How to Strip and Repaint Wood Furniture

My mother brought home a small bench that was from a friend's yard sale. She was meaning to repurpose it because the previous paint job did not match the decor of our house. I found that Instructables had a "Trash to Treasure" contest so I realized there would be no better time than now to learn how to refurbish painted wood furniture.

The major skills I learned to use in this project were:

- Stripping paint and finishes

- Sanding wood

- Repainting and applying finishes

Supplies

Citrus Scent CitriStrip Paint & Varnish Stripping gel

Jasco Green Odorless Mineral Spirits

7 two inch wide Sponge Brushes

7 one inch wide Sponge Brushes

1 piece of Tack Cloth

a few Clorox surface cleaning wipes

Rust-Oleum Chalked Protective Topcoat in Matte Clear

Rust-Oleum Chalked Paint in Farmhouse Red Chalky Smooth Finish

1 square of 150 grit sandpaper

1 square of 220 grit sandpaper

1 Pair of Rubber Latex Gloves

1 plastic scraper

A few Paper Towels

Step 1: Prepping the Bench for Stripping

Before I started any Stripping, I decided to thoroughly clean each side of the Bench. There was plenty of dust and residue from storage over a long period of time. I Wiped the dust off of the bench with a few Clorox wipes and managed to remove the residue with the wipes as well.

Step 2: Stripping Paint

After I cleaned the bench, I started using Citristrip to chemically remove the paint. I first put on rubber latex gloves to protect my hands and used a sponge brush to thickly apply the Citristrip to each side of the bench. after waiting 20-30 minutes, I used a plastic scraper to remove the Citristrip that now had a portion of the paint in it. I repeated the last two steps twice before I felt that enough paint was removed to move on. After this I applied Mineral oil to halt the paint removing process and to not damage the wood with leftover paint stripping solution.

Step 3: Sanding

After removing enough of the paint, I used sanding paper to remove leftover paint and make the bench smoother for painting. I first used the 150 grit sandpaper and used long strokes to keep the wood even. I then used the 220 grit sandpaper with slightly shorter strokes for an even smoother finish. Before I started painting I made sure to use tack cloth and damp paper towels to remove most of the wood and leftover paint particles from the bench in order for the paint to apply easily and evenly.

Step 4: Painting and Clear Coat Sealant

After sanding and removing most of the wood particles and paint, I started painting. I opened the can of red chalk paint and stirred the paint. I did this because the paint needs to completely soften up after sitting in storage for a while before I start painting to avoid clumps of paint getting in the way. After applying a coat to each side I let the paint dry overnight before adding another coat. After applying about 4 coats of paint I applied a few layers of a matte clear protective topcoat to protect the layers of paint and also add a light sheen to the red top layer while also waiting overnight to let those coats dry.

After painting and adding the clear topcoat I finished the bench and I was very surprised with how well the bench's final look is compared to what it looked like before and after I just learned how to strip and repaint.