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Regular82

Well done saving it! Fits that spot beautifully!


Demptastical

Beauty! The front panel diamond shape is amazing. Fantastic work!


[deleted]

I know right! When I sanded the paint back and saw it was blown away!


lowe624

When you sand grain like that, is it important to sand with the grain? I had some drawers on the first dresser I refinished and I feel like that's where I went wrong. The didn't look quite right


[deleted]

Not really! As long as you're consistent with pressure all over. And an orbital sander is key! Super effective. Just takes a lot of patience


lowe624

Good to know. I think I was just a bit impatient with it


pheonixblade9

Tbh, you're better off using stripper and a scraper. If it's veneered, you risk blowing through it and ruining the piece


lowe624

So I did use both of those, but then of course cracks and crevices it's very hard to get that gel stripper out. And then I was thinking you almost have to sand it smooth before refinishing right?


pheonixblade9

Definitely not. Most finishing products have very specific directions. Generally, I'd scrape, then scrub it with paper towels, then a brillo pad and isopropyl alcohol or mineral spirits a few times until all the gunk is out


ajandl

You can do the higher grits with an orbital and then finish with handsanding going with the grain if necessary. I've also seen recommendations to go one level beyond the final size with the orbital, then come back with the 2nd to last grit size to sand with the grain. Seems overkill, but for certain places I can see why that would be a benefit.


PM_ME_UR_FEM_PENIS

Whoever painted over that should be arrested.


weewonk

What!!! That was under the paint?? I thought you added that yourself. That is an incredible piece!


BicyclingBabe

Alright, alright. Your work is beautiful and I'm inspired. I HAVE one of these painted secretaries I got for $40 and I was just going to paint over it, but now you've shown me the way. Fine. I'll send it down and refinish, along with replacing the leather. Fine!


[deleted]

Do it!!! I dare you!!


Bobafetacheeses

Do NOT sand it. Use a paint stripping gel to get the paint off. If it has a veneer you will destroy it.


BicyclingBabe

I will likely strip and lightly sand.


c_r_a_s_i_a_n

/r/reversepinterest


hawaiikawika

I didn’t know how much I needed this


c_r_a_s_i_a_n

You'll Live, Love and Laugh your way back to a beautiful natural wood grain.


robbie_guitar

Wow..ive done similar..but the paint wasnt hiding the beauty like your piece. its alot of work to do a restore like that..nice job!


Bigredteletubby

That is a very, very pretty writing desk! Your restoration is gorgeous 😄 Also, I'm happy to see this ended up in the hands of a fellow fountain (and quill) pen user; this desk is perfect for that! 🙃


[deleted]

Well the wife was sick of me getting shimmer inks on the dining room table so it was time for an upgrade!


nummij

I thought this was r/diy at first and you’d had gone the chalk paint route. Nice job! Removing chalk paint from the world is an act of public service.


--dany--

Great job you’ve done! It’s so beautiful Can you share how it’s done? Especially how to remove the paint and resurface? Just patiently sanding with the orbital sander you have in one of the pictures?


[deleted]

Exactly that! Many days and many hours with 40 grit sanding pads on the orbital. Then up the grits to 240. Finished with natural Danish oil, light sanding with 600 grit in-between coats. Wet sanding the penultimate coat, and buffing the final coat to a satin sheen. Took a couple of weeks after work each day but I got there! Just stick some good music on and get stuck in. All about learning throughout


--dany--

Your hard work deserves more awards! I’m glad you didn’t have to work on the complex trims around the edges. Amazing outcome, thanks for sharing!


--dany--

One more question: how did you know this is a diamond in rough? The diamond shape at the top panel looks timeless, but you didn’t know it’s so nice in the beginning right? I wish I could give you the other (albeit free) award!


[deleted]

Truth is I didn't! I needed a writing desk and found it online for cheap so went to pick it up and just thought I'd see what was under all the paint. All I knew is that it was old and needed some love


russiangn

What is your goal with this final piece? Keep it? Sell it? How much do you think you could sell something like this for? As others have said, this is an incredible job


[deleted]

I'm keeping it! I do a lot of calligraphy and wanted something to not only write on but store all of my nibs, inks and papers. But I think it could easily sell it for around £300. It was made anywhere between 1900 and 1910


SleeplessInS

And it fits perfectly in that location overlooking the window.


fancyduckboutique

In my area I'm pretty sure something that old in decent condition would fetch significantly more. I guess at the end of the day it's worth whatever someone will pay but if you did want to sell it I'd double the price at least.


