Kitchen Desk Space Transformed in Record Time During Hurricane
I put the final coat of varnish on the desk before the hurricane was over!
Hurricane Ian motivated me to refinish a problematic kitchen desk top.
I knew I would be bored during the storm.
In my last blog post, I was planning a short-duration home improvement project. Unbelievably, by the time Hurricane Ian made his presence known, I already completed the desk refinish! This particular refinishing project proceeded effortlessly. The end result is quite nice, no false modesty here!
Step-by-step approach to the project
As with any project, the most essential step is to plan, and purchase what is needed ahead of time. With this project especially, I didn’t want to go back out in the bad weather, so I bought everything the morning of the refinish. I recommend planning and making a list of the necessary purchases before proceeding to the store. My comprehensive and detailed shopping list reminded me of exactly what I needed to buy, and kept me focused on my shopping trip.
Prepping the kitchen desk surface
I painted the desk top surface a few years ago with acrylic chalk paint, so I knew which paint stripper to buy. If you don’t know whether you are stripping acrylic or oil-based paint, the product that I used, Citristrip, works on either water-based or oil-based paint.
After removing the clutter from the desktop, I taped and draped the surrounding wall and cabinets. I painted a layer of Citristrip onto the paint and waited 35 minutes. When I scraped the old paint with a metal putty knife, it came up immediately as a gooey, sticky glob. The few paint spots that did not scrape cleanly were easily removed with a wire bristle brush. I then wiped the desk top surface with warm water and Dawn dish soap to remove residue.
Sanding and preparing the wood
One awesome benefit of refinishing the kitchen desk today: I get to skip my arm workout! Remember the Karate Kid, wax-on-wax-off? That was me today. Using 60 grit sandpaper followed by 120 grit, I hand-sanded the entire desk top surface down to smooth, raw wood. The wood stain underneath the chalk paint needed to be sanded thoroughly to ensure that the new stain would adhere evenly.
After sanding, I wiped the sawdust from the desk top surface and allowed the wood to dry. Then, I painted on a layer of pre-stain wood conditioner to prevent the new stain from appearing blotchy. The conditioner dried for 15 minutes, then the wood was ready for stain.
Applying stain: Trial and error
Since my stain choice for the wood was a dark, almost-black shade (Behr acrylic in True Black), I knew that I would need to apply multiple coats. The first coat of stain absorbed unevenly, leaving streaks and blotches. No problem. I lightly sanded with a 120 grit sanding block again, wiped away the sawdust, and applied a second coat.
The second coat came out evenly, dark enough, and streak-free. What did I do differently the second time? I dragged the paint brush across the stain repeatedly, blending the brush strokes and ensuring good coverage of all of the wood. I then removed the excess stain with extreme caution, wiping back and forth until all of the streaks blended. Although laborious, the extra work resulted in even color coverage and good saturation of the stain.
Finally, polyurethane
After allowing the stain to dry, I applied the first coat of polyurethane. As with the first coat of stain, brush strokes were evident after the first coat of polyurethane dried. With the second coat, I used a broad brush and a thicker layer of top coat, brushing back and forth to blend the brush strokes. It worked wonderfully, and I love the result! In fact, I added a third coat, same as the second, to ensure a hard, smooth finish to last for many years, hopefully!
I chose a satin finish for the polyurethane to minimize reflective glare, while allowing a light sheen on the desk surface. The decision was correct. The desk surface looks amazing, and closely approximates the sheen on the granite kitchen countertop surfaces.
When I sent photos of the finished product to my husband, he loved what he saw! Now our kitchen feels more cohesive, and has a customized feel.
Total cost? $76!
- Citristrip: $16
- Wood conditioner: $16
- Paint brush: $12
- Quart of acrylic wood stain: $15
- 2 Sanding blocks: $10
- Plastic tarp: $7
Hillary McAlhany is the owner of Gate City Design. She is a certified professional home stager/redesigner, E-designer & color expert. Although she is based in North Carolina, she offers remote design services outside of the central North Carolina region.
