Breathe new life into old furniture
Achieve a professional look in your upcycling projects by choosing the right tools for the job. Follow this expert guide from Harris Brushes
Upcycling unloved furniture is a sustainable, fun and cost-effective way to give it a new lease of life. As most projects don’t require any sophisticated skills, a combination of practice, preparation and the right tools will ensure you have a professional finish to your pieces.
WHERE TO START
The first step is to select the item to transform. It may be something that you already possess, or a secondhand treasure found at a car-boot sale or online. Be imaginative with your choice: wooden stepladders make great shelves; you could turn an old door into a small cupboard; or even use crates and pallets to create garden display areas.
PREPARATION IS KEY
Start by ensuring you have all the right equipment to protect and prepare surfaces and apply the chosen finish. Then lay the Harris Seriously Good cotton dust sheet to protect your workspace.
Get your piece ready by cleaning and removing any handles or hinges, as replacement fixings may not fit the same space. You can use a paint stripper to remove old paint or varnish; but even bare wood should be lightly sanded to create better adhesion for new coatings – try the Harris Seriously Good medium sanding block. Remember to remove all the dust with a cloth – the Harris Seriously Good microfibre cleaning cloths are ideal. Finally, apply a primer and leave to dry before lightly sanding again. Now you are ready for the new colour.
GET PAINTING
It is worth investing in decent brushes. Cheap ones can leave bristles in your work and tend not to give smooth coverage. Ideally you need a selection of shapes and sizes for the different parts of the task.
There are three types of ‘hobby and craft’ brush – flat, round and fitch. The Harris Seriously Good Round brush pack contains 11 sizes and the shape of each brush means it delivers great coverage on curved and flat surfaces. The Harris Seriously Good
Fitch brush pack includes three sizes - 12, 18 and 25mm – designed for detailed and intricate areas. Together these sets will ensure you always have the right brush for the task at hand. So, the only question left is which piece to upcycle first?
Harris’ upcycling tools are available in all good DIY stores. For more details, visit harrisbrushes.com; Twitter, Facebook and Youtube all @Harrisbrushes and Instagram @harrisbrushes_uk