Day One of the Art Deco Twin Armoire refurbish

Big, big busy day……… Here’s how day one went.

Step one involved removing the trim and giving in a good sand to remove the age old varnish and staining. I used 80 grit and sanded most of my finger prints off when I was done. But it turns out the trim is rimu – excellent!

On re-investigation, I snapped these pics of the cute little details this piece has. Below is a picture of one of the hooks in the top of the cupboard. We didn’t see them until today as they were obstructed from view by the lintel and hanger rod. What a nice find – there are 4 of these little beauties and they will be left where they are to preserve some of the character and charm.

Below is one of the original hanger rod slots, very charming.

Step two involved removing the doors and sanding them back.

My job is to sand the doors and trims. I got all the front trims and one door done today.

Second task of day one was to remove the bora infected top panel and replace it. Luckily we had a piece of Oak that would do the trick and hubby got to work on it.

This is the bora damage – destined for the fire.

This is a picture of the original top piece with staining and bora damage from the inside of the cupboard.

Replacement piece of Oak measure and marked ready to go.

A topless armoire.

Fitting the new piece in place. Beauty is on the inside

QUICK TIP – wooden plugs

Last task of the day was to plug the holes of the un-sanded door, because I want the handles to be in alignment when the piece is finished.

Here is hubby making a wood plug, hammering it in with PVA, chipping it back with a chisel, then sanding off whilst the glue is still wet to ensure any gaps left are filled with saw dust and glue. We used a piece of the new Oak as the plug but as you’ve probably noticed it is several shades lighter than the armoire Oak…… it will still do the trick nicely though just as well Hubby is so clever!!!

 

Day one complete! ready for day two.