Upscaling wooden furniture, boxes, etc

Education Interest Check
#1

I am interested in learning what to do with wooden finds. I often run across small wooden furniture, wood boxes, etc. from garage sales, thrift stores, etc., and want to upscale or repurpose them for resale – but I don’t know what my options are, or how to evaluate the work involved. I don’t know enough about wood and/or refinishing and/or painting to know how to approach things. Do I have to sand it? Do I always need a primer? Can I just paint it? How do I get different effects?

Is there anyone who can present a class where we each bring a wood object and walk through the options, maybe see some examples of finished work? Do we have the resources here to meet once/week for a couple of weeks and work through our projects?

Just throwing this out there to see if there’s interest in presenting or attending.

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#2

Have you looked at furniture on ETSY for some ideas?

#3

I’m not really looking for ideas–I’m great with ideas, but totally ignorant about the practical, how-to steps. For example: what’s required when working with wood objects–sanding, priming, painting, what surfaces can I paint over vs. what do I have to sand first; what I cannot paint without doing prep work first; what is bad wood to paint vs. good wood; how to stain wood, what is the prep work involved,… that kind of advice.

#4

ETSY can give you price ideas and that will tell you how long you can afford
to work on one piece, I usually figure that $12 an hour is a good basic rates
It will take you longer on you first few pieces, until you get the hang of it

It will depend to some extent on the condition of the tiem and if you are going
with shabby chic or other,

I will keep my eye out for any thing that can help you, I am in
several art groups on FB

#5

I’d present if we have folks who will attend. The short answer to your question is that you always need to sand and strip

If nothing else I suppose a class on how to do shabby chic and not do a shabby job might be something the people would want lol. Planning on doing the thrift store paintings this summer

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#6

The alternative to sanding off a finish is chemical strippers (the tree hugger stuff works but takes more / longer) or use the media blaster in the metal shop but bring your own but shells to remove most finishes without destroying the decoration or carving (if any).
Sanding may or may not be necessary depending on the “look” you are going for…

#7

I have wooden picture frame corner samples and would like to give them to someone / group etc to re-purpose them…let me know if you want to use them in a class.

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#8

True but when you say sometimes you have to start breaking it down into what the original finish is you are painting over and sounded like OP isn’t on that level but wants to sell. I’d hate for them to do something on an oil base and get a bad rep because it’s chippy…or spend god awful amounts on Annie Sloan lol

#9

Only tip I can give is that when I look at old furniture I’m careful to look for signs that it is hardwood veneer. If you don’t look carefully it might be made of cheap softwood or pressed board and only looks like solid hardwood. It isn’t always a problem if it is, but you should know what you are getting into.

#10

Considering that this is posted in the #classrooms:interest-check category, and the OP posted the following:

I’m guessing she is hoping for a class (series of classes?) on how to work through the process…

If there’s no interest in holding a structured for this, then perhaps there may be interest in a special interest group (SIG) where members can meet on a regular basis to discuss pros and cons, and generally help each other out?

:slight_smile:

#11

I would be interested in some classes on this, I see some neat
things in the thrift store from time to time,

#12

This is bugging me every time I see this title, so I have to say it.
I’m pretty sure you meant “upcycling” rather than “upscaling”. Though the latter is not necessarily incorrect, I do not think it carries the correct intent.
Please ignore me (or correct me) if I am wrong.

My personal opinions about this aside, I can’t imagine classes about “upcycling” furniture, pallets, etc. wouldn’t do well; it’s all over social media pages, usually linked to some kind of “making”. I hope they come to fruition, and @designcat gets just what she wants out of it. :thumbsup:

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#13

Upcycle, upscale… just shows that I’m a newbie, doesn’t it?

I’m thinking less of a formal refinishing process, and more of a…what’s the easiest way to turn this into something interesting, useable, sellable, maybe decoratively painted?

See, I’m not even sure of my terminology… when is “refinishing” required? Why and when is sanding and stripping needed? Doesn’t it matter what you’re starting with?

If there aren’t enough folks for a class, I’d really appreciate some 1-on-1 time to talk through the pros and cons and processes. Shabby chic w/o a shabby job sounds good; how to do painting effects, when to stain vs paint, That kind of information. Preferably, I’d rather use tools to sand than hand sanding. I want to get things produced with less labor involved.

Does all this help define what I’m looking for?

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#14

Youtube has how-to videos on this stuff for ages.