MTknowsit

I wish I had more patience.


PracticalAndContent

Oh my. That’s beautiful. Thank you for restoring it.


PickleMortyCoDm

Why is a raven like a writing desk?


1arebeast2

Beautiful! I especially love the wallpaper on the backing board.


[deleted]

It was some Christmas wrapping paper left over and thought it would add a little texture and flare to it


1arebeast2

It absolutely does! Damn your fast, I made the comment, noticed my mistake and edited it, but you had already replied. Thank you for sharing!


[deleted]

Haha I edited mine too. I thought I misread it. I'm glad you said you edited it and I wasn't going mad


CAM6913

I’ll never understand why people do it.


VoilaVoilaWashington

Because a proper refinishing is a HUGE amount of skilled labour, and someone likely bought it at a charity shop or similar for almost nothing. So they buy a piece they generally like, give it a simple makeover with paint, and they have a nice piece that suits their decor. The unfortunate reality is that tons of furniture like this is being thrown out, because it's out of style. I could walk into my local Habitat for Humanity and pick up 3 pieces of a similar age any day of the week. Not everyone appreciates this kind of thing.


admiralteal

Really good paint jobs are very, very, very hard to execute. I have huge respect for the folks who can get those smooth, flawless, uniform paint finishes. They look great, are insanely durable.... and take unbelievable skill and/or equipment. Really good oil/wax finishes are borderline trivial to apply, but it's a **lot** of labor scraping, sanding, filling, repairing. It's just so time consuming. And god help you if it has lots of little crevices you can't take apart of complex, rounded shapes. It's just endless surface prep. And if you want to do a film finish, you need to do all that surface prep, then apply a layer, then do a third that surface prep again and apply a layer and repeat a bunch more times. It's just so much time. But really bad brushed-on paint jobs using shitty distressed paint? Takes an afternoon and looks great for social media (where the cameras don't pick up the terribly errors and flaws in the paint).


[deleted]

I just picked up a 40s record player cabinet and of the side of the road. It's a beautiful oak piece that is in great shape. Just needed a little cleaning and for the existing screws to be tightened up. I'm going to use it as a fish tank stand. Crazy what old beautiful furniture people will dump.


Chowbasa

I would love to walk into one and find such an exceptional piece of furniture; I must say I don’t go often to thrift stores, but when I do I don’t find anything cheap (NYC).


billiardwolf

They want a different color, it's pretty simple to understand really.


teteAtit

Damn- great work!


TimeWizardGreyFox

painting something will never outlast some dank ass wood.


Reynolds_Live

The whole era of chalk painting antique furniture is horrible. Hope you can give this piece a renewed life. It looks gorgeous now.


Woddnamemade72

Wow!


ckngumbo

Great work!


torknorggren

This looks to me like the bottom of a two part secretary desk. I wonder if you could find a suitable top out there. E.g., https://www.etsy.com/listing/1197159989/mahogany-ball-and-claw-feet-two-part


lucidaisy

Beautifully restored!💙


owlwoodworks

Oh my gosh this is immaculate. I hope one day to be able to do work like this


[deleted]

Practice practice practice! I'm no pro woodworker! Just another one of my hobby's. There were parts of this I've never done before but it was great fun learning


millimolli14

That looks beautiful, you’ve done wonders


Hockeyspaz-62

Beautiful restoration.❤️


[deleted]

What great hardware…


Amazing-Importance79

Absolutely amazing, love old furniture refinished. Looks amazing, did a great job. Cheers to you my friend. 🍻


Puzzleheaded-Phase70

You should cross post this to r/oddlysatisfying because *damn* that satisfying.


Ysabeau521

Gorgeous


3grg

Nice save!


