Restoration Part II

Don’t you hate it when you type up a whole post and then lose it? *tears hair out*

The weather has cleared up (and is incredibly hot again) so I finally got down to Bunnings to grab some sandpaper blocks to finish sanding the desk I’m restoring. Even with the blocks it was difficult to get into the corners. When I start actually making things I am going to make everything sit perfectly flush to make it easy for anyone who wants to sand back and re-polish any of my work!

Finally, after a quick wipe with a towel to get the wood dust off, it was time to start varnishing. I used a clear varnish. Adam and I tossed up getting a dark stain like mahogany to put under the varnish, but I quite liked the creaminess of the colour the natural wood is. Unfortunately, it came out a lot darker than I expected once I put on the varnish. This is very much a learn as I go project.

Next problem – about half way across the desk is a length of wood that has been cut on the slant, so the grain run diagonally. Lets hope you can’t notice that I kept the brush parallel to the rest of the desk once it’s dry.
You can see how shiny the varnish makes it, when you compare it to the ‘new’ wood.

In books it always says ‘use the best tools you can afford’ and I found out why – small hairs kept falling off the brush and sticking in the varnish, needing to be removed with tweezers. I have an excuse – my mum bought the brush and she must have bought the cheapest one there because a good 1/4 of the hairs are no longer attached to it.

So the project is on hold (again) until I can go and get a decent brush. I did get one layer of varnish on the top of the desk done and if you ignore the small marks where the hairs where pulled off (or left on) it looks quite good.

Note: As I write this MoMo is curled up near the desk, meowing softly in his sleep. He has just come back from another 3 day wander and we have decided to get him desexed, even though he is a middle aged cat and I’m not sure how he’ll take it. He’s booked in for Thursday and hopefully after that he will stop fighting with the splotchy cat next door and just get fat and lazy like the other two.

Restoration Part I

A few weeks ago Adam and I piled into my dad’s kombi and drove up to Rockingham to grab a desk and a tv that a lady had offered to us on freecycle. I love freecycle. I have gotten rid of so much stuff I didn’t want; bags of old kids clothes, a ugly wardrobe that sat in the sun room with nothing in it for months, Adam’s old computer which only worked when it wanted to. I’ve also picked up a heap of stuff – a bbq (next restoration job), an old Atlas for Kaidin to cut maps out of, a huge tv and the desk. It took a bit of manouvering to get the desk into the kombi and we drove home with Adam holding onto it so it wouldn’t fall through the window or onto the dog.

The desk was quite big, but old and grotty; one leg was slipping; the top was very worn and stained. I decided this was the perfect job for using the sander than mum gave me for christmas last year. When I was growing up Mum restored a few bits of furniture – sanded back and revarnished the computer table (now my dining table), sanded the gross black paint off an old sea chest (now her coffee table) and some small cupboards and chairs. About a year ago, I decided that I really wanted to start making furniture out of packing crates. Mum’s dining table is made out of packing crates, and I have always found the idea of recycling wood fascinating. But until I get a ute or a trailer so I can go and get the wood, I’ll have to be content with sanding back and revarnishing old wooden furniture from freecycle.

At this point I went inside for a break – sanding makes your hands go so numb!

Note: No I’m not pregnant! I just have an obsession with smock style tops in summer – so comfortable.

Finally I finished. Tomorrow I have to buy some sandpaper and wood glue to sand the joins that the sander couldn’t reach and glue the leg and part of the top back on. Then I’ll varnish it. I was going to stain it dark brown, but once I finished sanding I found the wood is such a gorgeous colour that I want to keep it as light as possible. It is silky and gorgeous. I have no idea what type of wood it is, but it’s really soft and easy to sand. Next time however, I’m definately doing it out of the sun – I have a very red back. Stay tuned for the next segment!