A New/Old Workbench

A month or so ago I walked into an estate sale and in the basement saw this beauty…now at that moment it was covered with tools, tool boxes and a TON of other stuff…but I saw the potential…I calmly walked past several people – hoping no one else saw what I saw and would beat me to the chase…or actually to removing the price tag…

BEFORE WORKBENCH

I was the first to remove the tag and next negotiated the price….and it was MINE… Once we carried it out of the basement – and brought it home – the first thing I did to it was to add wheels to help it maneuver in my workshop… I know they may not look the best BUT this is truly a necessary case of FUNCTION over FORM…

Next up was a good cleaning with TSP…then an entire night under the fans… followed by one coat of Miss Mustard Seed Milk Paint in the color French Enamel… I purposely only applied one coat as I knew I was going for a “worn and loved” look… as if the paint had been there forever and had naturally rubbed off…

Once painted and dried I sanded the entire piece with 220 grit sandpaper and then wiped it down with a tack cloth… removing any of the paint dust… I applied Miss Mustard Seed’s clear Furniture Wax… followed by a fast coat of Miss Mustard Seed Antique Wax… and here it is today…

While sanding I really worked the sandpaper to remove a lot of the paint…for the worn look I was going for…..

I love the deep grooves that the top has…to me that shows it has been used and has a story….and now it will continue it’s story in the Midwest Cottage and Finds workshop….for many years to come…..

The products used in the project are below and if you are interested