Elbow grease gives old furniture new life

I have to start this column out by saying that Shari and I like to spend time in dark damp basements. You would be surprised at the cool stuff you can find. Recently while helping a friend empty out the basement of an older home, we found a six-drawer dresser that she thought had seen better days. I was quick to explain to her, that with a little elbow grease and some effort we could bring this neglected beauty back to life.

The one thing that I tried to stress to my friend was to tread lightly on the furniture you wish to restore or conserve. Do you want to keep the integrity of the original finish, or start from scratch and go down to bare wood?

After removing the dresser from the basement, I found it was in worse shape than I thought.

First I needed to let it dry. I didn’t want to do any work until it was completely dry so that I could locate all the damaged areas. This took about a week; I placed it in a room in my house where the humidity was about 50 percent. I opened all the drawers and let it dry out naturally.

The next step was to vacuum off any dirt that was in the drawers and on the surface. I wiped out the insides of the drawers with mild soap and water, and dried with a damp cloth.

For the outer surface, I used a good ole spit wash, I know this sounds gross, but it works. I put a cotton swab in my mouth for a short time and then used it to gently removed as much of the dirt and grime as I could. I was able to remove the first layer of crud, but there was still a lot to remove. I didn’t want to do this next step, but I was forced to. I gently washed the surface with the same soap and water solution as before.

Once I felt all the dirt was removed, I started doing a little damage control. On the top, a little of the veneer was starting to lift. To reglue this small section, I used a matchbook cover with a small amount of wood glue applied to the end. Gently slide the cover underneath the veneer and remove any excess glue with a damp cloth. To hold it in position until it has dried, set a heavy object on top of it. I find that a plastic container filled with pennies works great. You can add or delete pennies to get the right weight. After it has dried, lightly remove any dried glue with your fingernail.

In some areas the original finish had been completely removed. I didn’t want to strip the entire finish; I just wanted to bring back some of the original color and luster.

To do this I sanded the dresser with 400-grit sandpaper to remove any protective finish. I removed all the dust with a tack cloth and wiped the entire piece with a matched color stain. I let the stain sit for a few minutes then wiped it off with a soft cloth. The stain filled in the bare spots and gave the piece a uniform color.

For the final protective coat I applied a paste wax. Form a small ball of wax and place it into a soft cloth. Pounce the cloth in your hand to work the wax into the material, and then rub it onto the furniture. Once it has hazed over, gently wipe off with a clean cloth. It’s similar to waxing a car.

The finishing touch was applied to the insides of the drawers. The old musty basement smell wasn’t going away, so I purchased some wrapping paper, added a few drops of scented oil and placed the sheet in the drawer. It wasn’t perfect but it was more pleasant.

There you have it. Maybe that old piece of furniture in your attic or the one that you bought at a garage sale will become a showpiece in your home.

Matt Fox and Shari Hiller, authors of “Matt and Shari’s Great Weekend Projects, also appear together frequently on HGTV. For more on Matt Fox and Shari Hiller, visit www.hgtv.com or www.mattandshari.com.