Bedroom Set Face-Lift

I was at Home Depot with a couple of gift cards still leftover from Christmas burning a hole in my pocket.  While perusing the paints/wood stains I came across some Howard Restor-A-Finish.  I'd been wanting to try this stuff out for some time after reading about it on a few of my favorite blogs.  It's supposed to revitalize wood finishes and fix minor scratches and markings without the bother of sanding.

My mind went immediately to my poor old bedroom set.  I've had it since 2006 after purchasing the whole set from a local antique store.  I love it just the way it is, but it has been looking rather run down lately and I really wasn't ready to freshen it up with a coat of paint.  I have my dresser and vanity done so far.  Take a look!

Luckily the Restor-A-Finish in 'Walnut' spruced it up just enough to get it looking lovely again.  Here are some comparison shots:

You can see how much drier the sides are in the first picture.

The wood in the center of my vanity gets very dry and dusty because that's where I do my makeup daily.  It conditioned that area nicely and got rid of a ton of minor water marks.  You'll notice in the pictures above that it reduced the ring on the corner and a scratch near the bottom, but did not fix them completely.  I applied my Restor-A-Finish with a soft cloth, which is for minor blemishes.  Had I wanted to repair more major ones I could have used steel wool to rub on the finish, but I like my furniture to look its age a bit.

After wiping on the Restor-A-Finish and waiting 15 minutes, I wiped on a thin layer of Minwax Finishing Wax to seal it in.  Leave that on for another 15 minutes and then buff.  I love the satin-y sheen that it added to the top.  It really makes the woodgrain stand out much nicer.

 

I'm very pleased with the results.  This stuff is so fast and easy to use, not to mention well worth the $8!  I didn't even use up a third of the can on those two pieces.  I've still got a ton of furniture that could use the Restor-A-Finish treatment so call me in a couple weeks.  Until then I'll be buried under a pile of dried up furniture in a well-ventilated room.