I found this cabinet on our local Facebook marketplace. I loved it the way that it was but I wanted to try to take some of the “orangey“ look out of it.
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I started off by using a small scrub brush and a tad bit of Dawn dishwashing soap and water. I couldn’t even believe my eyes! The right side in the photo below was just from scrubbing with soap and water! I’m learning that these old antique pieces sometimes don’t have much sealant on them, or the sealant is worn off a lot. When there is no, or not much, sealant, it allows for easier removal.
When I started scrubbing the bottom part of the the cabinet, it wasn’t coming off as easy as it did on the top surface. As seen in photo below, on the left-hand side of the cabinet door, it was coming off better than the right side. I knew that I needed to figure something else out if I wanted to continue to lighten it up. I thought about using a light grit sandpaper, just to take the sealant off so that I could continue to scrub, but then one of you messaged me through DM on Instagram and shared with me that your mom used something called “denatured alcohol” for jobs like this and it would take to finish off. I remembered somebody else sharing this one time with me, so I thought I would give it a shot!
The photo below is before any scrubbing on the side. You can see how the top was already a lot lighter just from the scrubbing it with soap and water. Unfortunately, the soap and water was not doing the trick on the side as good. I scrubbed down the rest of the piece with the soap and water, waited for it to dry after I wiped it with a dry paper towel, and then started using the denatured alcohol.
I used a piece of steel wool, grade 0000. I poured a little of the denatured alcohol onto the steel wool and started scrubbing. It worked so well! It was taking off the top layer of finish!
I took an awful lot of scrubbing! I was literally scrubbing for hours on the entire piece. Look at how well it took it off, below! I was so happy with it!
After I washed the whole piece down again with some soapy water, I decided to go one step further and added some bleach, because the top part of the hutch was a little different in color/darker than the rest. I didn’t even know if the bleach would work, but wanted to give it a try. I just used regular Clorox outdoor bleach. I wiped it on with a paintbrush and it worked like a dream! it was just what I needed to take the tinge of orange that was left out of the cabinet! Sometimes the outdoor bleach works on wood, and sometimes it doesn’t. I think since this was an older piece and it was a little darker in color naturally, it worked great!
You can see below that the right sided door is bleached and the left is not. I used two coats of bleach, letting it dry in between each coat. I’ve then wiped the whole piece down with water after I was done bleaching.
This whole process was a lot of work, but the difference is absolutely amazing! The old character is still there with some of the old coloring, but it’s so much lighter…just like I had desired! I’m glad I didn’t sand this with my hand sander, as it would have taken off a lot of the old wood coloring.
I want to try this on other things now too! Again, the denatured alcohol works best when there is not any or very little sealant on the piece. It worked so well on this old antique hutch! This is one of my favorite pieces now! I chose not to add any sealer so that it wouldn’t change the coloring. It’s also not going to be a high traffic piece, so I think it will work out great without sealer. I rarely seal anything anymore, unless it’s a kitchen table that we will be sitting things on.
I didn’t strip the insides of the doors, because they will never be seen, unless they are open.
Initially, and the listing from the seller, I didn’t know if I liked the hardware. When I saw it in person, it’s amazing! It’s really thick old hardware! I love it!
I got rid of my other cabinet that I had designated for my candles…this cabinet is the perfect replacement!
I know that a hot topic question will be, “what did you pay for it?” I paid $100, and it’s worth every penny, in my opinion! I love these old cabinets so much!
It even has a cute skeleton key, that was the original key for opening the door.
Chester approved! What would a project be without it being Chester approved?!
I would love to hear in the comments below what you think about this technique. Do you think it is something that you would try? I love how it helps to maintain the original beauty, while lightening up the piece!
I love your cabinet. Thank you for sharing a new way to clean up and refinish old wood furniture.
Thank you, Alicia! I’m so glad I ran into this technique
The cabinet turned out so beautiful!
I LOVE how this turned out! So beautiful! I love all your DIY’s. I would try this.
Thank you so much, Jenn! Now I want to do all of my cabinets, haha
It looks amazing! You know I’m going to be doing this with my sweet little cabinet now, right?!
Awesome! Cabinet twinsies!
Oh my goodness! It’s beautiful! Your hard work always pays off! ????????
The cabinet turned out beautiful
It’s just beautiful!! As usual you turn a piece of furniture into a treasure. I love it!!
Sweet! It’s such a satisfying “after”
It’s absolutely perfect I will definitely be trying this technique on my next piece
What a thing of beauty!. I would try that process.♥️
So fun to see the “after” after all that work
My mind is blown. Beautiful! ????????
