This furniture makeover is over a year in the making! After finding this beauty (made in 1880!!!) on Facebook Marketplace for $120 she has been sitting in my garage waiting for her moment!

If you’re new to furniture flipping, this post is for you! I’m going to walk you step by step through how I removed the old varnish – and there was a lot of it – prep and sand the wood, and add a beautiful durable finish that will leave you with a beautiful heirloom treasure!

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How To Strip Varnish and Stain off of Wood Furniture

There are a lot of products on the market to help you remove the old finish from wood, but they are definitely not all created equal! Some are incredibly caustic and others underperform. I tried a new-to-me product for this table makeover that will forevermore be my go to for stripping wood furniture.

Materials

• degreasing cleaner like KrudKutter
• GreenEZ Strip and Clean Stripper
• GreenEZ Strip and Clean Finishing Cleaner
• Plastic flexible scraper
• old clean paint brush
• plastic sheeting
• paper towels and old rags
• nitrile rubber gloves
• safety glasses (optional but recommended)

Directions

1. Set Up – Start by laying down a protective barrier under your furniture, such as plastic sheeting. This will make life much easier when it comes to clean up! If needed, disassemble your furniture. I removed the top from the legs and stripped everything separately. I used saw horses to elevate my table top while I worked.

2. Clean – Using a degreaser, clean all surfaces and allow them to dry completely.

3. Strip – Using a paintbrush, apply stripper to the surface of your wood. (make sure you’re wearing your protective gear!) Don’t be stingy in your application. You want a nice thick layer of stripper covering all surfaces. For GreenEZ, they recommend letting the stripper sit on the wood for 2-4 hours. I covered all surfaces with plastic wrap to prevent the product from drying out.

4. Remove Finish – After the allotted time, check a small area of the wood with a plastic scraper to see how the stripper is working. If it looks like the finish is bubbling up and releasing from the surface, remove all of your plastic wrap and begin scraping.

Pro Tip: I move the scraper in long movements from one end of the table top to the other picking up a line of stripper and finish like a bulldozer scrapes dirt. When I get to the end of the table, I have an old plastic food container waiting to dump the “gunk” into. This will prevent the stripper and finish from mostly falling onto the floor. AND you laid down plastic first so even if some gunk falls, your floors are protected!

5. Assess – Once you have removed all of the stripper and varnish, take a look at the wood surfaces to see how much finish is still left on the surface. If the first round of stripper removed most of the finish, proceed to step 6. But if it looks like there’s a good bit of finish still left on your surface, repeat step 4. NOTE: because my table is from 1880 and more than 100 years older than me, she had a LOT of finish and build up that needed to be removed. I repeated step 4 to make sure I removed almost all of the finish before continuing on.

6. Clean – Spray finishing cleaner all over your surface to remove the remaining stripper and bits of finish. I alternated cleaning with the spraying and rinsing the surface with water to make sure I was cleaning the table thoroughly.

7. Dry – When you have removed all residue from your wood surfaces, allow your piece to completely dry before moving on to sanding! I allowed my table to dry in the sunshine all afternoon and started on my sanding the next day.

How To Sand Wood Furniture

Materials

• Orbital Sander
• sanding pads in different grits – I use 80, 150, and 220
• damp rag
• protective eyewear

Directions

1. Make sure your wood is completely dry before beginning to sand

2. Start by using 80 grit sandpaper. This stage was the most time consuming because you will be sanding off any remaining finish as well as sanding down chips and rough spots. Make sure you move your sander WITH the grain and move the sander quickly so avoid lingering in any spot for too long and creating a divot. When finished, wipe down all surfaces with a lightly damp rag and assess if you missed any remaining finish, scratches or snags. Your hands are the perfect tool to judge if there is a spot that is too rough.

3. Repeat the sanding process with 120 and 220 grit paper, wiping down in between each grit. NOTE: When wiping down after your final grit, the moisture will lift the grain and make the wood feel rougher again. Let the wood dry and then sand a second or even third time repeating this process with 220 grit. The grain will stop lifting which leaves you with the smoothest surface!

4. When all surfaces are free of any old finish and smooth, wipe down the entire piece to remove all dust and dirt. You’re ready to stain and/or seal! You can see in the image below the dramatic before and after of stripping and sanding!

How to Seal Wood Furniture with Danish Oil

If you love the look of pale, raw wood then you can stop here and seal the piece with top coat. See how I did this on my old kitchen table and our dining room table. But if you’d like to add some right color, I cannot recommend Danish Oil enough! This was my first time using Danish oil and it was so fast and easy to use!

What is Danish Oil?

Danish oil is a wood finishing oil that is used to protect and enhance wood. It is a blend of oils and resins that can be applied to many types of wood, including hardwood and softwood, and can be used on both interior and exterior surfaces. Danish oil is known for its many benefits, including: 

• Durable: Danish oil is water and stain resistant, and can help prevent wood from drying out and deteriorating. 
• Smooth finish: Danish oil dries to a smooth, satin finish. 
• Easy to apply: Danish oil is easy to apply and dries quickly. 
• Food safe: Danish oil is food safe and can be used on surfaces that come into contact with food. 
• Enhances wood color: Danish oil enhances the natural color of the wood and gives it a slightly darker, richer hue.

Materials

• tack cloth
• old rags or foam brush
• Danish oil – I used Dark Walnut
• nitrile rubber gloves

Directions

1. Clean – Use tack cloth to remove any dirt or debris from your raw wood surfaces

2. First Application – Apply a generous amount of Danish Oil to the wood using a rag or brush. Allow the oil to sit on the wood for 15 minutes.

3. Second Application – Without wiping off any of the oil first, apply a second coat of oil to the wood and wait an additional 15 minutes.

4. Wipe – Wipe off all excess Danish Oil. I used rags and paper towels. I found that paper towels were extra absorbent for removing the remaining oil from my table.

5. Dry – Allow the Oil to dry and cure for the allotted time on the packaging.

Our New Old Table

When we added this antique table to our kitchen I literally jumped for joy. She is such a beauty! The rich, warm color and those gorgeous legs are so special! I will be adding a new rug and new chairs to this space very soon! The vintage ladder back chairs we originally had in our kitchen fell apart so we’ve been using some of our dining room chairs for the time being until I found something new. The new ones will arrive at the beginning of November and I can’t wait to see everything come together!

Furniture Flips From the Archives

Here are some of my favorite furniture projects over the years!

• The Bench With a Story
• Upholstered Entry Bench
• Farmhouse Kitchen Table Flip
• My Dream Office Table
• Grandma’s Sewing Cabinet Makeover
• A New Purpose For An Antique Armoire

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