A friend of mine was selling an old home and she asked me to help move some things from the basement out to the dumpster. One of those items was this old wooden tool chest. A friend that owns an antique shop told me it is likely from the mid-late 1800s. Anyway, I was not planning on taking on another big project, but I could not let this old beauty go to the dump. I brought it back to the shop and started a restoration that I will remember for the rest of my life. 

The hardware came off relatively easily and cleaned up nicely after some paint stripper, mineral spirits and a steel bristle brush. My hope was to strip all the paint off and get the chest back to completely bare wood. I spent about $50 on paint strippers, only to remove a miniscule amount of paint. I was at a loss, and, out of frustration, I just started sanding with 50 grit. Any restoration purist will tell you this is NOT what you should do, but my sanity was on the line so I went for it. There were at least 4 layers of paint on this chest, each one caked on thicker than the last. It was like peeling back an onion. I ran through entire packages of rough sanding disks before I got it down to the bare wood. Then, I started sanding finer grits (80, 120, 150) to get a smooth finish. From there I applied a light oil based stain (Puritan Pine by Minwax) and then a couple coats of polyurethane. On the inside, there wasn't any paint, but there was a lot of dirt and grime. A restoration expert I know, recommended Scrubbing Bubbles foam detergent and Chore Boy Golden Fleece scrubbing pads to get the stains out. That worked very well in combination with soap and water. When the wooden drawers and inner walls were clean I stained them as well. This helped in masking some of the impossible to remove and gave the wood a rich glow. I also applied oil based polyurethane to the inside of the chest which was a mistake. Because I keep the chest closed most of the time, the scent has persisted. Lesson learned. 

Overall, I am super satisfied with the way this turned out despite the hiccups along the way. I love how it complements the space where it currently sits in our home. It also does a great job housing all of our board games! Items like this pop up occasionally in thrift stores and garage sales. Finding one in good condition at antique store is probably going to cost you, but if you don't mind putting in some elbow grease and restoring yourself, you can get them relatively cheap. Some hard work and you will be rewarded with a beautiful character piece that now has a little of your craftsmanship.