This piece was solid wood and super heavy. The perfect piece for a raw wood furniture makeover. The only real issue I could find was broken drawer support. But that can be remedied easily. The hardest part would be removing the oil-based paint, but I have just the product for the job.
It’s not every day when I come across a piece that is this old and is in pretty decent shape, but now and then I’ll scroll through some of our local Facebook Trading sites. Most of the time it’s just to kill time while sitting in the grocery store line. Since that day, I have forgiven the lady ahead of me that had 27 coupons and was holding up the line for 30 minutes. This armoire stopped me dead in my scroll! The picture was very poor, but the outline was there. I knew it had to be something special. After chatting with the seller, I decided to take a chance (an hour away) on my intuition. SCORE!
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Stripping Painted Furniture | Raw Wood Furniture
One of my favorite products to strip paint is Citri Strip stripping gel. I created a short tutorial and demonstration of the product for you. Check it out below.
Stripping Paint
*Always use your protective equipment (gloves, goggles, and mask) when using any chemical products and dispose of the contaminated materials as suggested by the manufacturer. I’m a safety girl!
After removing the paint with Citri Strip, I used a product called Klean Strip Odorless mineral spirits to wipe off any residual paint and sticky leftovers using a soft cotton cloth.
Stripping paint is a messy job and you’re going to need a lot of paper towels and old rags, but the results are worth all the hard work. I was shocked to see how beautiful the wood was under “the black sea”.
This changed my whole vision for this piece. Hey, I’m a furniture painter, right? Besides a new game plan, I also had to resolve the issue of the broken drawer support. After careful inspection, there was no easy way to repair it. So, I removed 2 middle drawers (above and below the broken support) and built an open shelf. The opening was perfect and all I had to do is cut 4 pieces of 1/4 inch birch plywood to fit the existing opening, then glue and nail them in place with my finish nailer. I used a wood filler, Plastic Wood that matched the plywood to fill the nail holes. You can find the plywood at most large home repair stores and I use it a lot when building shelving, repairing drawers and replacing backings on old pieces. Stainable and paintable.
Well my friends, in the end, I just loved the raw wood so much, I left its raw nakedness for all to enjoy.
I sealed the wood using Modern Masters Masterclear Supreme and using a Purdy XL Cub Angular paintbrush to apply it. It’s my go-to brush for a smooth finish with topcoats.
Raw Wood Furniture Makeover
What can I say? I want to keep it. And for the record, I usually say that about all my makeovers. I got to enjoy this beauty in my home for 6 months before she sold. Listen to me, I sound like a crazy furniture hoarder! For creators and furniture painters, it’s just what we have to accept. I think I can speak for most furniture painters when I say that we are happy to give the furniture a new life, but it’s still hard to let go. All the time and love we put into our furniture makes us feel a bit empty when it leaves. Bittersweet for sure. But, there’s alway another raw wood furniture project waiting just right around the corner.
Thanks for stopping by today. I hope this inspires you to try the raw wood furniture look. It turned out lovely and goes nicely with the Farmhouse decor. If you liked this, you’ll enjoy this raw wood makeover or even this black wax makeover on a raw wood chest.
Until the next project… xo, Do
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