Save Money on Furniture

After you have stripped your furniture of the old paint or varnish now it's time to pick a decoration style. A big trend in Furniture recently is Distressing. Distressing is a way to make your furniture look old or antiquish with out the flaws. Meaning you still have a structurely good piece but you make it look Old and warn for that cottage in the woods look.

1. Pound furniture with a hammer until it has enough dings and bruises to resemble a true flea market find. (not too hard though)

2. Base coat furniture with black or white satin paint, then lightly sand corners and areas around any handles or drawer pulls. Stain any recessed and sanded areas with honey- or maple-colored gel stains to mesh the wood and paints together.

3. For furniture pieces that aren't as large, such as chairs and stools, use smaller tools like a chisel or utility knife to scrape edges and gouge a few areas. Other people even use tricks for aging furnishings include hitting the piece with chains, rolling it in gravel, or throwing it onto cement. But I tend not to use these because you can really damage your furniture. Especially if you had a bad day;)

4. For a distressed paint look, apply paste wax to corners and any protruding areas of the furniture before painting to create a barrier between the paint and wood. Paint the furniture and allow to dry. Once paint has dried, lightly sand corners and protruding areas. Finish by sealing with an acrylic stain or polyurathane satin.

Stripping furniture can be frustrating. One of the main ingredients in stripping furniture is PATIENCE.

Paint Stripping

Some will work well and some will not, but try the cheapest first, some strippers that are the most expensive are the ones you see most in magazines and on TV, so you pay a lot for their advertising rather than a better product. Our favorites were among the cheapest.

As with everything in this life, there is an exception. Environmentally safe strippers ($) that you can use inside that won't send you gasping to a window periodically.

Citristrip paint stripper is one of the very good ones on paint, but not varnish. Make short work of stripping paint and old finishes and has a very pleasant orange smell.

Spray paint stripper can really be an advantage on spindles and carved areas. But be careful when using because fumes are more dangerous then actual paint(combustable).

When spindles, or something with lots of nooks and crannys, there is nothing like a spray. You need to make sure that everything that could be damaged with over spray is covered. Time saved from spraying is far greater than the time taken to cover other things.

Let The Paint Stripper Do The Work

If you're working hard and getting frustrated because the finish won't come off, it's probably because you aren't letting the remover do its work. Some times it is necessary to put several coats on before the old finish is ready to come off. If you try scraping the old finish off before it is ready you waste paint stripper and energy. Use a scraper with rounded corners. If the remover laden finish dries before you get back to it, it can be reactivated with another application.

Gloves

Gloves can be a nuisance when you're stripping furniture, but they sure make things better for your hands and nails. Gauntlet gloves, a.k.a. Long Gloves, can be turned up can save you some extra exercise, dancing around because stripper ran up to your elbow on to the more tender skin.

Eye Protection

Eye protection is always a good idea when you're working with chemicals or anything foreign that may fly into your eyes. All it takes is just one little Flick of your brush and it's going to feel like you eye is on fire. If this happens take your gloves and washout your eyes immediately!

Stripping Spindles

Flat surfaces are quite easy to strip, but spindles can be kind of tricky. This is where you need to use some tricks of your own. First, strip the heavy stuff off. Then take pieces of burlap or other coarse cloth to work good on the spindles. Work around, back and forth on softened finish. String or rough twine is also good for tight turnings. One of the most used tools was a piece of dowel about the size of a pencil, sharpened in a pencil sharpener. It's good for the grooves in turnings, cracks, gouges and lots of other uses.

Cleaning up

Use a commercial after paint stripper wash, such as Citristrip Wash or denatured alcohol, and 0000 steel wool as a final wash. Let the piece dry thoroughly then rub it all down with the steel wool to remove peices of wax and to check to be sure that all of the old finish is gone. Almost all strippers have wax in them which forms a skim on top to slow evaporation. The steel wool rub also prepares the surface for a new finish.

Always remember that the surface preparation is the most important part of a good finish. As a final touch, go over the whole piece with a tack cloth to clean any steel wool strands and dust.

Disposal Of Waste Products

Be very careful of disposal of your paint stripper waste products, residue, paper towels, rags, etc. A pile of rags with residue of flammable material can catch fire by spontaneous combustion. It's best to keep a bucket of water handy to throw used paper towels and rags in and another container to hold the gloopy stripped residue or other finish until you're ready to dispose of them.

Check with your waste disposal facility (garbage dump, from years past) to see how to dispose of your old finishes. If you have very old painted furniture, which may have lead paint, check with the hazardous waste people in your area to see how to dispose of the residue.

***ALWAYS wear gloves when stripping old paint. NEVER sand old painted finishes, the paint may contain lead, which can be very detrimental to you and to others who might come in contact with it. Stripper will keep it moist and dust free.***

Everyday people just throw away furniture without even thinking about what they are doing to the environment or others. By donating to thrift shops you help provide to charities and non-profits. Thrift stores also are attached to Churches and everyone knows what kind of work churches do. Here are some helpful tips on where and how to save hundreds of dollars!

Three things you should be looking for when going to Garge Sales or Thrift Stores for home Furnishings:

1. Quality of Material- Is the wood Real or not, will the fabric fade or need to be replaced

2. Price- Some used furniture or thrift Store mark up there product too much!

3. Can you redesign it- Will it fit with your home decor needs. Example: if you have a modern seting you don't want a artistically carved piece that stands out too much.

Please feel free to check back and I'll have more keys to saving you money!

This is the single most important item when choosing used furniture. Don't be affraid to move the furniture around.

When moving the furniture see if the legs are bending or sagging if it's a chair. If it's an Armoir check the base to see if the panels are loose and if you can fix them (which is another point I will get to!). Especially couches, check the arms and the cushions. If you sit in the couch and something is poking your behind, Don't Buy It!

Next look underneth the furniture if your physically able too. By looking on the bottom or under the base you might see the manufacturers name, where it was made, and possibly who made it. Also you can see how the furniture is being held or how structurely sound it is. Sometime when we go to yard sales we see furniture being held by hot glue and rope! No Joke!

Lastly try to figure out the age! The older the furniture the better. Twenty years ago furniture makers didn't craft their art out of pressed wood. Carpenters used real heavy solid woods. These pieces you can strip down to nothing and just revarnish it to make it look new. Or with antiques you can just clean them and they sparkle. Plus you just made some money...Antiques.

So when looking for used furniture put yor purchase to the test. Not only will you have the piece of mind that you bought something that will last but you might get lucky and find a diamond in the rough. Further more you can haggle the seller down if the leg is loose or it needs new accessories...Saving you money.