Attention, My Lovely Ladies of Home Improvement
I was cleaning today (oh yes cleaning, I am on a rampage today!) and I was thinking about my desk.
I spend a LOT of time at my desk, and felt the general state of the living room (where desk is located) was not making me very productive all around. That provoked me to buy a fish, a colorful tank, and to start thinking about art in the living room. Then I took a good look at my desk itself. I debated a new desk. But I love the way this one is set up, the way the shelves are arranged, and the fact it is very lightweight which makes moving it easy. But the surface is god-awful at this point. Very nicked up, dirty, just generally ick.
From what I can tell, the "wood" parts are some kind of laminate made to look like wood, with a particle-board-type material underneath. What would be the best way to spruce ye old desk up a bit? Should I paint it? Varnish? Stain? Do I sand it first?
Your help is much appreciated.
posted by wafelenbak @ 1:42 PM
3 Comments:
Ooookay, I'd use (you can rent these for cheap) a small rotary sander and with light pressure, sand the thing down and go from there with varnish, but make sure to not use to 2-in-1 types of varnish, as they are hard to get to not look streaky. Use plain old color that you buff in with a rag, then brush a clear top coat over it.
Of course, if you paint it, just get a little sandpaper and a medium grit and just scuff it up a bit instead of using a rotary sander-- this will give the paint something to grab onto. Use two coats, waiting several hours between coats (otherwise, your second coat will just re-wet the initial coat and you'll scoot paint around). I suggest using a product called "Seal Grip", which can be tinted to whatever color you want-- after it sures out in 30 days or so, it's tough as nails. (Uh, I might even have a bit of it--- what color?)
Then, opening your windows and putting the kitties and fishy in another room, spray a little clear sealant on it-- just a little puff puff of it, nothing serious or too anal. Just a littel puff puff that won't even show and after about 20 minutes, you're cool.
I say all of this, but if your laminate is the formica printed to look like wood, it's a whole other ballgame. Scuff it a bit with fine grit sandpaper then, if I were you, I'd spray it in two coats, waiting a few hours between. Formica is a bitch to brush-paint.
If it is formica, you can also use a buffered heat source and a mixture of liquid downy and warm water to remove the formica and have new pieces of formica cut to fit.
Uhhhhhh...I think a light sanding and paint is the way for me to go. :) I'm pretty back-assward when it comes to this sort of thing.
And I don't *think* it's formica, because it's almost like someone slapped contact paper down on it in terms of thinness of the surface and texture in general.
I am thinking a pale, pale...almost white but not quite blue. Most of the living room is blue, and I have a valance in here that is plaid in different shades of blue. Also a blue clock. And a Chinese character painting that does not go in here at all. Yech.
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