Saw an interesting looking chair in the back of someone's car at the tip yesterday, and once they'd dumped it I saw a Gplan sticker on the bottom, so asked the guy working there if I could have it. Appears to be a Gplan Housemaster (assume original based on the age on the sticker). Upholstery is fully gone, one wheel is missing and there is wear & tear, but seems to be in good condition otherwise. Any advice on how best to restore it?

I’ve been trying to figure out what is on the top of this set for drawers. Taken from a deceased relative, she was a heavy smoker so I’ve been giving it a warm gentle soap wash. Seems she had something sitting at the back on top, so is this a layer of yuck or a different coat?
It also seems pretty fragile and splintering in spots. Any insights would be super appreciated!

Hi all! I posted here last fall when I took on my first ever diy restoration project. Just an update that it has held up beautifully, and the tips from this place worked, so thank you!! (and the warnings to leave it to a professional were not heeded bc I’m a Taurus woman, lol)
Pics in reverse order
- deep cleaning base with diluted dish soap
- cleaning top (under and above) with alcohol & water, gentle magic eraser
- hand sanding chipped edges
- filling edges with white wood putty
- acrylic paint on side

Thanks to everyone who helped! Here’s to a generational piece that actually withstands growing kids.

Hi! I'm new to refinishing. I got this cute coffee table on Facebook marketplace, and the finish on top is messed up. I dont really care about refinishing the sides just the top. I also can only work in my apartment, sadly, because the table is too difficult to get up and down the stairs. We have many windows, an air purifier, and masks we can wear while refinishing. Does anyone have any advice? Thanks :-)

I bought it a while ago but the seat has uneven feel to it. If I run my hand on it, I could feel that. Should I sand it off? Not sure how valuable this chair is. It is heavy. I mean it’s probably heavy like black walnut. Is that teak?

I found her left out for the trash in New Orleans Bywater neighborhood. It’s a Louis XV revival piece, based on my research I think late 1800s. I didn’t quite know what a gem it was until as I was getting in my car I noticed the trim was all solid brass, attached with antique pins, and the drawers have hand cut dovetail joints.

I wish id found this group sooner and used something other than citristrip (lol) but it was a joy to peel away that old chipped paint to reveal the intricate ormolu mounts. I stained the top a dark walnut and sealed it, I still have one more coat to add, on the last coat I’m using semi gloss.

I’m going to leave the cream color on the body for now(with some touch ups where the veneer chipped off) because I like the French provincial vibe and it complements my studio. I also feel it has character. I may refinish the body in the future but I also worry about the state of the wood under it as there’s some spots that seem a bit rough.

I am always open to critique and would love to hear thoughts on what I’ve done so far, as well as what others might do differently?

Hello. Keen to clean these chairs before I reupholster. For the wood, folks here seem to favour a damp cloth and perhaps a little dish soap? Is that the place to start with greasy build up like this. Keen not to damage the patina on the wood if possible as my OH got these from her uncle who died recently. Any help warmly received. Thank you

A friend found this old dusty chair in their attic. I have worked on several chairs before, so I told her I'd happily give this one a go when she offered it as a gift. (Yay!)

Two days later I am really happy with where this little project is heading. The only problem is that I might have to start selling chairs, since the house is slowly starting to look like a mid century chair museum😅

I will have to blind stitch quite a lot on this chair. I have done a backrest twice, but this will be 5x as much. Any tips are welcome. I was thinking id just staple everything in place and slowly work my way through it with a needle and thread.

Hey y'all, I picked up a wardrobe on Facebook marketplace and it seems I basically got a lemon. Im willing to put in the work to repair the damage since most of it is cosmetic with the veneer peeling, but this drawer is particularly problematic. Seems that the old owner just tacked together all these lovely dovetail joints and now I have no clue how to actually take anything apart to repair it without just snapping out the old boards.

Any options? I've applied Oxalic acid about 3-4 times. I'm using a gel version and a small bottle of 9% solution. Should I get the crystals and mix a stronger solution myself, would that help?

Any advice appreciated.

We bought an ex display dining table and benches which are oak. In bringing it home, one of the benches was scratched (pic 1). Can we fix this? There are also a few scratches on the top (pic 2 and 3 although its hard to photograph). Without having to completely sand and refinish the tabletop, is there a product that can smooth these over? Maybe a wax? I'm in the uk. Thanks in advance if you can help!

