Expensive furniture pieces can be amazingly affordable if you have purchased them as unfinished wood furniture. Besides that, these can be very beautiful art pieces. And if you like a challenge, you will love to treat an unfinished piece of furniture. Just imagine how rewarding it will be to finish an unfinished piece of art. Here’s how to properly do that:
- Preparing. Get the furniture ready for the treatment. Wear a pair of gloves to protect your hand while doing this. Wipe any dust or dirt on the wood. Use damp cloth for removing more stubborn dirt and stain. Using wood soap is recommended for some stains. But spot treat the soap first before applying it on the stain.
- Sanding. You can use anything that can smooth out the wood’s surface like random orbit sander and finishing sander but not a belt sander. Also, sanding should be done across the grain for more effective result. Sandpaper is fine for this. But your work will be faster with electric sander.
- Dusting. Use a tack cloth to remove the dusts produced by the sanding. Other types of clothes are okay but the tack cloth is the most effective in dusting off the wood.
- Treating stains. Removing the dusts will reveal the purer look of the unfinished wood furniture. Stains will be more visible on a sanded wood. Sand the stains again and then wipe off the dust. Repeat the sanding and wiping off until the stain is removed. It is important to remove the wood stains before proceeding on the next steps. More stubborn stain can be treated with wood chemicals. If not, you can cover the imperfection with wood paint.
- Checking for imperfections. Wipe off the dusts again and then touch the furniture surface. It should be smooth to the feel. There should be no edgy surface. Nails should have been well hammered. Check how the wood pieces were put together. Applying more glue might be needed. Also apply filler on the nails so they won’t be very noticeable.
- Sealing. Apply a good sealer for the furniture’s wood. Go to a local hardware store and ask for a good brand for the specific wood. Every sealer works best on certain types of woods. Applying a sealer on the furniture is often unnecessary. But doing so will give you smoother finish and easier painting job.
- Painting. Wood absorbs primer and paint faster than other surfaces. So expect to apply more coats than it normally takes for concrete. Continue on applying more coats until you are satisfied. Settling on mediocrity will only give you mediocre result. You want the unfinished wood furniture to be as perfect as possible. Painting it well is the last part of the job but this is also the most challenging. Always wait for the current coat of paint to dry completely before applying a new coat. Finishing coat is best achieved with a spray paint than applying it with a brush.
Take as much time as you need to perfect the treatment of unfinished wood furniture. Who knows, it can be your legacy and a unique piece of art that will be passed on from generation to the next. Making a masterpiece does, after all, take a long time. So just enjoy the process and you will soon be rewarded with well-treated wood furniture.
