Before the workshop: Cleaning your furniture

The very first, and possibly most essential, step to creating a new painted finish that looks great and stays looking great long term is to make sure your piece is cleaned thoroughly before you do anything else to it.  

This removes any residue from where it has been touched, even just our natural oils from our skin, as well as dirt and grime that can build up and create a barrier that stops the new finish from sticking properly.  

To give us more time to focus on the fun stuff while we're together I'm giving you a head start to get the bulk of this out of the way beforehand.  

Don't worry if anything crops up you aren't sure about as we can go over this together when we assess our pieces and can tackle anything that needs extra attention together before we start any repairs or sanding / stripping. 

Follow these steps to clean your piece:  

I've also shared my Essentials Video on Cleaning with you below if you prefer something more visual to guide you. 

• Don't dismantle your piece completely for this (or if you do please reassemble ready for the 'before' pics and to chat about the design at the start of the workshop)
• Give it a sweep / vac out to get rid of any dust cobwebs (underneath esp!)
• Use a scrubby to clean the surfaces with a dilute solution of mild detergent or an eco-friendly degreaser. 
• If you use a more toxic product or something like Sugar Soap remember to rinse it away thoroughly after
• Dry it afterwards to avoid water sitting on it (and by doing this your cloth will be a good way to tell if it's now clean or not too)