Giving a 1942 Vanity Table a New Life
I found this vanity on a local barter and trade site for $50. I've been looking for a vanity for a long time and bought this one to make into something I'd love and use.
The veneer had damages, but the vanity was in tack. I knew I'd first remove the veneer.
Removing the veneer.
I tried using heat to release the veneer, but found the most productive way to get it off was picking and peeling using straight edge razor and various putty knives. Not the most fun part for sure. Some peeled in strips, some areas I had to pick tiny pieces at a time. I'm sure someone has a better method, but this worked for me.
Most veneer off.
Getting down to the bare bones.
After removing all veneer, I sanded. Getting down in all the cracks and crevasses took patience. I sanded it even more after this to get the wood as fresh looking as possible. My best advise here is sand, sand, and sand some more. When you think you sanded enough, go sand it more.
Stain!
I carefully stained the piece. I used a grain defining stain. Because of the variation of types of wood it gave a variation in color I was happy with. I did all the same steps with the topper that holds the mirror.
Found this stamped on the mirrors!
The stamp says "Galax Va.", can't read the middle, and 1942. Which I'm assuming dates the piece to 1942.
I used 4 coats of premium satin finish polyurethane. And used a little Brasso to clean the handles.
Finished!
I'm so delighted with the outcome! Over 100 hours of blood, sweat, and tears.
Before and after side by side.
Popular Project Book
Join the conversation
2 of 1256 comments
Becky4 days agoLooks SO pretty now! Thank you for sharing and thank you even more for NOT PAINTING such a beautiful piece! Well done!
Martha Horn Jones30 minutes agoI have this piece that I believe is a nightstand that went with a dresser like yours. You did a wonderful job, and have certainly motivated me to get busy restaining mine.
Have a question about this project?
This turned out Beautiful, love that you could see the grain variations. Do you think this process would work for an old antique dinning table? The veneer is coming off the edges and looks pretty bad.
What kind of sanders did you use, several different ones. Your sanded piece of the vanity looked like new unfinished wood. Don’t own sander and don’t know where to begin with one. Help
Any hard ware store will tell you what you need.and a detail sander helps .beside apalm sander .or just sand paper .ask about whst grot you will need for your project.
Did you use two different color stain? That's just gorgeous.... Great job...
Just one stain. The different types of wood it was made with picked up the stain differently. Its rustoleum stain in the color kona.