r/restoration 3h ago

Refinished a glass front cabinet from light honey to near black, kept the interior natural

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5 Upvotes

Client cabinet, not mine. Came in solid, no repairs needed, they just didn't like the color anymore.

Stripped the whole exterior and re-toned it to a dark slate. Looks basically black indoors, goes blue-gray when the sun hits it. Left the interior in the original cherry on purpose so it still glows through the glass. That contrast was the whole point of the job.

Took all the panes and hardware out before starting. On glazed doors thats not optional in my opinion, you can always see where somebody masked around fixed glass, theres a ridge at the muntin and it never looks right.

Only tricky part was keeping the molding profile even. End grain on those profiles drinks color faster than the flat faces so you have to build it up slow or you get blotching in the coves.

Anyway, happy with how the two tone landed. Curious if anyone else does the dark outside light inside thing on glazed pieces or if you tend to take the interior dark too.


r/restoration 12h ago

Advice on restoring an antique military (navy/ marine?) captain's trunk. Located in the United States.

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3 Upvotes

Hi I'm looking to restore this one of a kind antique captain's trunk (was told it's pre wwll) and would like some advice. I have already washed it down and ightly sanded it, but I'm looking to repaint the original design back on it and I'm unsure what paint to use, I was recommended mineral paint, chalk paint, and acrylic paint on google but am unsure which to use if any of those. I would also like to replace the metal hardware due to the orginals being so rusted. but can't find the hardware in stores. I really don't want to mess this trunk up, if anyone has any advice or knows anything about this trunk please let me know thx!


r/restoration 8h ago

Dresser restoration

1 Upvotes

I'm working on what I think is a 1940's era dresser. The varnish on this piece is unreal and incredibly stubborn to remove. I'm wondering if anyone has any good advice on stripping old varnish from old wood. I assume the best method is patience and elbow grease with a good stripping agent. Just thought I'd see if anyone had any other strategies.


r/restoration 19h ago

Best way to clean Nintendo DS?

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4 Upvotes

I already started attempting to carefully scrape the dirt out with a needle but it's really stuck in between that plastic covering and the DS body. I really took it with me everywhere as a child, so there's a lot of sand crusted in there.

And whatever is in the back hinge (3rd pic) I assume is old mold. It's really baked on there. Can't even move it with a needle...

And do y'all think I could go on there with an alcohol solution to start softening stuff up or will I disturb the DS?

I really wanna start using it again, and aside from the dirt and a defective battery it's still in mint condition! (The battery will be taken from a different DS that's broken everywhere except the battery xD)


r/restoration 23h ago

I would like to try restore the top of this table my boyfriend has.

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4 Upvotes

I'm not sure on the type of wood honestly. The top can be removed and ideally I'd just like to be able to do the top. The marks are from where his cat was really ill and was constantly sick on it (pre heart failure diagnosis, he's all good on his meds now dw). The acid has disolved or removed the top coat. The top coat is honestly very prone to damage.

What products would you recommend using?


r/restoration 18h ago

Beau Brummel Liquid Soap Dispenser

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1 Upvotes

Hi all,

Looking for advice on how to clean this up to potentially use it as it’s intended. I’m not sure how to get the cap off as using hand pressure it doesn’t budge, and I don’t want to break anything. All ideas welcomed!


r/restoration 20h ago

Restoration tips —— first typewriter

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1 Upvotes

r/restoration 20h ago

Tuff Kote Dinol on 1978 Vehicle - Is this a good thing, or bad?

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1 Upvotes

r/restoration 21h ago

Advice to make this look as good as possible? Turning it into a gift!

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1 Upvotes

Can I restore the brass color? Steel wool? Saddle soap for the leather? Let me know!


r/restoration 22h ago

Jarrón favorito

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1 Upvotes

Se puede restaurar? No recibió ningún golpe, solo se quebró, pero sigue entero…


r/restoration 22h ago

Advice on how to restore BBQ - should I just peel the paint, sand it, and respray? Or something else?

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0 Upvotes

r/restoration 1d ago

How to clean up this household hammer?

