The Bunnings Workshop community can help with your home improvement projects.
This old buffet with dents and scratches was repaired with filler and freshened up with a good clean and a couple of coats of paint and varnish.
This buffet had survived the attention of rambunctious toddlers, acrobatic pre-teens and distracted high schoolers. It had many dents and scrapes! Now it's this old girl's turn to have some TLC.
I started removing the hardware, doors and drawers. I used Selleys Sugar Soap to give it a good clean. Next my Ozito Random Orbital Sander with 80-grit sandpaper made light work, completely removing coffee cup stains and scratches from the top.
I used Monarch FILL SAND GO Multipurpose Filler to cover any deep scratches and a small chip on the wood. This stuff is easy to use and you can't see it under paint.
One thing I noticed when cleaning was a little area at the base that smelled like cat pee. Regular cleaning didn't help remove the odour, so I used cleaning vinegar after a good sugar soap scrub. Together, they worked well but I needed something to completely take away the smell.
A Bunnings team member suggested Zinsser B-I-N Primer Sealer Stain Killer. It's a shellac-based primer that covers all stains, odours, cigarette smoke and urine smells. It comes in a spray can so it's great for small cat-sized areas.
After an all-over 240-grit sand, I applied two coats of my favourite British Paints interior paint to cover the old brown and orange stain. I stained the top with one coat of rich, dark walnut stain and finished with polyurethane spray in gloss. The metal cup handles got a quick spray with Fiddly Bits Gloss Black Spray Paint.
The drawers needed something exciting to give a pop of colour while still keeping the crisp clean feel. While wandering around at my local Bunnings, I found the inspiration. There are so many styles and patterns available of self-adhesive wallpaper that's easy to use and durable. I chose Boyle 1.5m x 45cm Self Adhesive Wallpaper in the vintage blue tiles pattern.
A quick spray and wipe with a wood conditioner and this beast became a beauty!
Once I got over power tools being a little bit (ok – a lot) intimidating I enjoyed using them. The orbital and detail sanders are user friendly.
Painting is a quick, easy and affordable way to upcycle furniture. Learn how with this guide: How to upcycle almost anything with paint.
Workshop member DanaR saved this kerbside find from landfill and gave the buffet a new look with fresh paint, varnish and drawer liners made from chevron wallpaper.
By lightly distressing fresh paint and adding vintage handles, prettyliving completely changed the look of this buffet.
Workshop is a friendly place to learn, get ideas and find inspiration for your home improvement projects