I have an old chest of my grand dad's that's been in a cold, dank cellar for who knows how long. It's solid wood but is covered in what appears to be oil, in spots. There's a bit of faded old paint & other ickies on it - don't think I really want to identify it all. Now I've never refinished anything in my life so don;t know what the heck I'm doing. All I know is that I'd like to get this something close to clean then paint it with some kind of 'old' looking effect. I thought of painting & dry brushing off SOME of a dark coat of paint, then over painting with a lighter one & wiping off some of that to suggest wear. Not at all sure about that yet & there's no rush.
Okay, is it safe to assume I may NOT be able to get all the crap off - especially oil & such that's seeped in for years? If that's the case, is there any special prep I should do before I finish the chest? Varnishing it isn't, I think, a viable option. The wood is not a good quality & IS stained.
Look, I don't have an artistic bone in my body. Most of my family can play musical instruments, sing, draw, paint, do wonderful needlework... All that sort of stuff has escaped me completely - I think. I'd simply like to finish this in colors I LIKE to offset DH's adoration of black everything & use it for some kind of storage. It's a shallow chest so I may cobble together a base of small sawhorses finished the same way.
I just don't have a clue what I'm doing here & would appreciate advice or useful websutes before I mess this up...
Thanx
Okay, is it safe to assume I may NOT be able to get all the crap off - especially oil & such that's seeped in for years? If that's the case, is there any special prep I should do before I finish the chest? Varnishing it isn't, I think, a viable option. The wood is not a good quality & IS stained.
Look, I don't have an artistic bone in my body. Most of my family can play musical instruments, sing, draw, paint, do wonderful needlework... All that sort of stuff has escaped me completely - I think. I'd simply like to finish this in colors I LIKE to offset DH's adoration of black everything & use it for some kind of storage. It's a shallow chest so I may cobble together a base of small sawhorses finished the same way.
I just don't have a clue what I'm doing here & would appreciate advice or useful websutes before I mess this up...
Thanx
