Garage Garbage Finds New Life

I had just completed 'Bob' (Aye Matey project on HT), and I was not so sure I had the strength to deal with "Gerard" (I did not name him, he was not speaking to me.. my friend that brought him said, I think he looks like a Gerard.. so it stuck :) I have no idea how long Gerard was in this person's garage, but long enough to have a VISE anchored to his top, burn marks and drill holes galore! UGH! I couldn't get his drawers to work and open well either!

I rolled up my sleeves, put on my big girl pants (the one's with paint and grime stains galore....) and began the task of cleaning him up. Wiped him down, got the wasps nest out of his drawer, dead bugs, left over screws etc...

No time like the present.. I jumped right in and began tearing off the original veneer as well as the underlayment wood that was also damaged. In fact it was so damaged , that it barely put up a fight when I removed it! (either that or Gerard was happy to let me get that off of him.. I couldn't blame him)

After I got that all off, I sanded, and sanded.. 80 grit, 120 grit. Then I got out the wood putty and began filling in his 5 hundred and 65 thousand holes.... (yes, bit of exaggeration! HA!) Letting that dry, I moved on to the much easier job of dealing with the rest of Gerard.. which was in (surprise!) really nice shape :)

I stripped, sanded, stained (Minwax Jacobean) , Stenciled (Fusion Ash and Brushed Steel). Then painted the interiors three colors: top drawers with Rennaissance Cherry Blossom, the middle one

in Fusion Speckled Frog, and the bottom drawer in Fusion Ingelnook.

The top drawers have a raised design, using Fusion Embossing Paste with Ash, then dry brushing the Brushed steel over top of that. Of course he had to have new hardware! These were purchased at Menards.

The entire dresser then got two coats of Fusion Ash. I mixed Ash with Fresco powder to paint on the sides to add texture.

Now.........what the heck (you know I did not say 'heck') was I going to do with his top...

Gerard was no help.. he shrugged, said 'whatever' and I think he went to sleep! The nerve of some furniture....

I could have gotten new veneer, or made a new top (not that my skill level was necessarily up for that), but the fact was, Gerard was really solid, and well made. Covid had reared it's ugly head and going out to find something posed a real problem... So instead here's what I came up with..

I had this little stencil (I bought and used on 'Clara') , and I loved the pattern.. and I had an idea..........................

I used this stencil, and Durham's Water Putty to make a raised design over the entire top of Gerard (I had sealed his top with Heritage paint in Brown). I...........thought...........I'd ...............NEVER.........get ........done!

But I did : ) Finally.

In the mean time I had purchased a product that I had never used before.. Retique It!. For those of you not familiar, it is a paint on wood replacer that allows you to then STAIN like it was wood! I was really anxious to try this stuff out!

Here is Gerard with his Retique It happening... :) Now the test .. I got out the stain... they say that gel stain works best over this stuff, so I purchased Verathane Gel Stain in Walnut, and did two coats.

And here's a close up.... HAPPY DANCE! It looks like carved wood! I then sealed the top with Dixie Belle's Gator Hide.

When he was all done, I stepped back to admire the new Gerard, I couldn’t believe the transformation.

He. Was. GORGEOUS! Much more beautiful that even I had imagined. As I stood there being amazed by what I had apparently accomplished, I heard a small voice as last … “Wow, Rad Dude!”  … hmmm Rad indeed. I think Gerard has awoken, good timing ‘dude’.

Showing off his new top, and lovely drawers (that open and close without issue now :)

Just a little close up :)

Hope you enjoyed Gerard's makeover!

Products used:

Fusion Ash

Fusion Speckled Frog

Fusion Ingelnook

Rennaissance Cherry Blossom

Fusion Embossing paste

Durham’s Water Putty

Verathane Gel Stain Dark Walnut

Plaid Enterprises stencil (probably from Joanns)