How to Refinish and Repurpose Old Furniture

Buying new furniture is often not a pleasant experience. You’re either buying inexpensive furniture made out of particle board that won’t last after a few years or buying hardwood furniture that’s built to last but costs a small fortune. A much better option is to refinish or repurpose used furniture for your home, also known as upcycling.

How to Refinish Furniture

Refinishing a used piece of furniture involves different processes for the variety of furniture and finishes you could use. Here are some common examples.

Always Start with a Cleaning

No matter your project, you must always start by cleaning all the dirt and grime from your used furniture. You need a clean surface before removing any old finish and/or applying a new finish. Some basic dish soap and warm water should be good enough to wash the dirt from your furniture. After washing, you should dry your furniture with a microfiber towel to keep it clean of any particles.

Stripping Paint/Finish

With a clean surface, you can now strip any paint or finish that you’d like to remove. This will likely be the most time-consuming part of your project. If there are any parts of the piece you’d like to keep the old color or finish, be sure to tape these off completely. There are several spray-on and brush-on strippers for different types of finishes. Apply the stripper and wait to let it do the work. After 10 or so minutes, you’ll start to notice the paint or finish ripple. This is when you’ll use a putty knife or similar tool to scrape the varnish or paint off. Finally, you should wipe the furniture clean with mineral spirits to remove any leftover stripper.

Fixing Chips and Dents

After the finish is removed from your furniture, you can fill in any chips or dents in the wood with an epoxy wood filler. Shape it as best you can while the wood filler is still wet. Once it’s dry, you’ll want to sand it smooth to the surrounding wood. Wood filler absorbs the color of your stain like any other wood, so these patches won’t be noticeable in the end result.

Restaining Wooden Furniture

Before applying any new finish to wooden furniture, like stain, you must sand it first. You should start with a medium grit sandpaper (somewhere around 120-150 grit), then work up to a finer grit (180-200 grit). This will make your piece uniform, safe from splinters, and absorb your color better. Before applying your stain, wipe away any sawdust with a microfiber cloth. Apply your stain with a paintbrush or staining pad along the grain, making sure to remove any excess stain, as this can cause unpleasant dark spots. After you let the first coat dry, gauge if you like the tone or if you should apply another coat, which will darken the piece further. After the stain is dry and you’re satisfied with the color, you’ll apply two coats of clear varnish to protect the finish.

Repainting Furniture

Repainting furniture starts the same way as staining, with sanding the wood. If you are painting metal or plastic furniture, you can skip this step. An important part of painting furniture is priming the piece. Paint alone has trouble sticking to furniture and will often chip if the piece isn’t primed first. Primer can be brushed or sprayed on. After the primer completely dries, apply the paint in two coats, following the natural grain (if there is any). Of course, you should also apply two coats of clear varnish to painted furniture, further protecting the paint from chipping.

Reupholstering Furniture

For upholstered furniture, you’ll likely want to replace the stained and tattered cloth to give it a fresh new look. You could also add upholstery to a basic chair to give it more character and comfort. You’ll start by removing the old fabric, likely stapled underneath or behind the furniture. You may need to disassemble the piece at this point. Try not to cut the fabric, but try to keep it as a single piece, as you can use it as a template for your new cloth. After you remove the fabric, inspect the batting or cushioning. If this is also tattered or flat, you’ll also need to replace it. ½ inch thick batting is standard but you can make it as thick as you’d like. Using the old piece of cloth, cut your new fabric to the appropriate shape, with a few extra inches around all of the edges. Wrap this new cloth around the batting and staple it to the frame underneath your furniture. You could sew a welt around the edge for some added flair. Lastly, reassemble the piece if needed.

Repurposing Used Furniture

You don’t always have to use old furniture for its original purpose. You can take old furniture or reclaimed wood and use it in new, creative ways. Old doors can be turned into coffee tables. Milk crates can be turned into a rustic bookshelf. Kitchen cabinets can be repurposed into a bar or island. Use your imagination or find some creative ideas online, then search for that perfect piece of used furniture to repurpose.

Shop Used Furniture Near You

Looking for used furniture near you for an upcycling project? Check out the used furniture on Plain Direct. We’re a classifieds website built to connect local buyers and sellers of home goods and many other handmade or used items. Register an account today and start shopping!