Uncovering my past one scrape at a time

A couple of weeks ago, my Aunt Brenda called me up and asked me if I wanted an old cabinet that once belonged to my great grandmother. I didn't need to think about it, of course I wanted it! She had obtained it a few years ago with intentions of refinishing it, however, as time went by, the cabinet just sat in her garage collecting dust. She wanted the cabinet to stay in the family so that is why she offered it to me. I finally was able to pick it up from her house today.

I used to have my own furniture refinishing business. I was pretty good at the work part but not very good at the business part. I took on a lot of projects for family and friends which pretty much took up all of my time, so I made very little profit. But this post isn't about that, it's about the old cabinet.

These old Kitchen Cabinets are really cool. I've refinished a couple of them in the past. One in particular I did for my sister Pam. It was a bear of a job. It had been painted with layer after layer of paint. It took me several weeks to finish. Pam loved that old cabinet. She proudly displayed it in her nice large kitchen. It wasn't just to look at either. She actually used it. I was so proud of the job that I did on that particular piece. I wish I had taken a picture of the before and after but that was back before the days of digital cameras and it just wasn't as easy to do things like that.

I think the old cabinet will look really nice after I am finished. As I strip the old paint off of it, I can't help but wonder how many times it's been used. How many times has someone cranked the sifter on the flour bin? How many biscuits or pie crusts has been rolled out on the counter top? How often has the roll-top been rolled up and down. Was the wire rack used to cool off fresh baked pies and cakes? Did my ancestors sit around the table with their mouths watering as they waited for dumplings to be rolled out on it?

I also can't help but wonder why on earth someone painted the cabinet such and ugly shade of green. Was it all the paint that they had or did they go to the store and pick out that color? Regardless of the reason, I am slowly brushing paint stripper on each piece, causing the old green paint to bubble up and lift away. Underneath there is another layer of white paint, which I believe was the original color from the factory. On the back side of the cabinet the words "Black and White" are stamped in bold lettering. I will be stripping it down to the natural wood and will stain it a light Golden Oak color, which will nicely match the interior of my house.

I will try to keep an update of the progress as I refinish this fine piece of furniture. I'm not going to rush things, but I plan on getting it completed within the next few weeks. I spent about 6 hours on it today and got it completely disassembled, all of the hardware stripped and cleaned, and one door panel and one drawer face stripped. I will have to buy some sandpaper before I do much more. I'm excited about getting it in the house and can't wait to tell everyone that visits all about it.