Vintage Record Cabinet Makeover

I thought I would give you a break from all of the white painted furniture, you don’t mind right? I picked up this vintage piece and to be perfectly honest I had no idea what it was. I saw it and immediately thought that would be perfect in a craft room to hold supplies. So it wasn’t until I brought it up to the cash register the sweet lady said, “Oh you found the record cabinet!” I looked around at my pile, “Right!” I started laughing, “The record cabinet!” They would not ever nominate me to be an appraiser on The Antiques Roadshow.

I loved the crackled patina and normally I would leave a piece like this in tact but the more I looked at the cabinet the more I felt like something was staring at me. And I can’t say for sure but someone was a big Disney fan.

Before I get into this project, I want to direct you to the EPA website so that you can educate yourself on lead base paint. I am not an expert on this subject. I work on a lot of old pieces and this is where I go for answers to my questions. Lead paint is very serious so before starting any project, make sure to educate yourself completely. There are also home test kits you can purchase at your local home improvement store to help further rest your mind.

I worked on this piece outside. I began by cleaning it with a multipurpose cleaner and vaccumming all of the peeling chips, cobwebs and lose dirt. Just cleaning it up made a huge difference. I decided to seal it with two thick coats of polyacrylic. I allowed a full 24 hours of drying time between each coat.

Once the coats of paint were dried, I applied a coat of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Duck Egg and allowed to dry overnight. The next morning, I applied another coat of Duck Egg.

After the second coat of Chalk Paint had completely dried, I applied a thick coat of polyacrylic. Normally, I am a big fan of using wax after using chalk paint but in this case I do not want the paint to chip so that is why I decided to use the polyacrylic.

I left the shelves inside the record cabinet unpainted but gave them a natural oil and vinegar rub I use to revitalize old and thirsty wood. I love the way they turned out.

This was a long process but safety should always be first priority when you’re refinishing or painting old pieces of furniture. In the end, it did turn out exactly as I had envisioned that of a craft supply cabinet. With Christmas only a few months away, it will be time to fill this thing up with all sorts of goodies soon.

Many blessings,

CoCo