Monday, April 14, 2014

And this year's Spring Break project is....

Broyhill Brasilia!
Anyone remember this post? You'll be surprised to know that it has been almost a full year since I brought home the biggest score in the history of treasure hunting (okay, maybe a bit of an exaggeration...), and it hasn't moved an inch from where we parked it in our garage. It is not like me to show such self restraint. Honestly I was terrified of the project. I have been so worried about screwing up something with the potential to be so amazing that it has just sat, patiently waiting for it's time with the sander. In the year since I rescued my Brasilia I have "practiced" on this:


And this:


And this:


Now that I have a few notches on my belt, I think I'm ready to face the Brasilia. This weekend I cleared out a space in the garage big enough for sanding, pulled out my trusty Mouse Sander, and went to work! I have made some progress, but there is still a long way to go. I am trying my hardest not to curse the person who painted this iconic piece of mid century amazingness green. This isn't just any green either, it's what can only be described as government issued, mental hospital green. Honestly, WHY?! Everyone reading this do me a solid, promise me that before you put brush to wood you do a quick google search on the piece you're painting. If it holds no value, by all means have at it! But if you happen to find that you are sitting on $900 credenza, for goodness sake, DROP THE BRUSH!

Sorry. I'll simmer down now. 

Here are a few photos of my progress:

Top and sides are done, but unfortunately someone was abnormally thorough and actually painted the insides of the cabinets, as well as the outside. See that shelf on the left hand side? Yeah, that's not removable... I'm super pleased to have to sand that while INSIDE the credenza.

Drawers are done, and the fronts of the doors are almost there. That green thing you see behind them is the hutch that sits on top of the buffet. It too has doors and non removable shelves to deal with. I'll get to that later.

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What makes this such a pain, but so amazing at the same time, is that the wave design is actually three dimensional. This is a view looking down on the "u" shape of the wave. I've been able to get most of the evil green paint off, but there are areas I can't get sandpaper into that I think I will have to strip with chemical stripper. Joy.

Can you hear them? They're singing. "We're free! We're free!!!"





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