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c/diy-fixer-upper-club

8

betty_reed61•2d ago

Got a little too confident with my orbital sander on a thrift store desk

I was refinishing a $20 nightstand from Goodwill in Tulsa and thought I could smooth out a weird stain in 10 seconds flat. Instead, I burned a groove right through the veneer and now it looks like a meteor hit it. Anybody here ever tried patching veneer with wood filler and stain and actually had it look okay?

6

dylanward•3d ago

Tried to refinish a thrift store lamp and ended up with a disco ball

Found this old brass lamp at Goodwill for $8 last week, thought I'd spray paint it matte black. Watched a quick video, sanded it down, but I forgot to cover the glass shade. Now the whole thing is speckled with black dots and when I turn it on, my ceiling looks like a nightclub from 1978. Anyone else ever ruin a project because you skipped one little step?

2

the_michael•3d ago

Just hit my 40th furniture flip and I'm seeing a pattern I don't like

I was counting up my projects from the last two years and realized I've done 40 pieces of furniture. Mostly dressers and nightstands from thrift stores. Here's the thing that worried me about half of them have cracks or joint issues coming back within 6 months. I was using cheap wood filler and basic glue from the dollar store thinking it would hold. Now I'm going back and redoing all of them with proper wood epoxy and clamps. Has anyone else noticed their early flips falling apart or am I just unlucky with my choices?

19

blair_davis•4d ago

Talked to a 70 year old guy at the dump about refinishing and it hit me

Last weekend I was tossing an old dresser at the transfer station near my place, and this older guy rolls up with a beat up rocking chair. He told me he's been stripping paint off the same chair for six months using nothing but a heat gun and a putty knife. I asked him why not just use stripper, and he said he likes the control of heat and it forces him to slow down and actually look at the wood grain. Made me realize I rush through projects just to get them done. I toss out a lot of pieces that probably just need some patience. Has anyone else had a conversation with a random person that made you rethink your whole approach?

4

wesley_hart•5d ago

That $5 thrift store desk I almost passed up... now I get it

I walked right by this beat-up oak desk at Goodwill last month because it had a huge water ring and peeling veneer. Then my neighbor Karen showed me a picture of her own desk that looked just as bad before she sanded it down. She used a $12 can of Restor-A-Finish and some 0000 steel wool, and it came out looking like a $300 piece. I grabbed the desk, spent about 2 hours on it last Saturday, and the difference is crazy... the water ring is totally gone. Has anyone else had good luck with that Restor-A-Finish stuff on older furniture?

12

ivanl76•5d ago

The week I ruined a $40 dresser with paint stripper

Last spring I got a solid oak dresser off Facebook Marketplace for 40 bucks. I was dead set on stripping it down to bare wood and staining it dark walnut. Three days of scraping and using that smelly chemical stripper I ended up with a blotchy, stained mess that looked worse than when I started. My buddy Dave stopped by and said why not just sand the top smooth and paint the rest with chalk paint. I fought him on it for an hour because I wanted that natural wood look so bad. Finally I gave in, spent $15 on a quart of leftover sage green from another project, and it came out better than any stain job I ever did. Anybody else have a project that just refused to go the way you planned?

11

faithg26•8d ago

Just lost $40 on a cursed thrift store lamp rewire

I found this gorgeous 1960s brass lamp at a Goodwill in Austin for $8 and spent $32 on a new wiring kit and shade, but after three hours of soldering I somehow melted the socket and now it won't turn on at all. Turns out I bought the wrong gauge wire and didn't check the socket rating first. Has anyone else messed up a lamp rewire and found a way to salvage the parts without starting over?

2

grace419•10d ago

Shoutout to vinegar and baking soda for clearing my stuck bathroom sink drain

I tried a $8 bottle of Drano and it didn't do squat, so I poured about a cup each of white vinegar and baking soda down there, waited 10 minutes, then flushed with hot water. The gunk came loose like magic and I saved that money for a new faucet handle I'm fixing next week. Anyone else have a weird cheap combo that actually works better than store stuff?

