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DigsMagazine.com.
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the
Furniture
FACELift
Fiasco,
a
cautionary tale in two parts |
1 2 3 4
5
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I got
as far as sanding one of the short front legs before my thumb had an
enormous blister on it, my arm joints were sore, and I was physically
unable to continue. At this point, my boyfriend happened to walk outside
and, upon inspecting my (somewhat pathetic) progress, mentioned that I
might want to buy one of those rubber sanding blocks to finish the rest
of the job.
Off to the hardware store I went in search of this handy little tool,
which I found, not surprisingly, in the sandpaper section. It’s a
pretty simple device, actually – essentially just a piece of rubber
that’s flat on one side (the side where you attach the sandpaper) and convex on the
other (where you grip it with your hand).
(See photo below).
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I also picked up
a sanding sponge (exactly what it sounds like – a squishy block that
has 2 fine-grain sides and 2 medium-grain sides), which would be useful
for sanding down curved areas.
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My new sanding tools definitely helped speed the process along.
Nonetheless, laziness eventually kicked in and, since my new stain would
be a slightly darker color than the original, I rationalized that I
should be able to get away with sanding down just to the point
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where the shiny varnish had been
removed. This was my first major mistake (not counting my
foolish attempt to sand down an entire chair with nothing more
than a piece of sandpaper) – do not, I repeat DO NOT, do a
half-assed job when sanding off the original finish.
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Think of stain as a
translucent covering – it won’t hide variations in color, just
change the overall darkness/hue.
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You’ve got to keep sanding, no matter
how tired your little arm may get, until the entire surface is a
perfectly dull, completely even color. Then, and only then, are you
ready to move onto the next step. |
more
foibles ensue ... !
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lounge . nourish .
host
. laze . home.
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