Chest of Pine Drawers Before
I purchased this set of antique drawers from Marketplace, and it appeared that they had been stripped and sanded back at one time.
However, the surface was a little patchy with stains on top and on the bottom front as you can see by the picture.
I could also see that the surface had been left raw for some time, and this can tend to age a little, turning golden or “orange” over time.
I liked that the surface was raw, but I wanted to give it a light sanding all over with my electric random orbital sander, to remove any imperfections and to get rid of the aged, orange appearance.
*This post may contain some affiliate links, where you can easily find the products I have used in this post.
One of the drawers in this set, has the marking, “European Labour Only”. This stamp, sometimes seen on Australian furniture made before 1963, means it was built by European migrant workers. After WWII, skilled Europeans moved to Australia and found work in trades like furniture making. It seems there were some pretty strong biases around who were considered acceptable for certain trades, and this stamp was used to show that only European workers were involved in making the piece. It’s a reflection of the attitudes and immigration policies of the time, giving us a glimpse into that part of Australia’s history.
Video Tutorial:
Supply list for this project:
- Sanded using Makita Random Orbital Sander.
- Bellwood Fusion Mineral Paint (for USA/Canada, use my affil link & save here)
- Fusion Tough Coat Sealer – Matte (USA/Canada save here)
- Applicator sponge pad. (USA find here)
- Rub n Buff in Antique Gold. (USA find here).
If you’re in North America, use my code IRESTORESTUFF & save 10% HERE on Fusion products.
Choosing a Colour for a Paint Wash:
When choosing a paint colour to use as a wash over your existing raw wood finish, there are a couple of things to consider.
- What colour is the raw wood when wet? Often you’ll see the sanded back raw wood and think the natural colour looks great as it is, thinking you can just seal it with something clear to finish it off. But, you’ll find that when a sealer goes on a sanded finish, it changes the colour of the wood. For pine pieces for example, it will lean yellow or orange. To test the surface to see what colour your raw wood will be when sealed, wipe a wet cloth across the surface. This will be close to the sealed, finished colour.
- What colour or tone are you aiming for? If your pine wood is too orange when raw, there are a few ways you can tone down that orange, from wood bleaching to limewashing, white waxing and more. But I’d like to share a way you can use paint colours to counteract the orange tone, before sealing.
I came across a great blog post years ago, that helped me understand colours, and how using colours opposite each other in the colour wheel, can help counteract each other, so that the wood will have more of a neutral brown tone. I’ll link to that blog post HERE.
So we learn that when you are trying to create a lighter tone wash on a red/orange tone wood like my pine drawers, you want to use a wash with green or blue tones.
On my piece I used Fusion’s Bellwood, which is a fairly neutral shade, with greenish undertones.
This helped to counteract the orangey red tones in the pine, to a more neutral tan tone.
The ration I used was approximately one part paint to 9 paints water. You can adjust your wash ratio if you feel it needs to be stronger or lighter as you go.
Applying your paint wash colour:
Here’s how I apply a paint wash:
- using a paint brush, apply the wash along the grain of the wood, being careful not to allow drips off edges.
- Let the wash penetrate the grain of the wood. You’ll see it start to dry slightly.
- remove excess paint wash from the wood by wiping along the grain with a lint free cloth.
- once dried completely, assess the colour, and apply additional coats if you’d like a more saturated stain/wash colour.
SEAL TO FINISH:
After your wash has completely dried and you’re happy with the final colour, add a Tough Coat Sealer or wipe on poly to seal your wash and protect your newly finished wood surface. (If in USA/Canada, find sealer here)
I hope this post has helped when choosing a colour to use as a wash for your next wood refinishing project.
