A Simple Guide to DIY Furniture Maintenance

More than any other factor in your apartment, your furniture defines your overall style. Furniture helps set atmosphere, designates a room’s functionality, and determines the flow of the space in question. But even more than that, the furniture you choose serves as a constantly-visible expression of your personal style. What we’re trying to say is that choosing furniture for your apartment is not a task that should be taken lightly.
But does that mean that you should only choose the finest, most expensive pieces? Not necessarily. After all, price tag alone does not define an item’s worth, and there will likely be many occasions when an inexpensive solution is a better fit than one that empties your bank account. In fact, adding a DIY touch to your furniture scheme may be the single most effective method of making a room your own. After all, you can’t get more personal than DIY personalization, and getting accustomed to customization is a great way to turn a boring apartment into an inviting and exciting home.
In this guide, we share a few of our favorite useful DIY furniture makeover, maintenance, and refurbishment tips to help you keep all of your furniture pieces—even the ones you didn’t make yourself—in tip-top shape.

Furniture Painting
Whether you’ve purchased, inherited, found, or created your own furniture, sometimes slapping on a new coat of paint is exactly what needs to happen to bring your entire theme together. Of course, thanks to the cost of supplies, the time needed to complete the project, and the effort required, when it comes to covering a piece of furniture in paint, you want to make sure that you’re doing it right the first time. Well, don’t worry, DIY furniture painting is actually a fairly simple process, if you know what you’re doing. Here’s how to go about it:

1. Give your furniture a good cleaning. Depending on how dirty your furniture may be, cleaning it might be as simple as wiping it down with a damp cloth, or as involved as using a pressure washer. But regardless of how you need to do it, make sure that the piece of furniture is completely clean before you start painting, because otherwise, all of that grime (or worse) is going to end up under the paint—significantly decreasing the life of the paint job. Allow the furniture to dry before proceeding.
2. Remove any detachable hardware or drawers. This is especially important when dealing with furniture pieces that contain drawers, but things such as table leafs and cabinet doors should not be overlooked. Basically, it you can take it apart without destroying it, do so, so that you can paint each individual part separately.
3. Fill any holes or deep scratches. If you want your furniture to look like new, you need to make sure that it’s surface is smooth and uniform. Take a close look and identify any holes, divots, notches, depp scrapes, or any other inconsistencies on the furniture. Use white all-purpose repair putty, and fill these imperfections. Once the putty has dried completely, use fine-grain sandpaper to gently sand away any excess, leaving the surface flush.
4. Scuff up the entire paintable surface. Using the same fine-grain sandpaper, lightly scuff the entire surface where you intend to paint. This will allow the paint to better adhere to the furniture, and make chipping less likely. Use a dry cloth to wipe away the dust.
5. Add some primer. Using a small angled brush, apply a single coat of primer over the paintable surface. While it is possible (and a bit easier) to purchase spray primer, using an angled brush allows for more complete coverage. Make sure to choose a primer that is compatible with the type of paint you plan on using—we recommend either latex or oil-based paint, in either satin or semigloss finish. Allow the primer to dry completely.
6. Paint! With the primer fully dried, you’re finally ready to paint. Apply a full coat, using a small paint roller, and touching up any trouble areas with your angled brush.
7. Finish it up. Allow the first coat to dry, and then apply a second coat. Once that has dried, all that remains is to put your furniture back together (if you had to take it apart), and find the perfect spot for it.

Furniture Refinishing
If you’re working with old or found furniture, then stripping off old paint, stain, and primer might be your first step towards creating something beautiful. That having been said, DIY furniture refinishing can be a difficult process, and often involves the use of potentially harmful chemicals, so make sure that you know what you’re getting into before you commit yourself to the project. If you’re still interested, here’s our step-by-step process for you to follow:

