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An old provincial style bookcase repaired and updated with a modern black and brass finish. New additions include a top crown, light fittings above the shelves, modern brass drawer knobs, library ladder and brass rail.
Materials
Upper Crown:
Primed MDF skirting mouldings:
Paint:
- Porters aqua gloss Aniseed Black
Other:
Brass drawer handles
LED Light fittings
Consumables:
- Sugar soap, painters tape, screws, rags, sandpaper, gloves, drop sheets, wood filler
- Scotch pre-taped masking film (very useful for masking cupboards)
Tools
- Wagner Flexio 590 kit Paint Sprayer
- Random orbital sander
- Vacuum/dust extractor
- Drill + drill bits
- Screwdrivers
Steps
Step 1
1. Disassemble and Transport
I bought this old bookcase used on marketplace and had to disassemble it in order to transport it. Remember to group up the hardware and screws as you take them out. Separate the screws into labelled zip-lock bags as you go so you know where they are used when you reassemble it. Label the inside of the cabinet doors, drawers, and shelves.
Step 2
2. Make New Parts
Top Crown:
This bookcase must have originally had a crown as there are glue marks and screw holes on top where it would have been. To make a new crown I did not want to do any custom routing. Instead, I stacked the following primed MDF mouldings already available at Bunnings to make it look like a cornice profile. This was also cheaper than buying proper timber cornice.
Primed MDF mouldings cut and stacked from top to bottom:
- 67x18mm bullnose
- 67x18mm bevel
- 67x18mm bullnose
- 140x18mm rectangle (upright)
- 92x18mm rectangle
Library Ladder and Rail:
- The library ladder I purchased complete.
- The ladder rails are brass plated curtain rods. Much cheaper than real brass tube.
- I made brackets to mount the rail from MDF offcuts. I routed them to match the provincial style of the bookcase.
Step 3
3. Surface Preparation
Clean:
Cleaned all surfaces with sugar soap. I sanded all surfaces about halfway through the original finish. You don’t need to go back to bare timber, just enough to provide some roughness for the primer to adhere to. I used a random orbital sander which still took a very long time but is an important step to do properly.
Patch:
I patched damaged areas with wood filler. Then re-sanded to a smooth finish.
Mask:
Masked with painters tape. To cover the cabinet and drawer openings I used Scotch pre-taped masking film which comes on a dispenser making it very easy to apply and is also a huge time saver.
Step 4
4. Painting
I used the Wagner Flexio 590 HVLP sprayer for all painting. It’s much faster and easier than brushing or rolling when painting large areas or many pieces such as this bookcase.
PRIME: 2x coats of Porters prepare and prime. This Porters primer is really creamy and fills small gaps well. It is also a stain blocker if your furniture has oil-based stain.
PAINT: 3x coats of Porters aqua gloss enamel aniseed black. Gloss black is notoriously very difficult to achieve a good finish with rollers or brushes. This is where the HVLP paint sprayer is a must.
Due to the number of pieces to be painted and limited space to work, I painted several pieces at a time, let them dry for one week, then moved them into my office to assemble. Starting from the base cabinets and working up to minimise extra handling.
Step 5
5. Assembly
Build up bookcase from the base cabinets up. The base is so long it didn't fit diagonally through the door to the room so I had to take out the front window of the house to get it in. Installed the light fittings in the crown. Installed modern style brass drawer handles. Changed the original brown shelf supports to black.
Step 6
Before / After Comparison
Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @HarveyBirdman. It's sensational to have you join us, and many thanks for sharing your wonderful project.
What a dramatic makeover! I trust you are thrilled with the results, as you've breathed new life into the unit. I love the lights, colour and hardware and am really impressed with the unique look you've created.
Well done.
Mitchell