12

troy_sanchez8•11d ago

Appreciation post: My neighbor's workshop in Detroit changed how I look at old dressers

I stopped by Mike's garage last weekend to borrow a sander and saw him turn a beat-up 1970s dresser into something that looked brand new with just a can of Restor-a-Finish and some new knobs. He didn't strip it or sand it down, just wiped it on and buffed it out in like 20 minutes. Has anyone else tried that stuff on really rough veneer or is it just for light scratches?

21

brooke484•14d ago

Switched from sandpaper to a cabinet scraper on my old dresser and wow what a difference

I was sanding down this 1940s dresser I picked up for $40 at an estate sale in Albany, and I was going through like a pack of 80-grit every hour because the old varnish kept gumming it up. My neighbor who restores antique boats saw me struggling and handed me his old cabinet scraper, said to try it instead. Took me like 10 minutes to figure out the burr technique (you gotta roll the edge with a burnisher, who knew?). The scraper took off that thick finish in smooth ribbons without any dust cloud or clogging, and I saved probably $15 on sandpaper alone. I still used sandpaper for the final smoothing, but for stripping the old stuff off, I'm never going back. Has anyone else made the switch from sanding to scraping for old furniture? I'm curious what tools you use for tricky details like carved legs.

8

adam_anderson6•16d ago

A old-timer at the Habitat ReStore told me my furniture refinishing looked "too perfect, like plastic" - I started using steel wool instead of sandpaper after that.

He said the fine grit was killing the wood's natural grain so now I just hand rub with 0000 steel wool and paste wax and the finish actually feels like wood again, has anyone else run into the "too smooth" problem?

17

rayc38•17d ago

Painted a laminate tabletop with cheap craft paint - it peeled off in 2 days

I tried to save $50 by using $3 acrylic craft paint on that old laminate desk I found at a garage sale in Austin. After two days the paint just flaked off when I set a coffee mug down. Has anyone found a trick to make paint stick to laminate without buying that expensive bonding primer?

12

the_lisa•20d ago

Found my grandma's old sewing table in the basement last week

It was covered in dust and had a broken leg, but I used a $10 clamp from the hardware store and some wood glue to fix it up. The finish still has those little scratches from her pins and needles, which I kind of like. Has anyone else stumbled onto a family piece that just needed a little love?

15

william_miller•20d ago

That time a customer pulled me aside and said my polyurethane coats were way too thick...

A guy who refinished antiques for 30 years told me to thin my polyurethane 10% with mineral spirits and do 4 light coats instead of 2 heavy ones, and now my table tops don't look like plastic anymore, has anyone else gotten a tip that totally flipped their finishing game?

11

danielwhite•20d ago

Just found out most 'antique' furniture flips use a 30 year old shellac recipe that's way too thick

I was at a workshop in Portland last month and this old timer restorer showed me his mix - 3 parts denatured alcohol to 1 part shellac flakes, not the 50/50 everyone online pushes. Turns out the thick stuff cracks after 5 years and ruins the piece underneath. Why is this not common knowledge in every flipping guide? Has anyone else run into this issue with their own restorations?

22

lilychen•20d ago

Debate: Sanding between paint coats on a thrifted dresser - necessary or overkill?

I stripped a 1970s nightstand I found at a garage sale in Akron last week, but after 3 coats of chalk paint some spots still feel rough. Do you guys sand between every layer or just do the final buff and call it done?

11

joelthomas•21d ago

Stripping paint with a heat gun vs chemical stripper on an old dresser - which is less of a headache?

Spent last weekend trying to strip a 1960s dresser I found on the curb, and I could not decide between the heat gun method or the chemical stuff. I went with the heat gun first but ended up scorching a corner after 20 minutes, so I switched to the chemical stripper which took way longer but didn't burn anything. Has anyone else faced this choice and come out with a clear winner for old furniture?