1. Apply some finish remover. In a well-ventilated area (such as outside, if possible), apply your furniture-paint-and-finish remover to the piece of furniture that you wish to refinish. Wear goggles, gloves, and a dust mask, so as to keep the chemicals and fumes from irritating your skin, lungs, or eyes. Finish remover can be purchased in aerosol form, but for larger jobs, you’ll likely want to stick with the canned variety, applied with an inexpensive paintbrush. Apply a thick coat of remover, and allow it to sit for approximately ½ hour. The finish should begin to lift away from the wood.
2. Remove the old finish. Use a scraper knife to remove the finish. Use long, complete strokes, rather than short, abrupt ones, so as to minimize damage to the wood. Between scrapes, use a disposable cloth to wipe any built-up residue from the blade. Continue to scrape until the finish has been removed completely.
3. Clean with mineral spirits. Once the old finish has been completely removed, next you’ll need to remove any residual finish remover. Apply mineral spirits over the furniture surface, and wipe away using a clean cloth. Allow the table to dry completely before continuing.
4. Sand it all down. After removing the finish, your furniture might still have an uneven surface texture. Use medium-grain sandpaper to help smooth out and homogenized the wood—this will also remove any lingering bits of finish that you may have missed. Remember to sand the entire surface, so that everything ends up being smooth and uniform. You might consider using an electric sander for this step. Use a clean, dry cloth to wipe away the resultant dust.
5. Apply the stain. Once the surface is clean, smooth, and free of old finish, you are finally ready to apply some new stain. Use a staining pad, and apply the stain in long, smooth strokes. You’ll want just enough stain to be able to cover the wood, but not enough to pool over the surface. If you get too much stain on the wood, wipe away any excess with a clean cloth (when wiping, do so lightly, and follow the grain of the wood). Allow the stain to dry, and then add a second coat. You may desire to add several coats in order to reach the desired color.
6. Add clear coat. To protect you refinished furniture (and to help make it shine), add a light coating of aerosol clear coat over the entire surface. Spray three different coats of clear coat, allowing it to dry between coats. Spray from enough of a distance so that the clear coat goes on evenly. Allow it to sit for at least one full day in a ventilated area before placing it in your apartment.

 
General DIY Furniture Maintenance Tips
Beyond painting and refinishing, there are a number of things you should know about maintaining your furniture. After all, DIY furniture makeovers are one thing, but keeping your furniture in the kind of condition you want it to be takes a bit more work. Here are some general DIY tips to help keep your furniture looking great for years to come:

• Know your material. Not every piece of furniture is made of the same stuff. Before you try to clean, polish, or restore any piece of furniture, do some research about the material. Certain cleansers or polishes may be too harsh for certain materials, and it’s incredibly easy to damage otherwise good-looking furniture by failing to use the right chemicals. Even basic soap and water may be too much for some softer leathers.

• Don’t over soak wood furniture. A mild soap and water mixture is generally more than enough to clean spots off of wood furniture, but don’t go overboard—if you use so much water that the wood becomes saturated, your furniture can become warped or mildew damaged. After cleaning, dry your wooden furniture with a dry cloth.

• Clean up spills immediately. You can minimize damage from spills by cleaning them up as soon as they happen. Spills that are left on the furniture can seep into it, making it more difficult to clean, and causing damage over time.   

• Avoid leaving furniture in direct sunlight. A comfortable chair positioned to catch sunlight through an uncovered window may be the perfect place to sit and relax, but if that chair (or any other furniture, for that matter) is absorbing sunlight everyday, then that’s not a good sign. Direct sunlight can actually damage and fade wood finish, bleach leather and upholstery, and draw necessary moisture out of all kinds of furniture, resulting in warped, brittle, cracking surface. For indoor use, consider keeping your furniture out of direct sunlight, only moving it into sunlight when you feel like enjoying some rays.

• Flip your cushions. For those with upholstered furniture, flipping cushions has always been the go-to method for hiding stains and spills. But cushions shouldn’t only be flipped when someone get’s careless with a drink; regular flipping allows furniture owners to extend the life of their furniture, by more equally distributing the basic wear and tear that furniture use produces. So, flip your cushions about once per month, and fluff them as you do so.

• Dust, vacuum, and/or brush furniture before cleaning it. Solid dirt, grime, and other debris can scratch and pit furniture if not removed before the piece is cleaned. So, before you break out the cleansers (or even the soap and water), do some dusting, vacuuming, and brushing.

• Keep furniture away from vents. Heating and cooling vents help keep your apartment a comfortable temperature, but they can damage furniture that’s positioned too close to them. When arranging your furniture, never place anything directly on top of any vents, and try to position your furniture at least a few feet away from all vents.

• Use shoe polish or permanent markers to cover small scratches in wood furniture. If your wood furniture gets scratched, a quick fix is to cover the scratch in a small amount of shoe polish—just make sure to use the right color. Permanent markers can also be used in a pinch.
• Use proper ventilation. Airborne particles, such as in smoke or even excessive perfume, can get into upholstered furniture, potentially damaging it, discoloring it, and/or giving it an unpleasant odor. At times when airborne particles might be an issues (such as when cooking), make sure that the house is properly ventilated.

• Never clean with abrasive pads. Abrasive pads and cleansers will only damage the surface of your furniture. Instead, when cleaning your furniture, use only soft, non-abrasive tools.

• Repair before you have to replace. If you notice any problems with your furniture (scratches, flaking paint, wobbly legs, etc.), act quickly to do something about it. If you ignore small problems, they will eventually become larger ones. Remember, it’s generally easier and less expensive to repair what you’ve got, than it is to have to replace it. DIY furniture restoration doesn’t have to be a huge project, but the longer you neglect it, the more likely it will end up becoming one.             

 
What did we miss? If you have a helpful DIY furniture maintenance tip or idea, then share it in our comments section!