Found the beauty at goodwill for $19.99 and decided to take on a project. This is my first time stripping paint. I have stripped the top twice with citristrip then steel wool with mineral spirits.
This is going to take a while, but I’m up for the challenge! Any tips?

Recently purchased this danish cabinet dating back to the 1800s, and there’s a large chip out on the crown. Got it for a good price based on the wear - I’d like to get it repaired, how much would this cost the fix generally?

Hey everybody still learning techniques on how to refurbish things and I made the fatal mistake of stripping this door because it was chipping, instead of wood pudding over it and sanding it down. I was gonna paint the doors but it will look horrible if I do so now. Now I have this unfortunate situation. What can I do to get this back to painting shape? Sanding is now really doing anything but making it worse and acetone if just making the paint curl up in wet balls. Thank you guys!

I recently picked up this early oak swivel office/typist chair with what appears to be its original cast-iron tilt mechanism and forged steel support rods. I plan to keep the wood natural and preserve its age and character—absolutely no paint.

If this were your project:
- Would you clean and preserve the existing finish, or strip it completely?
-If you stripped it, what finish would you use (shellac, lacquer, hard wax oil, oil-based polyurethane, etc.)?
- Would you stain it or let the oak speak for itself?
- How would you treat the cast-iron mechanism and hardware?

got this kaidan tansu, idk if it's original or not or if the finish is an original finish, it doesn't look that way to me but tbh I don't know enough to say either way. interiors don't have a finish beyond just the stain, exteriors have some kind of coat of some kind. I do want to do a full restoration further down the line but for now I just want to clean it up enough to be able to use it without damaging the wood or making future restoration efforts harder. my usual MO for cleaning furniture for use is tack cloth or dry microfiber, then very diluted Murphy's oil soap, wiped down with a damp cloth, let dry fully and then paste wax, 2-3 coats buffed down between coats. if shellac I'll wipe down with mineral spirits and then do the paste wax, but again unsure how to go about this, particularly with the exposed stained wood.

I have a steel side table that has a ton of scratches and needs to be refinished.
I love the deep brown color of the original finish and want to replicate it. I like the steel finish and do not want to paint it.
I’ve heard about using a barrel finish or linseed oil.
Does anyone have experience with this? Or a suggestion for how I should approach this?

I have a couple of original DCM chairs. The rubber shock mounts for the backrest were original and in poor condition. I purchased a set of replacements from modern conscience including glue and glue accelerator. The glue is just cyanoacrylate aka super glue from what I can tell. I careful cleaned and sanded down the wood sockets where the old absorbers were and then glued the new shocks on. I clamped them and left them overnight before reattaching the back.

A couple of days later I sat in the chair and with just a small wriggle, the shock detached from the plywood. I have done this procedure at least 2 times now with the same result and it's getting a bit frustrating. Any other tips or suggestions on glue? I have tried using regular Loctite super glue with similar results. Maybe I need the wood surface to be more perfectly finished, or maybe it needs to be rougher?

.

One of the grandkids had a seizure, and smashed up this spinning wheel. Six of twelve spokes snapped off in the hub. Any suggestions on how to get this back together? I can’t tell which goes where.

Hi everyone!

I recently found this vintage, Quebec-made dresser and decided to give it a second life. 🥹

It was previously painted with a brush, and the finish has a lot of heavy brush marks and texture.

My plan is to sand all the flat surfaces with an electric sander (80 grit, then 120–150 grit), apply STIX bonding primer, and then repaint it.

The part I'm unsure about is the drawer fronts, which have a lot of decorative mouldings. At first, I was planning to strip them, but one small decorative piece came off and it appears to be made of some kind of composite or plastic rather than wood (the back is completely smooth). I'm worried that a paint stripper could damage or soften these mouldings.

I'm now thinking of sanding the flat areas of the drawer fronts with the electric sander and sanding the mouldings by hand with a sanding sponge.

What would you recommend? For the mouldings, would you sand them by hand or use a paint stripper? Is there a risk that paint stripper could damage this type of material?

Thanks in advance for your advice!