15

lewis.drew•21d ago

Just dropped $40 on a can of that fancy spray paint for furniture and it orange-peeled worse than the dollar store stuff I usually grab

I figured paying more meant better results for refinishing that oak nightstand but the finish came out bumpy and rough so now I'm sanding it off wishing I'd stuck with the Rust-Oleum that's never let me down, anyone else get burned by overpriced aerosol paint?

1

laura211•22d ago

Rant: Nearly lost a finger trying to strip a 1960s dresser with a heat gun

I was in my garage last Saturday working on an old vanity I picked up from Facebook Marketplace, and I got too aggressive with the heat gun on a tough spot of paint. The scraper slipped and sliced right into my thumb, blood everywhere, had to wrap it in a shop rag and drive myself to the urgent care in Falls Church. Four stitches and a tetanus shot later, I learned my lesson: never rush a chemical strip job, especially with lead paint from that era. Has anyone else had a close call with a heat gun or do you swear by citrus strippers instead?

17

vals38•23d ago

The weekend I fixed a 1950s record console for $12

Last Sunday I took on a console stereo from the late fifties that someone left on the curb in my neighborhood. It had water damage on the veneer and the turntable wouldn't spin at all. I spent about six hours sanding down the top with 80 grit paper I already had, then mixed a little boiled linseed oil with some stain I found in my garage. The motor on the turntable just needed a drop of sewing machine oil I got at the hardware store for $3. By evening it was playing records again and the wood looked richer than anything you could buy new today. What made it stand out was how every fix cost next to nothing and the whole thing came together without a single trip to the big box store. Has anyone else found that older gear is easier to bring back to life than modern stuff?

0

troy_ross•1mo ago

Appreciation post: That $40 orbital sander from Harbor Freight has saved me HUNDREDS in refinishing costs

I picked up a Chicago Electric orbital sander on sale for $40 last spring, thinking it would probably die after one project. Nine months later, it's stripped four dressers, a dining table, and two nightstands. No joke, the thing just keeps running. Everyone told me I was an idiot for not spending $150 on a name brand. But I spent $40 and got the same results. Yes, the dust bag is basically useless and you need to wear gloves because it vibrates pretty hard. But it sands flat and doesn't bog down. I'm not saying buy the cheapest thing you can find every time. But for occasional furniture flipping, this thing paid for itself on the first job. Has anyone else had good luck with a cheap tool that everyone told you to avoid?

4

jake_hall88•1mo ago

Spent $12 on a can of orange oil cleaner and it saved a 1950s dresser

I picked up this old lane dresser from a garage sale for $20 last month and the finish was absolutely wrecked with water rings and sticky residue. Tried vinegar, tried goo gone, nothing worked until a guy at the hardware store told me to try orange oil based wood cleaner. One coat and a gentle scrub with a microfiber cloth and those rings just melted away, looked like a different piece of furniture. The whole bottle cost me $12 and I still have more than half left for other projects. Anyone else have a cheap cleaner that punched way above its weight?

30

davis.casey•1mo ago

Tried sanding a thrift store nightstand with a sponge vs a cheap electric sander

Honestly, I spent like 3 hours hand-sanding this oak nightstand from Goodwill in Austin and got nowhere. Switched to a $20 electric sander from Harbor Freight and finished both drawers and the frame in 20 minutes flat. Has anyone else hit a point where you just had to give up on manual tools to save your sanity?

9

price.tyler•1mo ago

Found a busted dresser on the curb 3 blocks from my house last Saturday

It had a broken leg and a drawer that was totally stuck, but the wood was solid oak underneath the grime. I spent Sunday cutting a new leg from a scrap 2x4 and sanding the whole thing down with 80 grit, and it looks pretty good now. Has anyone else pulled furniture from the trash and fixed it up with basic tools?

12

jason112•1mo ago

Pulled a set of dining chairs from a dumpster last week and found a $40 receipt from 1987 still taped under one seat

Turns out the original owner paid $40 for the whole set at a garage sale back then. Kinda wild to think those chairs have been passed around for almost 40 years before I grabbed them for free. Anyone else ever find old receipts or notes hidden in thrifted furniture?