Credenza Record Cabinet: The (Re) Finished Story

The final product (above)

After over two years of searching for a credenza to tuck away all my electronics in and to hold my television I finally found this Telefunken record cabinet on Craigslist for $165. It was in poor condition being that the original owner shared that his grandfather left it outdoors in a barn exposed to the elements. It had the right lines that are important to me in my furnishings however and I decided to take it upon myself to have this be my large refinishing project to conquer, of course with a little help from my handy teacher, aka Mom.
Here's the step by step, minus a cut finger.

Before pictures show the significant damage:

This shows the color before, which was changed with a darker stain.

Here are the supplies: heavy duty gloves, a small dish to pour the liquids in, very fine sandpaper, tack cloth, Fromby's  Furniture Refinisher, Jasco's Bix Varnish and Stain Remover (which we ended up not needing), Steel wool, Wood Stain in Modern Walnut by Zara and Fromby's Tung Oil finish. Cost approximately $60.00.

The Sandpaper had a cloth texture to it which made it easier to use and less chance of making a mistake. We gently sandpaper'ed the entire piece after which we used the tack cloth to pick up the remainder of the dust.

Here my Mom's showing how we  rubbed re-finisher into the wood with steel wool. It was clear we had to remove all the finish, rather than refinish and re-amalgam the old finish. You want to be gentle doing this so as to keep an even surface for staining and final finishing.

Here you can see what the wood looked like once it was stripped. It also made the damage show even worse, which worried me initially. 

There's limited shade in my backyard but you need to try to refinish in the shade. The chemicals dry up very fast once you pour them into your shallow container, also you can damage your furniture piece if you have parts that dry too quickly. We used rags to rub in the refinishing product in the same direction of the grain. This part was labor intensive as we had to go over the piece several times.

Before staining

After staining

The dark color and natural sheen came through after two layers of stain. I let it dry in my side room for a week and a half. The first three days inside I rubbed tung oil with a soft cloth on it which gave it an even more beautiful sheen. 

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Here are a few close ups:

Below are a few other pictures that show my new chair on loan (thanks Sarah!) and my living room coming together. Oh yes, that's my pup Benji on the sofa and on the carpet in the pics. 

My *L* for Love letter, guitar from Dad, Angie Wyant print and photo booth picture collection on top of my buffet cabinet that holds my Grandma's china from the 1950's.

**The End**

(next project, wallpaper this wall behind the buffet cabinet...)