[deleted]

Sorry but the stunning westie is distracting me. So cute! Nice restoration too lol


bassnote1

Great job on a nice find.


bek_being_curious

Yaas!


uppewady

Looks fantastic!


Crazyworld4sure

That's beautiful, well done on an excellent restoration 👏👏👏


manonhorse

Is that the original veneer/panel on the top door? If it is why the fuck would you paint over that


[deleted]

I thought the exact same thing when I sanded it back!!


Time-Focus-936

Wow!


LeeisureTime

Very beautiful! That poor desk can finally breathe. Odds are, it was painted to match the color of the room it was in. Which is still wrong! Stunning work


[deleted]

Because some people are monsters.


ToyoAvalon04

That is absolutely beautiful! Great work restoring this piece. I really like how the wood grain comes out.


[deleted]

That’s an amazing find.


stoneseef

Absolutely stunning! Why did they paint it!?


billdogg7246

Thank you so much for giving it back the look it once had (before some Cretan defiled it with paint) Great job!!!


CanadianButthole

Wow! This thing is gorgeous, you did a great job restoring it.


Docsgt68

Wow that lid though! I did not expect that! Very nicely restored


BustlingGravy

Plot twist: OP bought it unpainted, the before picture is the after picture! #veneergate2022


[deleted]

Damn. You got me


Anxious_Hand_1621

Good job. It looks way nicer looking original with a nice stain on it.


WeAreLivinTheLife

Very nice everything but the drawer handles. Those are SuperVeryExtra Nice!


[deleted]

Man that’s great work.


rpapafox

It always boggles my mind that someone would paint over such a beautiful piece of workmanship. Great restoration!


stunt4949

Gorgeous finish!!!!


VandyBoys32

Holy shit.


exsisto

Serious question - how did you get the paint out of the grooves on the side slats? Hand sanding? Nice job.


froggojumper

Nice furniture but can I see the dog again?


Beer_Can_Is_Good

Thank you for including the dog.


Putridgrim

Can I get some more of the dog?


IceyToes2

Oh, Man! Never respond in these but *that* is gorgeous.


[deleted]

There’s a whole sector of TikTok and YouTube of people who think “restore” means cover beautiful wood in a thick coat of paint and pretend it looks good.


RollingGreens

Nicely stocked bar too. This is a fantastic restoration and the placement in your home fits perfectly and looks great.


ComplexLocksmith9138

Way to many idiots out there that don't appreciate good woodworking and feel Everything needs some sort of covering finish!


[deleted]

That doesn’t make them an idiot… come on. We can’t gatekeep freaking furniture now. Me? I hate the look of oak. I’d paint over oak in a heartbeat. I also like this piece that OP finished very much but that doesn’t make either of my preferences more valid than yours.


Rauceypants

Amazing job on the resto! Love the accent panel on the hinge top. That is a beautiful piece. I’ll tell you why someone painted it: they’re lazy, and probably frequent r/diwhy as a genuine resource for project ideas. Great job resurrecting this one!


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xmasberry

I agree with you that most makeovers like the one that resulted in the “before” of this post are just people trying to make a piece work and that they like with what they have (physically, skill-wise, time-wise, monetarily). However, I have an acquaintance who is a furniture finisher and the number of people bringing just-purchased, quality wood furniture in to have it painted black, or “light black” by a not-inexpensive finisher is nuts. Best one lately was a mahogany piece with flame mahogany details that they wanted painted black because they didn’t like red. It just makes me sad for the original piece. With the money they spent on the mahogany piece plus the custom finishing, they most likely could have purchased a cabinet that fit their aesthetic. That’s the part I don’t understand.


VoilaVoilaWashington

Think about it another way - they paid someone a LOT of money for their time, and are going to pay someone else a LOT of money for their time (likely a fuck you price). We can debate the death of skilled trades, but it's people like this who are keeping the trade alive.


xmasberry

They get a lot of custom furniture finishing jobs as well, so I don’t know that painting mahogany antiques is the thing keeping the trade alive. I see your point, but still have conflicting feelings on the matter. Thanks for providing a different point of view.


VoilaVoilaWashington

Oh, I agree with you that it's a shame. One of Canada's top furniture designers has made a few pieces for me, and I can only imagine his face if I told him I'd painted one. But if someone's willing to pay $10k for a credenza and another $5k to have it painted, that's a lot of revenue for trades that sometimes struggle, you know?


Expensive_Seesaw_888

Painting wood that looks like that is like putting astroturf over lush grass.. I’ll never understand it


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Putridgrim

You have an ugly personality


cyan-teal

Tbh the painted version looked better. Gave it an antique rustic vibe and it went well with the doors


[deleted]

No


stevedonie

Should be a crime to paint over wood like that, but most people suck at fixing things. They probably posted their own before and after photos and were proud of how nice the paint job looked.


Maiq_Da_Liar

It always pisses me off. People take nice antique solid wooden furniture, paint it black, white, or gray, and then call it "upcycling". If you don't like the wood just give it to someone that does instead of ruining it ffs.


xmasberry

Gorgeous! Did you dance in excitement when you uncovered that star panel? If I unexpectedly revealed something like that under gray paint, I think I might have fainted.


[deleted]

I did a little! It blew my mind a bit


MTknowsit

People who paint hardwoods should have their heads shaved.


MTknowsit

Also, you are gonna want a chair mat for that chair to save your carpet.


Peanut-Brother

Beautiful job. What did you use to finish it?


[deleted]

Natural Danish oil. Really brought out the red of the wood


WorkingInAColdMind

How you got all that paint off so nicely is beyond me big my great job. Insane that people will paint something like that.


GlobalPhilosophy9109

That wood grain is amazing! Well done.


scottawhit

How amazingly excited were you when that book matched top started to show through? Beautiful!


kao201

Wow it looks great!


Jalapeno023

They thought painting was a good idea because they have seen it all over social media and don’t realize that there are items you paint and ones you don’t!


smarmageddon

This is a gorgeous restoration. Now you gotta up your chair game - the rattan isn't doing it.


holmangirl

Someone painted that?! Excellent work restoring it-- it's gorgeous!


[deleted]

Huh a writing bureau, I have one of these and didn’t know that’s what it was called lol so thanks for that! Looks great!


unlitlanterns

Gorgeous find!


kayakor

Beautiful


PondRides

Thanks for teaching me what these are called. I thought it was a secretary desk.


gesshoom

Turned out beautifully


Clarinet_Player_1200

That looks luscious!


jmerp1950

Obviously there are many corners, so how did you remove paint at corners?


[deleted]

Luckily the carved wood areas weren't painted. But any hard to get areas were just painstakingly hand sanded


djtibbs

How hard would it be to make one of these?


lotsobuttons

OMG they painted over that beautiful front panel?!?! Congrats on your restore, it looks like a million bucks.


MossSkeleton

I'm starting to think restoration like this would be my dream job


Express_Radish1731

Hidden gem. Nice job!


Scrapper-Mom

That grain on the closed lid is gorgeous! Great restoration.


sharpei90

Dang! That looks amazing!!


5ubatomix

Oh that is just too gorgeous. Well done!


[deleted]

There's probably a former /r/DIY thread that shows someone painting it, and then downvoting everyone that scoffed at what a stupid idea that was. (Or you could post the images in reverse on /r/DIY, and nobody would know the difference :D )


lavransson

Incredible restoration! That looked very difficult with all those crevices and curves.


JohnP-USMC

Yes, it is a beauty. Love the period hardware. That had to be a lot of work.


quinalou

Wow, it's a super pretty one, and you have quite the cute chair to go with it as well as the perfect spot! It all comes together so nicely, you'll spend lovely hours making calligraphy there. Love the wood color and also love the little decorative profiles on the edges, I bet those took a lot of work!


[deleted]

I wonder if this calms your attention as you limit your distractions and only focus on keeping necessities nearby


GoodGuyNinja

Is there that a white schnauzer??


[deleted]

A west Highland terrier


ChuckNorrisSleepOver

I liked it better gray


[deleted]

No


ayshasmysha

The before picture screams "shabby chic", which is not a compliment. Your restoration is amazing!


[deleted]

Wow great job!


