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If you are a book lever, or you own a sophisticated looking bookcase to store books and references, you might want to keep its good look for as long as you can. This article will help your bookcase to remain its new & nice look.

Things You Need

1. Screwdriver
2. Things You’ll
3. Painter’s tape
4. Drop cloth
5. Chemical stripper
6. Gloves
7. Putty knife
8. Toothbrush
9. Sandpaper
10. Stain
11. paintbrush
12. Clean rag
13. Polyurethane or shellac

1) Take off the bookcase doors by unscrewing all the hinges. If they are glass doors, you can instead put painter’s tape on the edges of the glass to prevent the stain.

2) Move the doors & the bookcase to an open space or a well-ventilated area. Make sure to put them on a drop cloth to protect the floor. However, of the doors and/or bookcase cannot be moved, place the drop cloth around the bookcase instead, and make the air around the working area circulate by using an electric fan. This helps protect you from inhaling the hazardous fumes.

3) Apply the chemical stripping to the wood. Read the instruction to see how much time you have to wait for the stripping to be ready. Make sure to use gloves at this stage.

4) Use a putty knife to remove the chemical stripper and the old stain on the bookcase. If necessary, you can put more of the stripper to remove to remaining stain and repeat the step. When you find it hard to remove any remaining spot, using a toothbrush may help with the removal.

5) Sand the bookcase with fine sandpaper. Sans it lightly toward the direction of the grain.

6) Check the bookcase and doors whether there are any holes in the surface. If any, fill them with wood putty and sand it to make a smooth surface.

7) Remove the remaining dust on the bookcase by wiping it with a cloth.

8 ) Use a brush to apply stain to the bookcase and doors. Use small, say ½ inch brush with intricate areas and use a larger brush, say 2 inch, to apply the stain to the main section of the bookcase. Stain application should be done with long, smooth strokes along the grains of the wood. Let the stain dry completely.

9) Apply the second coat of stain if necessary, for example, if the first coat is too thin or it does not have the right shade of stain you desire. Wait again for it to dry completely.

10) Apply the bookcase and door with shellac or a polyurethane topcoat. Allow it to dry thoroughly and sand it carefully with fine-grit sandpaper. Again, wipe of dust with a cloth. It is recommended that you repeat this step to protect the finish of the wood and to prolong its life.

11) Put the doors onto the bookcase by screwing all the hinges back into their places.