Woodworking Family Life Style: The Horrendous Waterfall Desk

Ok. Feast your eyes on this beauty. A CL find. It had been sitting out on a balcony. Boy oh boy, she did not look good for her age. The veneer was in shambles. No way to save it the bottom portion. The top was stained beyond recognition, the drawers were beat to hell and back. Why did I buy this? (Gasp, "you actually paid money for this creature??") Um yeah,,15 bucks. What the heck; its how we learn people! Besides, I just love me a good challenge! So here ya go,,,,feast your eyes:

This baby put my wood finishing skills to the test.

I used, oh, about a pound of bondo and wood filler.

Surprisingly, the top sanded down pretty nicely.

Those wet stains are an attempt to bleach out

the black stains (usually caused by water). Its supposed to set for a day or so. Uh no, I neither have the patience or inclination to wait. I hoped the stain would cover it.

Well Shut my mouth! Looka that finish! Not too B A D.....if I do say so myself.

(Dontcha yall peek now...just stay with me and scroll slowly to the bottom)

I believe I used a mixture of stains again. Gel walnut is great tho.

I like to use this Deft instead of poly. This is a waterbourne acrylic finish. It goes on beautifully. I turned the desk on its back and painted it on like that. I didnt want it running down the front curved part. It dries fast and doesnt leave brush marks. Very important to use a quality brush. This was brand new. I clean them immediately and only use this for finishes. If you use a brush that was used with paint, you are likely to get little paint bits in the finish. Keep your brushes separate.

So I had patched the knob holes but since I was leaving these unpainted, they were kind of noticeable.

I decided to do some light stenciling with a metallic glaze on the drawer fronts, on the inside toe kick pieces and on the faux drawer right in front.

And here she is....all dressed up