Final episode of the Heywood Wakefield M148 night stand refinishing

Originally I intended to run this project over the course of 3 posts but found I didn't have time so here is the conclusion to our refinishing job. When we left our subject we had finished sanding and were ready to start putting down the first of 4 coats of finish. Before putting down the first coat you need to get as much dust and debris off the pieces as possible and clean up the work area. I have a rather large volumne compressor with a blow gun attachment that works well. A lot of people have suggested tack clothes but I don't want to chance contaminating the surface with any substance on the cloth. The toned varnish is applied with a clean white lint free cotton rag.

Here's how we look after the first coat.

The first coat basically seals the wood and should be applied liberally but you don't want to leave any heavy spots you'll have to deal with later. After this is completely dry we break out the 0000 steel wool and go over all the pieces thoroughly to get any imperfections and debris off the surface. It's fine to be rough with the steel wool this go round as it's going to get 3 more coats and you want to be a bit anal about getting everything smoothed out between each coat. This is a lot of work after the first coat but gets much easier with each application. Time for next coat...

Starting to make progress!

Again we will go over each piece with the steel wool however this time it will be easier with less imperfections to smooth out. You still need to be careful as you don't want to seal any trash between the finishes.

After 3 coats you will have a pretty good idea of what your piece is going to look like. The finish is building up nicely and has a nice even sheen and the color is really popping. One more coat and were done with this stage. If you want less grain to show through the finish you can add more coats. I find 4 coats to look great with just the right amount of grain showing.

 Time for reassembly!

When you take a piece apart you would normally start from the bottom and work your way up through the piece. We reverse the process reassembling being careful to use the same screws in the same areas. I marked all the hardware when I disassembled so this won't be a problem. Here's our empress fully clothed and put back together

No, it's not magic, just a passion to make it beautiful again.

Although I couldn't make this piece as perfect as I would have liked it still turned out great and I'm sure my client is going to love it.

If you want to see some of the pieces I have refinished in person stop by our store Kaleidoscope at 6415 N. Florida Ave. here in Tampa 33604 in lovely and freindly Seminole Heights. We are open everyday but Monday. You can also keep tabs on us on our Facebook page for new items and special deals.

Thanks for following along. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or just post a comment on this blog.

A Modern Line