Potting Table

I didn't take a lot of pictures during the process for this... D'Oh!

I had a computer desk I had long since stopped using and had put to use in my garage as a quasi-workbench. Once I got my workbench built, the desk went outside as a quasi-potting bench.

From the "Workbench in the Garage" era.

I remember my parents' old potting bench in their backyard, assembled by my grandfather from found materials. It was battered and old... but really neat. 

I decided to create something similar from found materials. A few 2x4s, a couple of extra composite boards, a nail gun, a few pocket holes, and a whole lotta barnyard paint later: a potting table was born! The nice thing is that I can use the former slide out keyboard drawer to hold tools!

I learned a few things from this project:
1) don't improvise and
2) slow down when painting, otherwise it will go everywhere.

It's not going to hold much, but it's form over function for this...

Meanwhile, The Husband made a bird house! 

Still under construction in this pic, it's pretty adorable.

Dresser Project (Part II): Blue

I've finished the second dresser. It's similar to the previous dresser, but instead of the sides of the drawers being red, these are blue. I'm now dubbing the previous dresser as "Red" and this one as "Blue."

I'm not that great with sanding. I think I've removed everything and after wiping everything down, it's pretty clear that some are better than others. However, I'm going from a black stain to a black stain, so I'm not too concerned. (When my sister restained a matching bookshelf a few years back, she went from black to a light brown, so she spent hours sanding.) I just needed it to have something to hold on to.

A little too much black still left. This is after the stain conditioner dried.
Meh... not too concerned.

Ready for painting!

I'm also working slightly differently on this one than the last: I used a stain conditioner to start and I'm also using foam rollers to apply the stain. What a difference!

I'm already impressed with the conditioner...

The first time it seemed to take forever to get everything stained. The roller made is zip along... and I love how the finish looks! I had three heavy (possibly too heavy) coats of stain on Red, I had three light coats on Blue and I think it looks better.

Naturally, I forgot to take pictures of the painting as it went along... you'll have to scroll down for the finished product.

For the sides, I made sure to tape the heck out of the drawers for spraying... 

And then covered all my staining with paper. 

I used a coat of Rust-Oleum Flat Gray Primer for the base.

Which coated nicely. 

For color, I used Rust-Oleum again. I know it says it has primer in it, but I wanted to make SURE it was done right.

I was tempted to try two coats in one afternoon, but didn't want to rush it. So, a second coat went on the next night to make sure it cured properly.

Here is the finished product:

The drawers curing...

With the original hardware.

I don't think I have a shot from the front. 

I think the black stain turned out well.

Here are a few shots of my staining and spray stations... I was far more careful with the spraying of paint than I was with the staining. That poor table will have to be redone if I'm ever to use it for anything else again. However, for the foreseeable future, it's a workbench in my garage!

The gold chairs in the background will possibly be used for a future painting project. My grandmother used them as extra chairs at her house. They are gold and actually really nice. I'm thinking of painting them another color and distressing them so the gold comes through. But that's a distant project.

Spray Station: definitely high-tech.

Lessons Learned:

• Definitely use foam rollers for paint and staining. It makes the project move SO much faster and it goes on really nice. 
• Stain conditioners make the process go much smoother. The whole staining process was much easier.
• Keep taking those pictures!

Dresser Project (Part I): Red*

My family owned a furniture store in San Jose for over 150 years. L. Lion & Sons was started by my Great-Great-Great Grandfather in 1856. My parents always said, "Spend more for good furniture because it will last. You can always repaint, restain, and recover.

Growing up, my parents had a set of oak dressers that were stained black and looked great. Over the course of 50 years, they've been moved to my brother's room, and then to the garage.

Finally, I used them in my bedroom because they are really great and really solid pieces of furniture (and they were FREE!) However, you can clearly see the years of wear and tear upon them have taken their toll. It was time to look for a solution.

I am not that experienced at refinishing furniture and I'm certainly not a patient man, so I was a bit worried I would rush the job, or screw up the job. But I decided two things: 1) I will give it a shot,  2)  start with one so I don't screw up two dressers at the same time, and 3) if I screw it up, I'll sand it down and start over.

Then I found this:

No need for a top coat! It's all sealed in one step. 

So, I pulled off the metal handles and scrubbed them with Bar Keepers Friend liquid cleaner... Holy Moly! That stuff made them sparkle.  50 years of grime will add up--you know they may have been cleaned, but I'm sure they were never really cleaned. Now they have been.

I sanded them down, wiped them off, used a tack cloth and then stained them. I didn't use a pre-stain conditioner, which I'll probably use in the future. A few coats of paint over several days and I think it turned out pretty nice: 

I added the red to the sides of the drawers to punch it up a bit. I'm going to have red accents in the Master Bedroom (ignore the carpet, it's temporary). I really like the look and the shine.

*Since the original post, I've now dubbed this dresser as Red, because the other dresser will have blue sides to match the bedroom where it will be located. 

Lessons learned from this project: 

• Slow down and take my time. 
• Thinner coats are better with stain. 
• Don't be afraid of color!
• Have fun.
• TAKE MORE PICTURES AS THE PROJECT PROGRESSES!!!