Jaime Costiglio

build - paint - sew

Vintage Cabinet Makeover

A vintage serving cabinet makeover.

vintage cabinet hardware latch detail
My friend asked if I would refinish this painted cabinet:

vintage storage cabinet before
Always eager for a good makeover I said ‘yes’ and after lots of muscle (and stripper) the cabinet is new again:

vintage storage cabinet after
Although it may only look like a paint job this cabinet needed a complete overhaul.
It’s built from tongue and groove pine: top, bottom, sides, doors AND shelves.
You can see in the before picture below that tongue and groove shelves aren’t exactly practical:
vintage storage cabinet before and after

 I removed the existing ‘shelves’ and installed 3/4″ plywood solid shelves:

vintage storage cabinet interior
The back also needed some attention.  Part of the center board was missing and hardware cloth stapled over that hole?  I replaced the broken board and now the cabinet is solid again:
vintage storage cabinet back before and after
Here’s a view from the inside:

vintage storage cabinet back interior before

And now the hole is fixed and we can use the cabinet as it was intended:

vintage storage cabinet back interior after
My friend also asked for wheels on the cabinet, to make it mobile on her porch.

vintage cabinet refinished
You can see the wheels hidden below, not only do they make the cabinet mobile but they also keep the wood off the moist ground prolonging its life:

vintage cabinet refinished with wheels
My friend wants to use this cabinet on her covered porch which means it will be exposed to sun and moisture.  I sealed the exterior with MacKenzie & Stewart satin poly, it has the UV protection we need and leaves a beautiful soft sheen without that yellow tinge found in oil-based sealants:

distressed vintage cabinet

distressed vintage cabinet top
Perhaps my favorite part of this cabinet is the original hardware:
vintage cabinet original hardware
But it was sadly painted over and completely neglected:
vintage cabinet original hardware before
  
I did some serious work on the hardware to restore it back to its original beauty (except that missing piece on the right door) otherwise the details are so pretty.

vintage cabinet original hardware stripping paint
And here it is on my friend’s porch ready for action:

refinished storage cabinet on porch

Here’s how I refinished the cabinet:


1. Remove doors, all hardware and loose shelving.

2. Use Kwik Strip stripper or Citristrip stripping gel.
Work in sections always keeping the piece you’re working on parallel to earth, pour out stripper onto surface:


citristrip stripping gel
3. Use an old paintbrush to smooth stripper over surface, leaving a thick coating.
Immediately the old paint with bubble and loosen:

citristrip stripping gel on paint
4. Wait 30 minutes and then start scraping:
I prefer a plastic scraper that won’t gauge the wood.

scraping stripped paint
5. Repeat the stripper process for a second time if your paint is thick:

stripper activating paint
6. Once done using stripper and dry, sand off any excess paint:
Sand the entire cabinet, including the base.
The LEFT door is completely stripped and the RIGHT door is still covered with green:

stripped door versus painted door
7. Moving to the back I needed to repair this screen filled hole?:
poor patch job in back before
8. Remove the screen and staples.  Sand.
Then use a jigsaw to carefully remove the partial board:

remove cut board with jigsaw
All gone:

remove cut board

9. Enlist help to wash and hose down the entire cabinet:

kids helping to wash cabinet
10. Although not necessary I choose to bleach the wood prior to any refinishing just to really clean out any old crusties.
Mix 1/2 bleach and 1/2 water and brush all over cabinet, then let dry in the sun:

bleach cabinet to clean
11. Once dry I inserted a 1×4 pine board ripped to fit into the open gap in back:
replace missing board in back

 12. The board is attached using my Kreg jig and pocket holes on the inside:

pocket holes to attach missing board
13. Next cut 3/4″ plywood shelves for the interior:

install new plywood shelves
14. There was an existing ledge for the shelves to rest on but I also secured them to the side walls with pocket holes:

install new plywood shelves on ledge
15. Prime entire cabinet with Zinsser cover stain oil based primer.
Paint exterior one coat exterior grade white flat.

prime cabinet with zinsser
16. Sand to distress in keeping with tongue and groove style:

paint and distress cabinet
17. Apply Minwax classic grey stain:

apply classic grey stain to cabinet
No stain on LEFT, with stain on RIGHT:

white paint versus grey stain
18. Paint interior 3 coats high gloss white enamel:
(**Don’t forget to do the doors in all these steps too!)

paint interior high gloss white
19. Flip cabinet upside down and seal base and all visible cut ends using MacKenzie & Stewart Isle of Skye waterbourne satin poly:
seal with exterior grade poly

 20. Line up wheels in corners, leaving enough space for wheel and lock to spin freely without hitting feet:

attach wheels to base
21. Predrill and attach wheels:
Then apply another coat of satin poly, going over screws to seal.

screw wheels to base

22. Flip cabinet back upright and attach doors and hardware.
Then seal with two coats of MacKenzie & Stewart Isle of Skye waterbourne satin poly again going over hardware and screws to seal finish:

seal cabinet with exterior satin poly
Ready to use:
vintage cabinet on patio

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  10. It's All Connected says

    I know that was a huge amount of work but it was so worth it! I love the idea of castors on an outdoor piece so you can move it aside to sweep out wind blown stuff and bugs. ~ Maureen

    Reply

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