How to refinish hubby's plant stand
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Hubby has had this old plant stand forever and with watering the African violets, the stand has become almost bare wood. How and what do I use to restore it to its original beauty?
top shelf is cracking also and warping
2nd shelf, not so bad but.....
Bottom shelf, this side is bad other side a lot better.
He has over 60 plants and babies so it gets used a lot.
13 answers
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I would sand it, strip the old finish and reapply something like MinWax to it and finish with a good polyurethane coat to protect, in the future, from water. In fact, two or three coats of poly might be needed.
![Bonny McDaniel]()
Bonny McDaniel
on Jul 01, 2015
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It looks like it is going to have to be hand sanded due to the design. This will be great exercise for arms. If you like the color take a photo first and have the hardware match that color, otherwise Bonny's idea will be best. It is going to look gorgeous. Always seal it with polyurethane as Bonny mentioned. That's one beautiful plant stand!
![LIZ]()
LIZ
on Jul 01, 2015
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Thanks great ideas.
![Shirley Kalinosky]()
Shirley Kalinosky
on Jul 01, 2015
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If you have a small palm sander, you can do the flat surfaces and some of the trim and uprights with that and then finish with hand sanding. Don't buy any stripper until you sand as you might be able to sand all of it off. Then choose the Minwax color that is close to what the original was or you could go with another color, if you desire. It doesn't look like a valuable antique but if it is a family heirloom you might want to keep it close to original. I just noticed the water damage on the top shelf and it looks like veneer so you might have trouble with that. If so, repost and we will see if anyone knows how to deal with that.
![Bonny McDaniel]()
Bonny McDaniel
on Jul 02, 2015
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I agree with the sanding and poly. Two or three coats for good water protection. If you use a sander make sure to not go to close to your edges or you could damage them pretty easily. Hand sanding may be all it takes! Love the piece!
![The Redesign Habit]()
The Redesign Habit
on Jul 02, 2015
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What a beautiful piece! 3 coats of poly after a nice sanding and final with 000 steel wool and it'll be as fine as ever! Please post a "finished" picture.
![Claire]()
Claire
on Jul 02, 2015
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I agree,hand sanding or machine sanding but hand sand the edges,then either paint with outside stain (at least 2 coats)& let cure then maybe poly coat it.
![Wendy G. Whitcomb]()
Wendy G. Whitcomb
on Jul 02, 2015
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Set Mosaic tile ( broken) in grout & then epoxy over.
![Rose Marie]()
Rose Marie
on Jul 02, 2015
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It's just starting to look good...............
![Iberkeley]()
Iberkeley
on Jul 02, 2015
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I was going to suggest Marine Sealer... but think you would want to do some practicing on a separate piece of work...of course sand the table if you are going to put a finish on it... oh, and I want to comment on your Violets...how do you get them to bloom so beautiful???
![Anne Alexander]()
Anne Alexander
on Jul 02, 2015
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I read somewhere that for wood which has been exposed to the elements you can wet a few tea bags and paint the tea over the wood so that it brings out it's natural handsomeness to the fore once again. Then once it has dried you can use a wood sealer and a varnish. I suggest that you 1st sand it to remove the old finish - remember to sand in the direction of the grain and not across it. Technology is so good these days that you only need to ask you hardware store for advice as to what finish you should use. Good luck
![Clematis]()
Clematis
on Jul 03, 2015
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Sand first, then paint the bottom two shelves black and glue gold chain around the outside edges. On the top shelf, paint the face of a gold pocket watch, then coat it all with poly.
![Joanna Smith]()
Joanna Smith
on Aug 02, 2015
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I was asked if this is resolved. I thought it was but haven't had time to do any of the Technics we have talked about. I will keep it at unresolved until I refinish it. Thanks for your input.
![Shirley Kalinosky]()
Shirley Kalinosky
on Aug 21, 2015
Bonny McDaniel
on Jul 01, 2015
LIZ
on Jul 01, 2015
The Redesign Habit
on Jul 02, 2015
Claire
on Jul 02, 2015
Wendy G. Whitcomb
on Jul 02, 2015
Rose Marie
on Jul 02, 2015
Iberkeley
on Jul 02, 2015
Anne Alexander
on Jul 02, 2015
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