"Just finished a fun build for a friend. His fantasy football league was in need of an upgraded trophy to hold another few decades worth of winners plaques. Built out of oak and cherry and finished with several coats of General Finishes Arm-R-Seal semi- gloss." - Saw Dust Garage Studios
You all know my affinity for walnut and finding out this old vanity-turned-nightstands was SOLID and not veneer was the happiest surprise a wood lover could ask for.
Stripped down chemically so as not to mess with the aging in the wood, we left some tone variation because we absolutely LOVE the look.
Of course not ALL the tones were correct so we did a little toned down stain correction to make sure these brownish babes didn’t pull any orange tones out.
They’re sealed with satin perfection...
Antique sewing table brought back to life with General Finishes
New Pine Gel Stain and GF Arm-R-Seal satin Topcoat.
MCM Mid Century Modern Basset Dresser and Chest of Drawers set.
Great working dovetailed drawers and the original hardware. Done in industrial KCMA certified cabinet paint and drawers in General Finishes Antique Walnut stain & Arm R Seal polyurethane.
Rare find! MCM Mid Century Modern Walnut 'Esprit' Desk by Merton Gershun for Dillingham. This 58 year old piece only needed a few minor repairs and a restoration with...
"This 1960’s walnut Dixie MCM desk has been fully restored to its original finish. Look at that wood grain! And the best part is it’s double sided and works in any space of a room, office or library.
Products Used:
General Finishes Brown Mahogany Gel Stain and Arm-R-Seal topcoat" - CM Restorations
"Sometimes natural is the best way. This lady is no exception. She had such beautiful grain patterning, it was hardly an actual decision to ‘not add paint’. Stripped naked. Sealed in our signature satin Arm-R-Seal finish by General Finishes." - Restoration Reserve
"There are FEW shops that will touch Vintage Heywood Wakefield pieces unless it’s to paint them….. but here we see the beauty in the natural tones! This stunner had the usual selection of nicks, scratches and water stains…The client found some amazing pieces at an estate sale and we decided to tackle them one piece at a time. So this baby is sitting pretty au natural! General Finishes Arm-R-Seal to the rescue yet again, on bringing those stunning grains to life again!" - Restoration Reserve...
"1960s MCM Drexel Walnut side table. Stripped, sanded and refinished in my favorite topcoat for raw wood General Finishes Arm-R-Seal in Satin. It really shows off the beautiful grain patterns of the walnut along with the Burl accents." - Twin Grove Design
I’ve refinished this gorgeous Walnut Mid Century Modern Desk that was formerly a Singer sewing machine desk. Done in...
"Sometimes a piece just needs a good solid refresh instead of an overhaul and that is what this piece got! Stained in General Finishes American Oak Gel Stain and sealed in their Arm-R-Seal in Semi-gloss."
"Fully stripping down and refinishing this Kent Coffey “The Wharton” mid century modern dresser set pushed me to my limits. After working on the furniture all day, at night I’d watch YouTube videos about mid century modern furniture restoration, tutorials on how to repair veneer, how and when to use toner. I learned so much, and was humbled time and time again when the trial and error cycle repeated.
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When you fully refinish a piece, you get to know every square inch of that piece. All...
"I’ll never get over the amazing wood grain after restoring an MCM piece. This antique cabinet was in good shape but the top and shelves had some damage. I was able to sand them back to their original wood and match the stain even though there were several types of wood and veneer on this piece. This beauty was sourced for my good friend Amy to showcase her record player in her beautiful cabin along with several other of the MCM pieces I’ve restore for her.
Products Used
Stain: General...
"Refinished and repurposed this circa 1960 Mathes Walnut record cabinet. The electronics were fried inside but Mathes was a premier record cabinet company so I had to save the piece. I decided to repurpose it into a bar cabinet/entertainment center/small buffet and it turned out amazing! Gutted it all and put a solid maple drawer box with new heavy duty slides. Installed new maple cabinets into the speaker area with pivot hinges and push open catches. Made new solid maple open fluted style...
"Well we took an ugly yellow table and turned it around as a new LIFE! Stripped down and finished in GF Antique White with beautiful Van Dyke Brown glazing in the details! Top has been stripped of that disgusting veneer and found a spectacular wood base that we finished for the most amazing blend of wood tones! Hand applied General Finishes Arm-R-Seal in satin. I love this piece. It’s versatile in style and detailed enough to look custom!" - Restoration Reserve
"Another table heading home. Removed the tired and dated stain that had worn away, sanded and then sealed with a satin polyurethane……no stain here folks just its natural colour in all its fall glory. General Finishes Arm-R-Seal. Natural wood grain and colour. Back to the basics"
"Hand forged metal wrapped around exotic woods, shown off on a simple and yet stately dual pedestal table base. We’ve been thru the ringer bringing this guy back to life… almost 2 years in the making actually!
Top has been stripped down, sanded and finished in our favorite hand applied General Finishes Arm-R-Seal. Finish coat in satin. Base has been stripped, sanded stained in Kona and toned with a black wash poly finish. Metal has been chemically cleaned, steel wooled and aged with a...
Ship sculpture made from walnut finished in General Finishes Arm-R-Seal
"Svelte in Universal black by Ben Moore. Drawer faces salvaged. Stripped sealed in General Finishes Arm-R-Seal in our own blend of semi-satin. Original textured brass bar hardware polished and pops off those amazing grains." - Restoration Reserve
"This made in Germany teak wood set just needed the tops sanded back down and restrained. The legs were revived using @howard_products restore a finish.
Tops- stained to match legs in General Finishes Gel Stain in American Oak.