@aubsajober
I’m still in shock! I can’t believe how good it worked
It looks so good. I love watching you work your magic on wood furniture!
Thank you, Mandy! It’s so much fun for sure!
It’s great!! Good job! ????????????????????????
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@janiefox2 IG (just covering my bases if there’s a giveaway ????)
Thank you, Janie! I think I’ll start up another giveaway of some sort in August! Thank you for your support!
Love it
Thank you, Diana!
Love love love how this turned out! ????????????
Thank you, Windie!
Love this!!!????????????@teressarobison
Thank you so much, Teressa!
Absolutely gorgeous! Dying to try that technique now-I’ve stripped many a piece. This looks so much more natural! Thanks for sharing!!
I love the natural look of it too…gives that old vibe, while still being cleaned up
Amazing Natalie …i love it … I hope you know your not the only one waiting for you to build your new house !!! … we are all waiting in anticipation for all your beautiful furniture and ideas to come together ❤️
Your cabinet is gorgeous, I have a cabinet I bought in Canada years ago . A great French Canadian cabinet I will try to clean like you did but the inside is painted should I just painted . It’s solid piece. I keep spices in it.
But I did buy a sander like yours.
Moving less than a week I will redo a few pieces. I wanted to wait till I get there.
That sounds amazing! I do love the insides of cabinets painted too
Love how it turned out!
Thank you, Linda!
Wow! It looks awesome! I have a three drawer dresser that I’m thinking of trying this on. I love it!! ????
Awesome! I hope it works just as good for you!
Beautiful!!!! You are so talented.
Thank you so much, Ally! I’m so happy with how it turned out!
Another gorgeous piece, Natalie! Thanks for sharing your projects- so inspiring! @cathymikols
This turned out so great! I can’t wait to find something to try it out on!
It was more than worth the $100 & your hard work…it turned out gorgeous! Maybe one of my favorite pieces. I have on old drop leaf desk…but, it is stained very dark…would this method be something you would attempt on a darker piece…or do you recommend another method. Also, I don’t have your get up & go…so I’m looking for simple…????
I love this.i love the character in it moonpie46
Love love love!!???????????? Your photos are what I show my husband when he tries to stop me from buying “old furniture”! ???? and he always ends up loving the transformations!
Love how this turned out ! You talked about the old finishes. A lot of those were shellac or varnish. My dad always told me with that type of finish you can brush on the denatured alcohol and it will soften it so you can brush through it again. I imagine in your case it completely dissolved the very old finish so you could remove it. Looks awesome !
That cabinet turned out so nice! I wish I had your tenacity to refinish furniture like that. Blessings!
I love it!! I can’t wait to try denatured alcohol!
Oh my goodness! ???????? I love how this turned out….lighter, but not blonde/whitewashed. I’m doing the soap and water on a little curio shelf that my Grammy had in her house. I can’t believe the orange-y gunk that’s coming off!! Hopefully it will look even nicer when it’s rinsed and dried. (I’m in CA and based on one of your followers, denatured alcohol may not be available to me.)
???? Tamara_r3
Looks like a lot of work but as you said,worth it. I absolutely love the look of this piece( and all of your others too)!
I love it too!!! And no sanding!? This is stunning and I can’t wait to see it in its forever home in your new/old home-build! ❤️
Love this! You got a steal!
Wow! Beautiful! It was totally worth it. But one question, do you ever seal them or use tongue oil? Especially on the top of the base just to protect from water rings? I love tongue oil ❤️❤️ Thanks again for sharing
It’s a beauty as usual with all your redos! Love the look of it!!
It looks amazing! I have an old dresser that belonged to my great grandparents. I’ve always want to do something to it. I might give this a try. Thanks for inspiring me!
I never tire of seeing your furniture redos . I am wanting to try some of your techniques. Thank you for always sharing your methods. So inspiring.
Love it so much. Amazing job as always. Love watching along
Love the results! Going to try this method out.
Beautiful ???? love it so much!
I’ve been trying to see what kind of paint you used for the inside???
This is amazing! Either way, it’s always a lot of elbow grease, but I love how you didn’t have to sand!
It turned out so good. I love it???????? hope your feeling better.
Again you knocked it out of the ball park! I love it!!! I just can’t wait to see all these beautiful pieces in your new home.
It’s beautiful! $100 was a bargain.
I LOVE it! I’m also fond of antique cabinets. This one looks so much better!
