liked the idea of a more chunky granite look with sweeping colors, but this wasn't quite there you yet. So I simply went back through, adding more of the dark brown, and very small well spaced spots of black, all again covered once over by khaki. 

5.) Have your brush and clear gloss finish ready. This is the least fun, most time consuming part. After you've let the sponged acrylics dry for about 24 hours, its time to start the layering of clear gloss polycrylic. This is going to give it a beautiful shine, as well as giving the counter durability. Because what a waste it would be to have all the work you just did go down the drain... 

Brush the polycrylic over the counter in smooth strokes, always making sure your brush is wet. If the brush becomes dry during this step, you will see many brush strokes in your finished product (and the whole idea with faux granite, people, is to look like the real stuff) and everyone knows granite is smooth as glass! 

You'll need between 7 and 9 coats in order for the counter to be well covered and fully protected (more than 9 for those eager at heart!) Each coat should dry for about 1.5 to 2 hours. 

After dried, lightly sand with very very fine grit to help smooth out any imperfections from the brush strokes or collected paint drops. 

Then repeat step 5 another 6 to 8 times. 

Once all the clear coats are finished, and dried, let the counter cure for about a week before going back to full carelessness and use. Although, even after it cures, never EVER use the counter tops and knives together without a cutting board. And be sure never to set oven or stove top hot pans on it. This will ruin the clear coat, and at very least leave small scratches. If you accidentally do this, don't completely lose your mind - The clear coat can be sanded down in the damaged area and you will need to reapply clear coats once again.

My finished project, along with all new brushed nickel cabinet hardware!....

Happy Famiversary, Mom and Dad! 

If you decide to do this project, I would love to see your results! Please share by messaging me, or posting a link in my comments!

Taste this!

Have you ever read the label on the back of a wine bottle, or the description on the bag of coffee beans,  or even on the back of that 12 or 18 year scotch you have on your shelf? These are the descriptive words that so often appeal to us, and give us the desire to buy the product.

Have you ever, after buying the product, gone home and thought to yourself after tasting it "Subtle hints of hazelnuts and dark chocolate? More like dirt.'' Or, "Really, they picked out citrus and melon flavors? Man, I must be missing something!" And lastly, maybe you've thought "ah, oak or sherry? Yeah, I can taste those woody flavors!"

Well, I've been right there with you, at each of these differing stages! After some experience with our own home brewed beer batches, going through a few wine tasting sessions, drinking coffee from all different parts of the world, and enjoying a nice scotch on an evening at home, I have realized how much my taste buds have changed from before, and how much they have matured.

I enjoy trying new things. I cannot come to a liking of extremely hoppy beers, such as an IPA... but I am working on it. I think that knowing what to look for when tasting different alcohols helps you come to appreciate how it was made, what ingredients needed to be used, and what the process would have included. All of these things tell you a lot about the aging process of alcohols as well, and how much time really went into making it.

So I have decided that I am going to teach myself how to properly taste! There are so many good websites about tasting. The tasting process is just like any other thing in life: in order to be good at it, it takes practice. In fact, I'm sure the first journal entry in my coffee tastings will be "Mmmm, dirt and coffee! Smells more like chocolate than it tastes." My first journal entry on scotch will probably go "Mmmm, burny, tingly, woody, delicious. Smells like bark, and rubbing alcohol." My first journal entry on wine will most likely say "Mmm, grapes, sugar and toe jam. Smells sweet." (It's true, grape stomping is a pretty big thing. And many people in many places still do this as part of their crushing process... so yes, your wine has probably had a few feet in it... Enjoy!)

The key will be to have the right materials, such as proper drinking glasses, cups, stirring utensils, etc. That, along with the proper time to give to each tasting session, and you have yourself a good start on your road to learning your drinks!

I'm ready to start planning a tasting party!!

If you're interested, here are some links to the websites that give all the information needed to start tasting, as a hobby!

Coffee Geek
Single Malt Tasting
Wine Tasting