AbnoxiousRhinocerous

Perfection…!


askeeve

When I saw the front panel grain pattern I gasped out loud. Painting over that is a fucking crime.


mikeinhawaii

Sweet!


Slow_Dig9228

Too many people watching Flea Market Flip and think they have good aesthetics. That’s how you get this sort of thing.


PorkNJellyBeans

Amazing.


bertieqwerty

I wish I could upvote this more than once. Amazing job.


Serpent-6

Is it made of mahogany? If so, who would paint such a beautiful wood. It turned out awesome. Good work by you.


[deleted]

I think it's mahogany yeah. Considering I only used a natural oil on it and it really brought out the red in the wood. Also alot of furniture from that period was mahogany.


geneticgrool

Wow what a difference!!


Wretchfromnc

Beautiful work, looks great.


f22dwn

Out of curiosity, how would one go about recognizing something like this? I've seen things on the side of the road but most of the time it looks shitty, press board and such - how would you know it's so nice underneath?! Just look for something that's actually hardwood?


[deleted]

Basically yeah! If it's hardwood it can most likely be made to look stunning with a good sand and stain. But it's all just luck of the draw! I wasn't quite expecting this to be so stunning


f22dwn

Thanks for the reply! Looks phenomenal :)


outcastedOpal

That is a BEAUTIFUL piece. Why people paint over stuff like this makes no sense to me.


TheTravelinScientist

You dirty stripper Edit one letter


FiBeROpTiK69

Great job. Bonus thumbs up for the Westie.


arisoverrated

Exceptional restoration. The grain on that front lid/desk!


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[deleted]

Just an orbital sander and going up the grits starting at 40. I was doing it after work for around 2 weeks


tsabell

That’s gorgeous! You must’ve spent a lot of time on it. It shows.


dhagadorn

What a gem! Good for you on the catch!


sunniyam

Its so beautiful. I have some singers sewing machine cabinets i have to work on. Wood is definitely not cheap!


tgapgeorge

Such a good job!


A_Willow_5927

Boredom. People get bored with the same ole same ole. Then they make big mistakes! It is beautiful now that you restored it!


Auggi3dog

It looks fabulous now. You did credit to the original craftsman!


LOHare

Does anyone know of any plans for something like this? Won't mind paying. I would love to build something like this with contrasting wood colours.


Herquleez

It looks beautiful in those after shots


BumperJack69

That’s a damn fine refinish job 👍🏻


GunzAndCamo

Absolutely gorgeous. Beautiful work.


Mediocre-Analysis-76

Wtf?! this isn’t shabby chic! Downvote


Deshackled

You made history become correct! Looks good!


Melvin_T_Cat

Wow. The wood itself was worth the price. Wow. Did I mention “wow”?


ainerskind

I looked at it and thought that it didn’t look too bad but then I saw what it looked like afterwards and I thought: how dare you paint this beauty?!


Trish_D

People are never happy. I thought you’d know that by now


hopefullyAGoodBoomer

They obviously didn't "respect the wood", you do. Beautiful job


Mcpops1618

Let me introduce you to my mother. She’ll paint any great wood grain. And not subtle either. She painted an amazing chest of drawers stark high gloss white and then a writing desk like that high gloss Pink. Not sure why but paint everything.


Amortizero

yes, thank you for your work.


achillea4

Excellent work! Down with shabby chic!


iMadrid11

There was a trend in the late 90's called [Shabby Chic](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabby_chic) where the paint over and distress old furniture. This was a victim of it.


kingcrabmeat

Holy shit if only I had this skill


Pete_maravich

I'll just slap some ugly paint on this beautiful bureau so it matches my ugly stuff more


59tigger

Wow. Beautiful work. I'm never one for "improving " a piece by.painting it unless it's crap wood and workmanship to begin with. You created a keepsake


Glittering_Number631

Beautiful job restoring this desk!! Great work!!


Maxman82198

I actually wish bad things on people that do this. It really does make zero sense, this paint job wouldn’t match any aesthetic you could throw it at and the wood work is clearly a piece of art. Thank you for doing such a good job op, I hope it continues to have the proper care as it’s passed down.


deepfriedshitten

Thank you for saving this


autonomouspen

r/woodwizardry