Restoring wood furniture without sanding or refinishing probably sounds too good to be true. What if I told you it wasn’t?! Follow along for my step by step process on how to restore furniture without stripping or sanding.
I found this beautiful old Eastlake style washstand on Facebook marketplace the day before Christmas. I clicked the “save” button. It had been listed at $50 and had just been dropped to $40. I knew I wouldn’t be able to pick it up for a few days, but if it was still available after our holiday festivities, I wanted to try to get it.
Sure enough, 2 days after Christmas it was still available, so I went to pick it up.
I imagine it was sitting and not selling because the listing photo was of the washstand sitting in a garage and the front was covered in scratches.
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I couldn’t tell how deep the scratches were, so I was taking a chance, I suppose, but I’m so glad I did! I revived this baby in a matter of 5 minutes and it looks beautiful, once again. Follow along as I show you what I did to restore this piece back to it’s former glory, without stripping or sanding.
Supplies You’ll Need
- Screwdriver
- Cleaning Cloth & Soap or TSP
- Cloth (to apply product)
- Restor-a-Finish (find your color match here first)
- Wax
Remove Hardware
First, you’ll want to remove any hardware that might be in the way. You could also just tape around it. You’ll have to access based on your specific piece.
If your piece has really deep scratches, you can still try this process, but this process works best for more shallow/surface level scratches. If my piece had really deep scratches, I would consider using wood filler or a tinted wax stick first.
Wipe it Down
Next, you’ll want to wipe down the piece. Get any residue off with goo-gone, if needed, otherwise just give it a quick wipe down and let it dry completely before moving on to the next step. Some people like to wipe furniture down with something like this, but you can also use soap and water.
Choose Your Product
In order for this product to work well, you will have to choose the right color for your piece. For me, I chose Walnut, as it looked to be the closest color to the piece I was trying to restore. The company that makes Restor-a-finish provides this handy color matching tool below. Check it out so that you know which color to order. You can order the product here, or you can find it in stock at your local Home Depot or Lowe’s (you can check availability online first).
Apply Product
Take your cloth/rag (ideally one you don’t care about) and apply a small amount of the product onto your rag. Go ahead and wipe over the areas that have scratches and then wipe off any excess. I was shocked at the results. So good. It felt like a little magic trick.
This Drawer – before
After
Apply a Wax or a Finish
Next, to protect your work and make it last longer, you’ll want to apply a furniture wax or some sort of finish. If you prefer using a liquid finish, I like this one as it doesn’t yellow over time.
Let it Dry
Last step, let it dry and enjoy it! I like to wait a few days before moving things inside when I’ve used some sort of product/chemical. But you can move it in right away and get back to enjoying it.
Before
After
I’m so happy with how it turned out! Like I can’t believe how good it looks and how quick this process was.
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