I love, like love, LOVE giving vintage furniture new life…..there are parts of the process I wish I could skip at times, but overall I find joy in doing this, it really is a creative process and I am excited to give you an inside look into how I take a before photo and make it into a stunning after. My favourite part by far is styling and taking the after photos, I get all excited to see it come to life in the photos. It is a very rewarding process but I know it is not everyone’s cup of tea. It is hard, messy and at times sweaty work and during no part of it do I look pretty…….I am constantly covered in dust, dirt, paint, glue, stain and varnish. But, I am always smiling, I can’t quite explain how much I enjoy what I do.
Today I am going to share with you all the tools and paraphernalia I use to take my furniture from blah to something a little bit special.
1. Power Sander – used for stripping paint and varnish. I use a course grit sand paper to strip and a finer one to finish so my wood is smooth. I usually only use a power sander after I have stripped with either a chemical stripper or heat gun first.
2. Heat Gun – I prefer to use this for stripping as I try to avoid chemicals.
3. Power Drill & Drill Bits – You will need a drill when adding new hardware and occasionally repairs.
Regarding power tools I am not into particular brands I tend to go for middle of the range (budget wise) – I never buy the cheap end as they tend to wear out quickly and I feel you just waste your money.
4. Hammer
6. Screw Drivers – I have a complete set of both Phillips head and Standard Head Screw Drivers
7. Safety Glasses
8. Dust Mask – trust me you don’t want dust in your lungs, they are annoying to use in hot weather but when you are sanding you really need one.
9. Paint Brushes – I have several that I use but this brand and this size is what I use when painting.
10. Sand Paper and Hand Sander – I like to do all my distressing by hand so I use a fine grit (220 grit) sand paper.
11. Masking Tape – I use Bear Painters Gold Masking Tape on all my furniture projects, it is expensive but I know it does a great job so I am willing to invest in something I can trust. This is part of the secret to how I achieve crisp lines on my furniture projects without bleed through. I will share my other secrets in a later post 😉
12. Wood Glue – I use this to make repairs – the one shown is for indoor use only but they do sell outdoor glue also.
13. Scraper – To scrap off paint stripper I use plastic scrapers, you can buy metals ones but I find plastic are less likely to mark the wood.
14. Pencil – marking your measurements.
15. Wood Filler – I use this to make repairs and the great things is, is that it is stain-able so you can use it to make your repairs and then hide them with stain.
16. Screws & Nails – these are for repairs, I don’t generally have to use them but you never know!
17. Metal Ruler – on most of my furniture I replace the hardware (knobs & handles) so I need to measure and mark placement of holes to accommodate the new hardware. I like using a metal ruler versus a measuring tape as it stays flat and doesn’t try to roll back up on me!
18. Measuring Tape
19. Rags – for wiping off any excess wax and buffing.
20. Steel Wool – when stripping I use this to scrub the stripper off carvings and around awkward areas.
21. Chalk Paint – I have only worked with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and I use it on the occasional piece of furniture, I do tend to favour Milk Paint.
22. Chemical Gloves – you need heavy duty gloves when working with paint stripper, you do not want this stuff on your skin.
23. Milk Paint – I use both Old Fashioned Milk Paint and Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint.
24. Spray Paint – I exclusively use Rust-Oleum Spray Paint on all my projects as it adheres to just about any surface, if I want to change the colour of my hardware (knobs, screws etc.) I spray paint them.
25. Clear & Dark Wax – generally speaking I only use clear furniture wax but I will occasionally use dark wax.
26. Plastic Gloves – I use latex free plastic gloves when staining and varnishing, it keeps my hands clean.
27. Paint Stripper – I use Citristrip, it is expensive here in Oz but I like that it is the least caustic out of all the paint strippers I have tried.
28. Bonding Agent – for use with Milk Paint, I use this anytime I use Milk Paint….I don’t like chipping! (there I said it! I am a control freak and chipping freaks me out!)
29. Varnish & Stain – I use Feast Watson Matt or Satin Varnish and my favourite Stain is Japan Black
30. Tung Oil – I use this as a sealer on timber when I don’t paint it.
31. Clamps – I use large furniture clamps which I will show you during the process of making over a piece of furniture.
32. Wax Brush
33. Stanley Knife – For cutting masking tape.
34. Selleys Knead It – This is a repair medium that sets rock hard and can be sanded, it is great for larger repairs where you can’t use wood filler.
35. Knobs – I will be introducing you to a great hardware supplier in this series, so stay tuned.
A couple of things I didn’t photograph that I also use are paper plates when waxing, paddle pop sticks & plastic cups for mixing Milk Paint.
That is basically it, hopefully this gives you an idea of what I use and what you need if you want to do similar projects. I will be bringing you the next part of this series next week.
I taught my first Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint Workshop at Tanawha House this week, which was both exciting and terrifying at the same time, but it went off without a hitch. We had the most amazing group of people in the workshop, everyone just got along so well and we chatted and laughed basically the whole time. It was everything I hoped it would be.
While I was at Tanawha House I managed to snap a few photos of the interior of the shop to share with you.
I love how the Milk Paint and Fusion Paint are displayed.
Yes, that is a COPPER dresser and yes, when I first saw it I may have had a little moment…..it spoke to me. We may be soul mates.
That is a little peak but I will be sharing more with you in another post and I will have a little chat with the fabulous interior designer that runs this gorgeous space.
Hope you have a lovely weekend, I will see you next week where I will reveal the before of the piece of furniture I will be making over in this series.
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Great post Gilly. I’m always amazed at your furniture makeovers and this is a really interesting peek into your process! I had no idea the amount of tools and material that you need for a project like this! Thanks for sharing on Found & Foraged.
[…] not super exciting, who wants to read about tools? But just in case you missed it you can find it here. Some of this information will be helpful as we progress through the series and I will refer back […]
This is a great blog post! I love the look of the makeovers. I also did a similar project with old furniture in my apartment to give it new life. It takes a while but it is definitely very rewarding!
Felicia | Beloved Style
It is rewarding, lot of work but worth the end result. Thanks
What a great post Gilly! So much helpful information in here! I’m definitely pinning this! 🙂 And yes, that copper dresser is incredible!
Haha, that dresser would have spoken to me too! Um copper? Wow!! Great information, loved your photography as always!
I know, isn’t it stunning!