I absolutely love it! I am going to try this on an oak table top that was not sanding well. It keeps gunking up the sand paper and I think it is because it is so dirty. Thanks for the inspiration and information!!
This is beautiful ???? I have the same cabinet I bought off of marketplace but it’s much darker. Do you think this technique will work on a darker piece? Thanks for the inspiration!
That is beautiful! It was fun to see the process you went through, thanks for sharing it with us☺
That’s the color I would like my built in wall shelves. They’re stained but too orangey. I wonder if your technique would work. But there is no way to get them outside.
I love that you are so willing to try new techniques to get the look you want. Thank you for always sharing your process and thoughts with us!
I am in “awe” with this piece. You inspire me! I can’t wait to try this technique on a huge 10′ wall cabinet that I bought off of FB marketplace. Gah, I love it!!!
You never cease to me! This hutch is gorgeous!!!
It is amazing. I think I will try it on an old Church pew I have. I am a little nervous of the amount of work, but I guess sanding is a lot of work too. You have such amazing techniques to share all the time. I have one question…is there a residual bleach smell at all?!
Absolutely love it!!!
I love how it came out so lighter colored. So can I just use indoor/outdoor clorox and get the same results or do I have to use the denatured alcohol too?
Is there any special kind of mask you wear/recommend when you’re sanding or using chemicals like this? I love this look, and yes! I’d try it!
Bravo. I may have to try this, no I will try this technique. The cabinet is beautiful and I love that you spray painted your candle lids.
Who knew dawn soap could do so much! ???????????? @whatrtheeodds
I have the exact cabinet! Thank you very much I would love for you to come to my house and do the exact procedure on my cabinet ???? It turned out so nice ❤️
Oh my that turned out beautiful!! I would definitely like to try this technique…when I find what I’m looking for!????
I love it!
I still can’t believe you got the orange out! You did a fantastic job! There’s nothing I hate more than orange cabinetry! I can’t wait to get my kitchen cabinets either replaced or painted because I too have those orange things!
Hey off the subject…in a post you have titled DIY cake stands…I am so curious about the lamp shade lighting. Did you make those? If so, I’d love the tutorial! I’d not, where in the world did you get those???
Thanks,
Shirley
OH my God I happen to be online and I came across the article and I was like oh my God I needed advice for a piece of furniture earlier that I emailed someone and come to find out you did the answer for me what a beautiful job you did thank you for giving me a answer
Thanks for explaining your thought process…it is beautiful!
I just love seeing your DIY’s. I have a piece that I got very cheaply a few years ago, that I would love to try this on. I can’t wait to give it a try!
Awesome! It’s always fun to try it out ????????
Late to the party, still struggling to get over Covid. ugh. I’ve used Denatured Alcohol for years (I’m old) and also have had fantastic results with Formbys Furniture Refinisher, it’s a tad pricey but melts away old finishes, with the help of 0000 steel wool. As you pointed out, not all finishes are the same, and if you have a problem with denatured alcohol, give Formbys a try. I love, love how your cabinet turned out. Old bleached and scrubbed pine has my heart!
You killed it again. It just amazing. YOU ARE AMAZING! I’m going to have to play now even thou scares me a little. It is amazing. Thanks so much for sharing it!❤️
Thank you so much, Martha! You are so kind
I love it !!! Need to try it ☺️
Yes! You should ????????
Looks great! I want to redo my oak table like that but would I seal it with a matte poly?
Thank you, Ginger! Yes, I usually always steal my table tops with Matte water-based poly
Hi Natalie! This piece was worth every penny. What a great way to get that orange out. I would try some hemp oil on it though now. Bleach will dry it out and hemp oil will not change the color. Just wipe some on and let it soak in and wipe off what is left. I think you will thank me later. 🙂
Thank you, Cheryl! Yes, I have used hemp oil before. Great idea ????????
Wow! You are an inspiration! I think I literally want to refurbish ALL my furniture EXACTLY as you have done. I am not a very hard worker, though. Maybe I will hire a teenager and supervise them instead of doing it all myself…
I’ve thought of hiring Kaden to sand before ????
I love this! I just got a piece from Facebook marketplace I want to use for small quilt storage. It has that orange look and a lot of sealer on it. It’s supposed to be cherry wood. After I sand it down I’m going to try your bleaching method. Love the look of the natural old wood.
It’s beautiful!!! Would you:could you use this type of a cabinet in a kitchen as a pantry cabinet of sorts? I have a tiny kitchen without one and I’m trying to think of a cute way to get more storage. Thanks!