Vintage Cupboard Make Over - step by step..one day at a time.......

It has been awhile since I have posted so I decided to share my current project - step by step - as I work on this piece each evening.......

Here is the piece....

 

a great old cupboard that I picked up at an auction....My idea is to use it as a display piece for my American Paint Company Paint products that I use and sell at events....As you can see it is a bit rough...but I have purchased much worse....So my first task--I always use my air compressor and blow off as much dirt as possible and then clean it with TSP...a cleaner that I use on all my wood pieces..I wipe down every inch.....You can purchase TSP at Lowes, Menards or Home Depot....It is concentrated so read your directions...As I wipe down my pieces I find what needs to be tightened, removed and glued....I have never had a piece that I have just jumped right into painting.....I purchase most of my pieces at farm auctions so most have set out in a barn or shed for awhile...and need a bit of TLC.....This one took about an hour to clean up......

 

 

I usually find this....nails that are holding nothing together and need to be removed.....these ones were very easy to pull out.......I use my pliers and also sometimes tap with a hammer.....

 

 

I also save everything I find while cleaning up a piece--like this piece of wood that was stuck on a shelf....now this cupboard was picked up at the auction, carried and laid in a truck, moved out of the truck and placed in my garage....and this piece did not fall out...LUCKY for me!!

 

 



 

Because look at this--

 

Before the piece was found.......

 

 

 

 

and after.....

 

 

Yep--this was a missing piece to a cupboard door!!! 

 

 

So now that leads me to my next steps...gluing and clamping....I have always used Gorilla Glue and it has never let me down....Once glued I wipe off the excess glue and secure my clamp and leave over night.....

 

 

and that is it for tonight!! See--night #1 was not so bad was it?  Tomorrow night we will pick up where we left off and I will show you step by step what I do next.....I am thinking I will need to square up the drawer and reattach the drawer bottom...until then enjoy!!