Pickling wood achieves clean new finish for bathroom cabinet

Hands-on time: Less than three hours.
Total time: Add three hours of drying time for each coat of varnish.
Skill: Easy.
Cost estimate: Less than $20 for the materials.

Materials & Tools

• Bathroom cabinet unit, oak or maple with a definite wood grain (the type of bathroom cabinets that are found in homes that were built in the '70s)
• Newspapers
• Steel wool
• A bucket of water and household cleaner
• Sanding block and a tack cloth
• Screwdrivers in assorted sizes (or the necessary tools to remove the cabinet hardware)
• Silver metallic spray paint by Krylon (to paint the hardware, hinges and handles)
• Styrofoam square (I used flower containers, the kind you get when you buy flowers from the garden centres. Turn them upside down)
• Flat white latex paint
• Stir sticks, paint tray
• Paintbrush, 5 centimetres
• Lint-free cloth
• Gloss or satin varnish

Now that the cooler weather is upon us, it is time to focus our creative attention back to the inside of our homes. Why not get back into the décor mode with a simple pickling project. This traditional technique is perfect to use on a cabinet that is made with open-grained wood, such as oak, maple, pine, elm or ash.

The origin of pickling wood, which is also know as liming, came from the early efforts to try to remove old paints from furniture. This attempt left light residues on the wood pieces, which became a very desirable effect.

Remove the cabinet doors and the hardware, such as handles and hinges.

Clean the hardware, sand if needed. To revive them with style, as oppose to purchasing new hardware, simply paint them. In a well ventilated area, place the hinges onto newspapers, insert the handles in a piece of Styrofoam and apply the enamel spray paint, and let dry. (I used silver to compliment the fresh look of the pickling).

Place newspapers or a drop cloth all around the bathroom cabinet. It is best to start with a wood item that has no oils or grease on it. First, the bathroom cabinet must be thoroughly cleaned. Soak a steel wool pad in a bucket of hot water with an all-purpose cleaner. Clean and abrade the surface while rubbing in the direction of the wood grain. Rinse and dry well. Once dry, lightly sand the surface using medium-grit sandpaper. Wipe with a tack cloth.

Have your flat white latex paint ready in a paint tray. Dip the paintbrush and wipe excess paint on newspapers. Lightly brush on the latex paint, going in the direction of the wood grain. Using a lint-free cloth, rub the paint into the wood grain and wipe it off, creating a soft whitened effect over the surface, while leaving some of the white paint in the groves of the wood grain. Work only on one area at a time in order for the paint to remain wet during the process. Apply the same finish in the same manner to both sides of the cabinet doors, thus when the cabinet doors are opened they are in the same finish and colour.

Once the paint is dry, lightly sand the surface until it's smooth, and then wipe it with a tack cloth. Repeat this step if you want more of the pickling effect to show. Let dry.

Apply two coats of gloss or satin varnish, letting them dry between each coat. Re-install the doors and the handles and hinges.

Your finished cabinets will give your bathroom a whole new look.

Variations

• Using the same concept and technique (on items that have open-grained wood only) you can also refresh other items and accessories in your bathroom to co-ordinate with the new look, such as shelves, towel racks, decorative boxes, mirror borders, window frames, picture frame borders and floors.