Is anyone willing to help

[ruefulroo]

Gooday,
Are any of you experienced woodworkers willing to help enthusiastic amateur change the colour of a beautiful wall unit.

It is Danish Deluxe brand and too good to get rid of to match new dining setting. I would like to change the colour to a rich cream.

I know there is going to be a lot of "sanding" involved, and I have to remove doors, shelves etc.,
Is there a major hiccup I may have overlooked before I jump on in??
Or is anyone willing to take on the job. I am in far northern suburbs of Victoria....Wallan??


Edited into default Format by Watson

[ubeaut]

You can't make it lighter than it is supposed to be without bleaching the timber or painting it.

You can sand it back to raw timber then apply a bit of water and the colour it is wet is the lightest it will ever be with a finish on it. If you oil it will go darker and almost anything else you put on it will also darken it.

If it's Danish Deluxe then it's most likely a teak timber or teak veneer which you will have trouble lightening to any more than a honey colour.

What colour is it now? Do you know what the timber it's made from? Is it solid or veneered?. What type of finish is on it? How old is the unit? Do you have a photo you could post here?

All of these would be a help.

Cheers - Neil

[ruefulroo]

the unit is close to 18 years old. I believe parts of the timber are solid and the curvey bits, bowe doors and drawers are veneered in quite thick veneer.

It is sitting in ebay as an unsold item, the matching dining table got snapped up.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/ebayISAPI....MEUS:IT&ih=015.

I know I have to go back to bare timber to be able to paint...I want to do a shiny finish in a cream colour. I would prefer lime wash but I know the finish is dependent on the base timber colour, and if it is yellowish the lime wish will look poor. Even if some of the stain does not come out, this will impact on the lime wash. Not so with gloss paint I hope!

I have tried to find a professional to do it but $1000 was the cheapest quote!! yikes.

Don't lose me Neil, I need all the help I can get.

Thank you.

[ubeaut]

Got to be honest with you that's one mighty big job you're thinking about taking on. I reckon take the $1,000 quote. Especially if you're inexperienced, it seems like pretty good value to me.

Don't suppose you know what timber the new suite is or have a pic?

[ruefulroo]

the unit is close to 18 years old. I believe parts of the timber are solid and the curvey bits, bowe doors and drawers are veneered in quite thick veneer.

It is sitting in ebay as an unsold item, the matching dining table got snapped up.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/ebayISAPI....MEUS:IT&ih=015.

I know I have to go back to bare timber to be able to paint...I want to do a shiny finish in a cream colour. I would prefer lime wash but I know the finish is dependent on the base timber colour, and if it is yellowish the lime wish will look poor. Even if some of the stain does not come out, this will impact on the lime wash. Not so with gloss paint I hope!

I have tried to find a professional to do it but $1000 was the cheapest quote!! yikes.

Don't lose me Neil, I need all the help I can get.

Thank you.

Oh the new one is pine, lime wash. With cream microsuede chairs. Oval table to match the curvy bits on the wall unit.
You must have been talking to my husband, you just echoed his comments.

Fighting words. I am still keen to do it. The basic wall unit is so much more solid than anything I could afford to purchase now. It's just the wrong colour. Abracadabra I can change it.

[Eldanos of KDM]

Pay the Grand. It'll look a whole lot better if someone experienced does it...

[ruefulroo]

Pay the Grand. It'll look a whole lot better if someone experienced does it...

OOPS TOO LATE

This is now a work in progress......sanding sanding sanding.

But I am confident, sort of. Will post pic of result in about 10 years time.

[Eldanos of KDM]

Ah who am I kidding, I'd do exactly the same thing. I just usually end up dissapointed

Good luck, Roofoo son, and post pics!

[ruefulroo]

The plan now is to add some carved mouldings to the unit when it is back to bare timber, to turn it into something resembling "French Provincial". I have sourced a supplier who do flexible polyurethane mouldings which will be just the thing, I hope.

But,

I had an example of bad luck when I purchased a "French Armoire" cabinet, from Ebay. It looked mickey mouse in the photos, and paid $700. When Husband and I went to pick it up, it was being stored in a horse stable, and was embedded with mould. It was in poor condition, and I told the woman so. But, with Ebay, too bad so sad. Had to take it. Just as well I spent my own money on it, husband had steam coming out of his ears.

Well, I love a challenge. I worked on that pupp forever, and now it has pride of place in our bedroom, and Husband takes visitors in to see my handywork.

So, I am hopeful I will have another win. Long way to go, but will definately post successful pics. If unsuccessful will just sulk!

Keep in touch, and I am a girl mate.

[Eldanos of KDM]

Ah sorry matette,

Good to hear you had a win with the french piece, but i reckon you had a pretty good right to reject it if it wasn't as described in the listing. Still, it makes for a great sense of accomplishment restoring or making something yourself ay
Trying to convince my girlie to have a go at making something... she suggested it, but lost interest! Grrr

Take care, good luck and have fun!!