How to Refinish Furniture

My in-laws used to have this little kitchen cart in their basement and it housed their mixer and microwave. Since they were in the process of moving, they no longer had a need for the cart so they gave it to Mike and I. We were pretty excited about the new addition to our kitchen.  Our kitchen isn’t all that big, but this kitchen cart fit perfectly next to our counter. It’s like it was meant to be!

After I re-did my kitchen table (another in-law hand-me-down), I thought it would be awesome if I could get the top of my kitchen cart to match the top of my table. Since the top of my cart was not all that big, this redo did not take long at all. This was a quick great weekend project. I am so happy with the results. My table and cart now match!

Supplies:

– Kitchen Cart with Wooden Top

– Wood Stain (mine was walnut)

– Varnish

– Rag

– Paint Brush

– Sander and Sandpaper

– Steel Wool

Step 1: Sand the top of your wood, removing any stain or finish.

Step 2:  Use you paint brush to paint vanish on top of your wood. After 15 minutes, use your rag to whip the stain off.

Step 3: Keep repeating Step 2 until you have your desired stain intensity.

Step 4: After you stain is completely dry, add a coat of varnish to your wood. Let it dry at least 12 hours. Once it is completely dry, rub your steel wool over the entire surface. Repeat this step 2 more times, except the third time, don’t use the steel wool.