Best products from r/furniturerestoration

I love projects like this. Your furnishings feel much more your own, and they take on a sense of permanence you can't get with big box furnishings.

A heat gun and putty knives work very well to remove the stickers. Use a low setting, don't keep the heat focused on one area for too long and keep an eye out for browning, singeing, smoking, and fire. You've got lots of space to work with so skip around to allow the wood to cool. You'll potentially be removing whatever finish is on the couch if you are too heavy handed and or use too much heat. If you plan on refinishing use the heat gun and putty knife to remove the finish.

You can try just scraping with a razor blade to remove most of the stickers and then saturating the area with full strength degreaser, such as D-Limonene.covering the area with a paper towel to keep the degreaser in place.

A couple of razor tools to consider: 4" wide short handled for large areas with thick layers of stickers. Smaller razor scrapers with metal and plastic blades. Plastic detail scrapers might be useful too.

Instead of using Goo Gone I like pure D-Limonene solution. It's a potent degreaser extracted from citrus peels and contains no petroleum distillates, unlike Goo Gone. It also comes in food safe solution - though to be safe for digestion it really does need to be quite dilute.

Use the putty knife and rags or gauze to clean the adhesive from the wood. Large Woven Gauze Sponges are more scratchy and will give more traction with absorption. Rolled Stretch Gauze Bandages have the same great absorbing properties but they're softer and great for detail work. You'll get to know what you prefer - I'm partial to gauze sponges. They're cheap and I just toss them into the compost bin as long as they aren't too bummed up with adhesive top.


To remove the degreaser dish soap and rubbing alcohol work well. I like Dr Bronner's castile soap diluted for dishwashing. Wipe down with 90% Isopropyl Alcohol. You should be good to move on to your next step, probably sanding and smoothing, patching any holes or gouges to prep for staining and finishing or painting.

I linked a whole bunch of products to give you an idea of what will work for certain applications. There are definitely other ways to achieve the same goals, this is just how I tackle this task. Please don't order everything listed here at once, see what works from you. I link Amazon because they have everything but locally owned small businesses are an invaluable resource and great when you get stuck in a project.

Don't forget your PPE'S!

Dust Mask - I like this one as you can vacuum the filters out to extend the life and reduce waste. It has a smaller profile too - my husband actually doesn't complain about wearing it, just puts it on.

N95 Respirator
Replacement filters available on Amazon

Comfortable Safety Glasses or Goggles

Heat Resistant Gloves

Long Cuff Gloves Disposable

Some type of work gloves

Good luck!

This advice assumes that the grey color comes from oxidation (usually sun/weather exposure like a grey-ed fence/deck). You can certainly sand this coloration away (and there is some merit to that as you will end up with a nice smooth finish) however, if the oxidation is deep, you will be sanding away a fair amount of material and it will require a lot of effort. Enter oxalic acid. Oxcalic acid is used to "bleach" wood, and is the main ingredient in wood brighteners. Depending on where you live, most any hardware store will sell a similar product over in the paint section. Often labeled as deck/fence restorer. For instance, Home Depot sells Behr All-In-One wood cleaner. The stuff is awesome, just clean/debride the wood with a stiff bristled scrub brush, wet the surface, brush on the cleaner (can dilute 1:1 with water), let sit 10-15 min (keeping wet), and rinse. It will take the grey color from the wood like magic. After that you can sand the surface smooth (if desired) with much less effort than trying to sand through the discoloration. If there is any finish left on the wood, you will want to remove that as well before refinishing.

Also, not to contradict /u/dragon34, but the advice he got about not sanding between coats of poly isn't particularly great. Yes, re-coating quickly will allow the second coat to adhere without sanding, but it will not result in the best finish. At the very least, you should denib the previous coat before moving to the next. Otherwise you will end up with bumps from dust, insect, uneven application, etc. being trapped between the layers. I usually just buff the previous coat with some 0000 steel wool until burnished smooth, and then go over it with a microfiber cloth that has been dampened with denature alcohol. If you are putting in all the effort to restore, prep, and refinish the piece, it is worth spending an extra 10 minutes prepping properly between coats.

I started refinishing my parents' 1961 teak furniture set, beginning with nesting tables and an end table. (1) First, I cleaned the surfaces using a clean cloth dipped in water & liquid Dawn; then rinsed and dried. (2) I used #000 steel wool and mineral spirits to hand-rub with the grain and deep-clean the surfaces, then wiped off the debris with a microcloth. I did this several times. (3) I applied clear (neutral) stain with a clean applicator pad, let it sit for about 10 minutes, then wiped off excess. After it dried, I repeated this application. (4) To finish, I applied a light top-coat of Renaissance wax and buffed the surface. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I0EK92C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I'm not experienced at this and I probably could have done more to remove dark stains, but the veneer was so thin on the tables that I was afraid to do much aggressive sanding. Everything was done by hand to control the progress.

I think this bookcase could be an amazing and very chic if one was to put in a little bit of work. For instance: Strip, sand, choose to paint it all or as paint/stain combo, then add some MCM legs and a tasteful wallpaper used as a backer to give depth. Declutter some of those books, add some eccentric bookends, maybe a cool lamp, or plants and you have a conversation piece.

Or add some geometric doors and turn it into a console with the below legs.

Legs for example:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GS5XTMX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_LYA7CbC7NN6EZ

If conditioner and buffing don’t take it out you’re probably going to have to use leather paint and match the color. Angelus makes leather paint in a bunch of colors and it holds up pretty well on upholstery.

There are some stains that are non-penetrating that will work. These stains essentially sit on the top and become darker with each coat. The spots with filler may be slightly lighter, but will be less noticeable with each coat.

I like the General Finishes product

Post is aimed at the beginner question of how do I repair beat up furniture with no tools and no experience.

Howards Resote a Finish is a cheap and effective method.

This post shows before and after treatment of Restore a finish, then a full strip and restore.

Try this before sanding. I used it on my veneer mid-century bedroom set and it took out the water stains and made it look almost new.

https://www.amazon.com/Howard-FW0016-Feed-N-Wax-Conditioner-16-Ounce/dp/B001BKQYGW