Win by a hair, lose by a hair

The end was in my cross'hairs', but alas, one was also embedded in the top of the nightstand. DO-over!  I had to strip the top and take it back to the beginning.

I tried to just sand and steel wool it out, but no success, the hair stuck

My 'go-to' stripper (makes a pretty good hair remover for legs and underarms if you can stand the pain)

I was quite happy that most of the previous stains had disappeared

Tip for working with a sander: Always apply duct tape to the back of the sandpaper before you use.  It will extend the use of your sandpaper a hundred times, especially if you are a rough handler.  

Here is the nightstand before the top re-do.  Waaaaay too much sheen for me-will try and tone it down.  It is nothing like my usual Minwax poly coat.  Although it says satin, if I were to lay it down, the reflection could see up someone's skirt. I just used up a gallon, and its satin was satin.  I feel a letter coming.  Dear Minwax:

This piece distressed nicely just with a damp paint rag.  I just wanted a subtle look, along with highlighting the crevices with a deeper shade.  I mix my own colors so I could give an approximation of what I used, but I am not the chemist who could decipher exactly.  More later...

~.~.~.~.~.~

I got through 1 disk of Eudora Welty's unabridged (probably will not go to disk 2) and am switching it up to Elizabeth Laban's The Tragedy Paper.  Will let you know if it keeps me good company, along with my chicken rice soup that has been simmering all morning.

As ever,

La Verne

hope&salvage  

PS  Next project is a set of dining room arm chairs, followed by 2 coffee tables, the checkerboard table (Rule #3), followed by the farm house table.  BTW, still no information on where it came from. I did rule out one source though. So far, I stripped off the tiles and lightly sanded the adhesive (will need some 'hair' remover to get it all), and took off the flaps.  I have to cork a hole in the top and add some molding strips before I can get to the fun stuff.  It looks like oak, and is shorter than a regular table.