Friday, November 8, 2019

Old Pine Chest Makeover

Pine Chest

This old pine chest was once covered with a natural fibrous material, then after it was removed, someone had painted it with gloss black paint directly over the residue of glue and fibers left over from the previous surface. (Look below to see how the background looked as well as the fiber that had covered the chest).

The customer thought it was a cedar chest, but it turned out to be made from pine boards, not cedar, which has a distinct look and fragrance.
Top of Chest

Since the side surfaces were so rough, the only
way to make it look good again was to cover it with fabric. We were able to sand the top enough for it to accept paint and look pretty good, so we decided to paint the top and bottom with “gingerbread brick” paint and spray glue tan canvas duck fabric to the sides. It covered the rough exterior very well and gave it a fresh, new look and a chance at a new life.

With polished hardware, it turned out to be a nice piece of furniture. This was a decent sized storage chest, but light enough to be easily relocated if desired. I decided on adding two rows of rope to the top and bottom edges for more texture and to create a “pirate” chest look. For a final embellishment, I created a swash design, then transferred it to the front with a Frixion pen (which is easily removable once the project is complete) and then followed my hand drawn pattern with shiny brass tacks. These tacks not only created a lovely design, they help to keep the fabric in place, which I had adhered with Gorilla spray glue. All in all, a very fun fall project.

Sample of exterior

New Canvas on Background w/new handle

Solid Cedar Chest

Cedar Chest Before
Over the many years I have been restoring cedar chests, this is only the second one that was made of solid cedar. Many cedar chests have a decorative outer layer, which is created by carefully piecing many veneer sections together to create a vast style of designs and patterns.
Cedar Chest After

This cedar chest had no veneer, therefore the natural beauty of the cedar could be seen. As you can see, the cedar itself is such a lovely wood that it needs no embellishments. The hardware was made of copper, dulled by age, hiding the color beneath years of oxidation. Our customer had not wanted this cedar chest stained, just left natural and then protected with polyurethane only.

This chest had been painted at one time and the paint had been mostly removed, except for the left front foot. Why anyone would paint a cedar chest is beyond me, but it happens. Cedar is a natural moth repellant, so it makes for an excellent place for storing linens, quilts and seasonal items.

For this cedar chest, we removed the hardware prior to sanding the exterior to remove any remaining old finish, then filled the holes with a medium-tone wood filler. There had been a few gouges, other than that the exterior was in pretty good condition. All hardware was removed and polished. The oversized tacks were treated with black patina so that they would contrast well with the brass. Since it was being use as a coffee table as well as a storage chest, we replaced the worn interior hinge with a friction lid hinge, which is adjustable, so that it doesn’t fall on tiny fingers when it is being opened and closed. Once it was sanded and gouges filled, it received two coats of satin polyurethane and looked better than new.

Check out other cedar chests we have refinished by clicking on these links:

https://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2016/08/1948-lane-cedar-chest_22.html
https://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2015/04/elegant-cedar-chest-revival.html
https://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2013/12/1945-lane-waterfall-cedar-chest.html
https://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2012/06/my-waterfall-cedar-chest.html
https://finalefurniture.blogspot.com/2020/01/painted-cedar-chest-revival.html

Cedar Chest Before Open
Cedar Chest After Open