Refinish a Wood Table or Buy New?

Are you thinking of buying new furniture?

Then we may be able to help you think of a few things you may want to consider. Buying new furniture can be fun for sure. But if you are asking “should I or can I Refinish a wood table or buy new?”, then we help you answer that question in today’s blog.

Refinish a wood table or buy new

Things to consider to refinish your existing furniture

How does it look?

  •  Do you have unsightly water rings on the top of your table?
  • Are there issues with stain that has been worn off the edges?
  • How about scratches on the surface?
  • Maybe you hate the look of it (I can’t help you with that one)

What kind of shape is it in?

  • Is anything broken?
  • Would you consider it cheap? Is it held together by small cheap nuts and bolts that keep coming apart?

What kind of wood is it?

  • How about finding out if it is even wood!  If it is particle board or MDF don’t read any further…the answer is NO, buy a new one.
  • Maple is a great wood but it is also very hard to refinish with a new stain. Great for painting. We can refinish/clear coat it though!
  • Oak is fairly easy to re-stain, refinish and paint.
  • Cherry is another one that is great to touch up with stain, refinish or paint.
  • If it’s pine you should consider buying new – very soft wood that makes it hard to keep a good finish on.

What is your budget for new furniture?

First question is what is the table worth to you? If you want to really debate refinish wood table or buy new, budget means everything. A quality solid wood table will be hard to replace compared to the cost of refinishing it. Some things they just don’t make like they used too.

I mentioned the wood, older woods just have a look that can no longer be made.

  • Older woods had longer to grow.
  • They also were grown in soil and growing conditions that differ from what they are today
  • The wood being used now has been modified to grow faster and differently. This results in different grains

Custom made pieces from places like Amish furniture stores are great. They will last longer than you. But that comes with a cost.

We ask this question to customers that are debating new kitchen cabinets– if there is nothing wrong with the cabinets and you just want something different then refinish it!

 What type of color or finish do you want?

Just like we do for customers that redo their kitchen cabinets you have options. Some of those options are based on the type of wood you have as we talked about above.

  • Are you thinking of painting a solid color?
  • Maybe you want chairs to be natural wood but the table painted?
  • Re-staining the table a new stain can be fun as you can really have fun with colors, glazing, and antiquing.
  • Do you want a new clear finish? Now you can decide if you want flat, satin, semi gloss, or gloss!

If you watch HGTV or look at Pinterest, then you will find options for the options.

Why you should not refinish your existing table or furniture

If you have never done this before don’t start with this!  Large, flat surfaces will make you frustrated for sure!

Just like our cabinet refinishing process, you must make sure you do all of the prep work so that you will have successful results.

As I mentioned above, if it is falling apart don’t bother unless you need the practice.

There are plenty of ways you can paint furniture so don’t take what we say as gospel. We just want to make sure that you have the results you want. Personally, when I have an image of what it will look like and it doesn’t work out I get mad. That is what we want to eliminate.

If you are not sure what to do call us!  We will give you the straight no BS answer. No obligation, no hidden agenda. Just honest information so you can make the best choice on what to do.

Let us know how we can help you love the space you’re in!

 

Why is Venetian Plaster So Expensive?

We are working on several decorative plaster jobs right now and the materials range from $30.00 per gallon to $80.00 per gallon. You also have to account for the walls to be primed, sanded, areas around covered, the time to hand apply the plaster with a trowel, then dry, then polish to the desired sheen, then apply a protective finish.

The cheapest Venetian plaster is from the local home improvement stores. They are usually an acrylic based product, harder to apply, harder to polish.What you save money for materials you lose in time to do the work.

The expensive plasters are lime based. We have to use a special primer for them to make sure they bond to the surface and to make sure the lime will not eat away your walls. They apply to using warm butter and polish to a mirror-like finish with little effort. They are amazing products. The better products are from one of our favorite stores Chicago Institute of Fine finishes in Carol Stream. Aside from an amazing array of products to use the knowledge of product usage is superior to anyone else. They are there to help make your world beautiful.

Painters Coupons

Have you received any coupons in the mail from another painting company? You have most likely seen them in mailers, coupon value packs, or local value ads.

If you have and want another estimate, give us a call with the coupon and we will match it. There are companies that offer whole house painting for $2499.00. But if you read the coupon, as our last customer showed us, you will read that it is only for 8 rooms, (not a 2 story foyer) nor does it include paint! Make sure that you read the ads closely. We do our best to match our competitions ads.

A Good Start Means a Good Finish

When we go into a customers house, we want the customer to be at ease and know they will be taken care of.  When we give the initial estimate, we want to make sure we explain why we cost more than our competition and why we are better.

Our Process

When we walk into a home to prepare for interior home painting, we find a entrance exit strategy. What is getting painted? We start at the farthest point and move to the exit point. Drop clothes are laid on the ground as we walk through to set up. Hardwood floors are covered for the areas of highest and most traffic. As we move through the house large pieces of furniture get moved to the center of the room. Each switch plate and outlet cover is removed and placed in a secure location. Each piece of trim is wiped down and taped off. Any type of light, thermostat, smoke detector, vent covers, towel bars,  or items mounted to the walls are either removed or loosed so we can paint.  The walls are sanded to remove burrs dirt or paint drips from a previous paint job. Nail pops are repaired and cracks are fixed.

When we are done painting, we remove the tape, replace outlet covers, look for any drips that may have happened, wipe the flooring down, sweep the floors and vacuum any debris.

The results speak for themselves.  There may be cheaper ways but that is not what we at D’franco Painting & Wallpaper do.

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