Windgate Lane: Stripping....

I don't like stripping. period. the end. First off because my body just ain't what it used to be... ha! ok, ok... you know I had to. But really, furniture stripping is not my cup of tea. But there is only one way to get all of those Deep Burgundy stained pieces (you know what i'm talking about) back to a pretty natural wood.... so strip I must!

This is going to be another sneak peak at part of my office make-over from 2013-14-and probably 15... baby steps people.

I don't need a huge desk and it is a small room- so I decided that this larger sofa table would be perfect- and on Craigslist for $40- I was ready to give it a shot! If I could find my wonderful before pic I would show you... sigh.... but you can see how dark it was here in this beginning shot...

Tutorial:

I got an old brush out and bought a can of CitriStrip and got to work. Make sure you wear protective gloves! I just put one thin coat on to see how well it was going to work and ended up adding more in certain places that it just wasn't wiping off. Make sure you use a plastic scraper so you don't gouge the wood when slowing scraping- and also make sure you go in the directions of the grain as well. This piece had several decorative spots that I just used a cloth to wipe the CitriStrip on and then off as well because then you could get in all the nooks and crannies.

Once I had all of the old stain off- I took a rag and some mineral spirits to clean it all down and get any left over stripping off.

I'm going to interrupt this tutorial to tell you that when I went into the paint store and asked the young gentleman at the counter where the Mineral Spirits were, he replied... "Is that some kind of Energy Drink?" to which I replied... "Bless your heart... no sweetie and don't ever drink it if you see it!!"

I kind of felt I might have just saved a life...

After I let it sit for a bit, I then sprayed a water based poly acrylic all over it to have a seal on it- but I didn't want to do much because I wanted it to look very natural and not shiny or too done.

I can't wait to show you how fun she will be in the office- but for now- behold her natural beauty!