Topcoat- General Finishes Arm-R-Seal" - Kate’s Reclaimed
"This family heirloom had definitely seen better days. Broken hinge, broken leg, and broken chain inside. To make matters worse, somewhere along the line it was either cleaned repeatedly with wax products or someone tried to refinish it with wax and you can see how much it dulled out the color of the piece in the before photos.
It took a lot of work to remove all the wax and varnish from the piece but once it was completely sanded down, we sealed it in General Finishes Arm-R-Seal in a Satin...
Just want to give a shout out to General Finishes. We don’t believe there’s anything around that would bring out the beauty of this Walnut like General Finishes Arm-R-Seal.
Important pieces, from beautiful wood, and hours of craftsmanship, deserve a superior wood stain and topcoat, and not inferior products from a big box store.
We were able to provide this top for less than half the price quoted from a local cabinet shop.
Absolutely stunning and intricate custom handmade clock with a custom designed walnut table with maple inlay finished with General Finishes Arm-R-Seal Gloss.
"Check out this antique dresser I just refinished! I wanted to bring out the natural beauty of the wood while giving it a modern twist. I sanded the drawer fronts and the top. Then revived that gorgeous wood grain by using Colonial Maple Gel Stain and Arm-R-Seal in gloss by General Finishes. I updated the sides with some paintable wallpaper by Lowe's Home Improvement and stenciled a fun pattern in white paint on the sides of the drawers. The result is a fresh and stylish look that still...
"Our wonderful friends at UNika Customs, LLC hooked us up with this really cool, old, midcentury modern bench and we just fell in love with its potential!
We were able to strip down that worn down finish to the bare walnut wood before refinishing it with Java Gel Stain and High Performance Topcoat by General Finishes.
The original leather had too much wear and tear to fix, so we decided to reupholster the cushions in a more modern, boho, white velvet. Unique pieces like this one don’t...
"Tall, sleek bedside tables perfect for small bedrooms while not sacrificing drawer storage space. Spray finished. #GeneralFinishes Enduro Black Poly, Antique Walnut #GelStain, Arm-R-Seal Topcoat" - Paint and Hammer
"This was another custom order for my client Katya and another piece that was built by her grandpa. I ended up taking the entire piece apart (because as you can see in the before photo, it was already missing a side and the other was the next to go!)
Once it was taken all apart, I sanded it completely down, stained in General Finishes Antique Walnut Gel Stain and sealed in General Finishes Arm-R-Seal. I added the original feet back on and put it all back together with a new round of wood...
"This was a labor of love! I salvaged three amazing vintage trolley carts and knew immediately I wanted to save the wood yet make it functional. I ended up sacrificing one of the smaller carts to use some of the wood.
*Removed an entire side to repurpose as a new top
*Built a removable box shelf for extra storage options
*Payson cast iron casters date back to early 1900’s and still maneuver beautifully
*scrubbed the wood with a wire brush for hours and hours to remove gunk yet keep...
"The tones. The craftsmanship. The SOLIDDDDDDD walnut. Not one veneer here.
Buttery smooth. Beautiful aging left in the details. I wish I could photograph these details better, but trust me when I say you just have to run your fingers along these curves.
We repaired what we could without doing cheap bandaids. The rest we just accept as character of a 1925 set of furniture. I’m truly in awe. Hours and hours of slowly stripping back years of furniture polish and grime. A fresh General...
"My favorite table build to date. Solid walnut top built from a tree by Lake Mills. Paduk bowties that really bring attention to the natural figure in the walnuts crotch section. Solid oak trestle base, with through mortise and tennon and dowel construction. Wedges built from Paduk. Solid joinery for a table that should outlast me. Finished with General Finishes Arm-R-Seal." - Crosscut Fabrication LLC of Klemme, IA
"I recently restored these staircases and their handrails in a historic building in Newburgh, NY. The handrails are a mix of old existing walnut, and new walnut where the handrails & fittings were missing. On these handrails I used GF Antique Walnut Gel Stain and 2 coats of Arm-R-Seal gloss followed by 1 coat of Arm-R-Seal satin. I really love the deep rich quality of the Gel Stain and the way that the Arm-R-Seal lays down, and how these products can be easily hand applied."
"Sometimes you just gotta keep it classic! That was definitly the case with this baby!
After a good sanding and cleaning (yes I had to Google how to clean marble) I stained this dresser in General Finishes Nutmeg Gel Stain and sealed in the Arm-R-Seal. Lastly I switched out the big wood knobs for some vintage metal ones I had and it got a whole fresh start!" - Upcycling by Amy
"Bare vs. topcoat of Arm-R-Seal by General Finishes! Stay tuned for finished product!" - Sugar Creek Furnishings
"Top: Curly maple, wenge, jatoba, and sapele. Extra wide for hosting, ends rounded for a touch extra space.
Base: All hickory. Mortise and tenon/ half lap jointed. Legs are curved, leaned inward, and joined at an angle. Finished with General Finishes Arm-R-Seal Satin." - Link Woodcraft
"I had the pleasure of building a set of viking thrones for some fantastic people. This was a large undertaking but I couldn't be more pleased with how they turned out. Hand made from solid White Oak and Padauk. A lot of hand carving and top notch joinery. Featuring halflap dovetails and mortise and tennon construction. Finished with General Finishes Arm-R-Seal." - Crosscut Fabrication LLC
"Last year we had to cut down this MASSIVE dead white oak in the back of our property. Loved it, but the girls play house was back near it and it was always looming out back while they played. So after it was taken down I cut a round out of one of the larger pieces and recently shaped it and finished it in General Finishes Arm-R-Seal in Gloss and Satin. I filled the cracks, insect lines and voids with TotalBoat epoxy dyed black. I attempted to count all the rings and this tree was over 140...
"This beautiful Vintage Dixie had some fantastic textures on the drawers and some fabulous hardware…. