How to Refinish a Wood Desk

If you aren’t sure about how to refinish a piece of wood furniture, don’t worry. It’s easy to do. Start here!

Refinishing furniture is basically where my love of DIY began. The beauty and craftsmanship of vintage and antique wood furniture is hard to beat. And I love the principle of restoring something worn and tired to its beautiful potential.

And since we recently installed painted built in cabinets in my husband’s office, I knew I wanted a wood desk to complement the Agreeable Gray built-ins. This oak desk needed some love, but the shape and size were perfect for the space.

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Materials needed to refinish a wood desk:

• drop cloths or plastic sheeting
• citristip
• plastic putty knife or scrapers
• soapy water and soft cleaning brush
• furniture refinisher (note: Formby’s is no longer available, but I hear Minwax is similar)
• medium steel wool
• palm sander (+ 150, 220, and 300 grit sandpaper)
• wood filler (optional)
• gray stain (optional)
• polycrylic sealer
• rags and foam brush

How to Refinish a Wood Desk (or any wood furniture)

Here are the basic steps, but read on for details and tips!

1. Protect your space
2. Remove the old finish
3. Fill damage (if necessary)
4. Stain (if desired)
5. Seal

I also created a video for you in case you prefer that. Below are detailed written instructions.

Remove the Old Finish

There are several ways you can remove the old finish, but the most common are by sanding or chemical stripper. For smooth, flat surfaces, I often choose to strip by sanding. But for curved surfaces or surfaces with carved detail, I prefer to strip chemically to preserve the beauty of the wood furniture piece. Sometimes, I do both.

For this desk, I began by sanding the top but stopped when I realized I didn’t like how it was removing the aged character of the wood. Instead, I decided to chemically strip the old finish. As always, take proper precautions, such as proper ventilation, eye protection, rubber gloves, and masks, when working with chemicals.

*Note: Citristrip is more environmentally friendly and safer than most other chemical and paint strippers… But I have found that Citristrip can remove most paint and poly, but that old varnish tends to need furniture refinisher. I also think that Citristrip is very difficult to clean off the wood without the help of some more chemical stripper or mineral spirits.

Sand the Piece

Now is your chance to give this old piece a smoother, fresh finish. This can help remove any residual old finish, get rid of dirt, and smooth out scratches. I find a palm sander best for this, as it has more control than an orbital sander.

Just be careful if your piece has veneer that you don’t sand too aggressively; you don’t want to sand through the top layer! Also, if you want to retain character, don’t sand through all the stains. I rather like keeping some of the old stains in wood as it reveals its age and character.

Here is what I did to sand this desk in preparation for refinishing:

1. Use 150 grit paper by hand to remove any remaining finish, especially in cracks where it pooled
2. Use a palm sander to give the entire piece a light sanding with fine-grit sandpaper (220 or higher)
3. Clean off the dust

Prepare the Wood (optional)

If your wood is damaged or you have holes to fill, now is your chance to fix it. Be sure to use a stainable wood filler and to sand smooth after filling. You can also glue loose joints or make other repairs, as needed.

This is also your chance to stain your wood if you so desire. I like the raw tones of oak, but I don’t like the way it often turns orange when sealed, so I used my secret method for maintaining the raw wood look.

You can also stain dark or golden or whatever your heart desires. Oil-based stains or water-based stains are both great; just be sure you allow them to dry according to the manufacturer’s directions.

1. Apply your chosen stain with a brush or rag
2. Wipe off the excess stain and let dry
3. Apply more coats of stain as desired

Seal the Wood

This is so important! This is what protects your desk from the oils in your hands, spills, sweat from your coffee cup, and more. Not all wooden furniture needs to be sealed, but I think a desk generally does (see here for more on when and how to seal furniture).

In this case, I opted for a water-based polyurethane sealer:

1. Apply a coat of sealer with a sponge brush and let dry
2. Lightly sand first coat with 220 or 300 grit sandpaper
3. Repeat 1-2 times (I did 2 coats on the legs and 3 on the desktop), sanding after second coat

More DIY Furniture Projects

I hope you can see how do-able this DIY project is. It requires several supplies, but no power tools and very little space. I didn’t even put new hardware on it because I found the original charming!

The easiest way to freshen up antique furniture is probably just to paint it (which is also a great option!). But sometimes it helps to know how to refinish a wood desk to capture the grain of the wood and true beauty of solid wood furniture. I’m excited to share the full reveal of my husband’s office toon.

I hope you now feel confident that you know how to refinish a wood desk or other wood furniture. Here are a few more wood furniture projects you might find helpful:

• how to strip furniture using oven cleaner
• how to restore teak furniture
• how to refinish an oak bookcase