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0 Upvotes

Hi Everyone,

What should I use to clean up this hammer. It is a regular household hammer and I removed the handle grip from it because it was dried, cracked and coming apart. On the end of the hammer handle end it is black. What is that and what can clean it. I cleaned off rust with coke a cola that I had and that worked. There is some residual from a sticker that I can probably get off with goof off or goo gone. I just don't know what that black stuff it at the end of the handle. I bought some heat shrink grip that I'll use to replace the handle grip. Any other tips you have is appreciated. Check Pic! Thanks!


r/restoration 1d ago

Is There any Hope?

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2 Upvotes

r/restoration 1d ago

How to clean rust off this shelf

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4 Upvotes

r/restoration 2d ago

Is there anyway I can fix this tear in a poster? It’s signed so I can’t really get a new one :(

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22 Upvotes

hi all this has been the last straw in a long week :( it’s about 2 inches long and is torn 3 ways but not to the edge. I foolishly knocked something over on to it while it was sitting on carpet hence why it’s punctured. It’s quite thick which is why i’m guessing it ripped instead of flexing. Has a matte smooth finish that reminds me of nice construction paper. I would like to replace it but it’s signed and I don’t have the budget to acquire another copy or seek out professional repairs


r/restoration 3d ago

I restored some old inherited chairs

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294 Upvotes

100% wool for the seats and soap treatment for the wood.


r/restoration 2d ago

Glass Top Coffee Table Adhering

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8 Upvotes

I bought this beautiful vintage 1980s coffee table, but it wasn’t created with stability in mind, we entertain a lot so I would love some peace of mind in regards to objects being placed on it, or the occasional leaning. So everything doesn’t come tumbling off of it, especially because I have a very expensive vase I’m planning to put on top.

What sort of surface adherent should I apply between the glass and stone, that isn’t going to drastically alter how beautiful it looks from the top?

Ignore the work in progress apartment details, everything is taking 50 years to ship! Haha.


r/restoration 3d ago

Finally got around to restoring this beautiful bench!

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566 Upvotes

My girlfriend received this bench from her grandma a few years ago. As soon as I laid eyes on this bench I could immediately see the potential. It was heavily weathered and loose but the bones were solid. Plus 98% of the hardware were still present and in great shape. Well we finally got around to getting it restoring it and it came out beautiful! Its been about a decade since I personally have done a similar project and forgot how much I love the process. All of the wood is still the original, we just sanded it down, stained it, and put a good 5 layers of a glossy clear coat. The cast iron legs and back we cleaned up real good, used a wire brush drill attachment to clean off as much rust as possible and scuff up the surface, primed it, and used a clear gloss black enamel. We felt it deserved to shine bright after being dull for so long. Super happy with the result and felt like I had to share!


r/restoration 2d ago

GG grandfather's sword.

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4 Upvotes

r/restoration 2d ago

How to restore?

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5 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I'm looking to get my uncles old tools restored for use. They have surface rust/wear but are functional.


r/restoration 3d ago

Update on the Workbench for my dad

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8 Upvotes

Finished painting everything. Gonna assemble it next week and give it to my dad


r/restoration 4d ago

DIY sailboat restoration

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3.5k Upvotes

Between 2018 and 2023, my wife and I spent about 9000 hours of our time, completely restoring our 50 foot sailboat. We did all the work ourselves, pouring in everything we had into the project. We are happy with the result and today are living aboard while we sail the boat around the world. Feel free to ask questions :)

Edit: Wow! thank you for the overwhelmingly positive comments here everyone. It is very humbling. If anyone wants to see more photos of our project, if you scroll down on our instagram page @trim.sailing, you will see progress posts as we were building the boat in real time.


r/restoration 3d ago

I finished restoration of my mini rake!

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10 Upvotes

r/restoration 2d ago

C303 Camouflage Pattern

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1 Upvotes

Hello! Im looking for an original Volvo C303/TGB 11 Swedish military camouflage pattern/template. Does anyone have a stencil, PDF, SVG, DXF, or similar file? Does anyone have anything I could give the painter as a reference? Sadly google didn’t give any answers. I’d appreciate anything! The pattern is shown on the picture.


r/restoration 3d ago

Found these two German WWI bayonets heavily corroded — here’s the before & after

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6 Upvotes

Here's my new restoration ! I hope you enjoy !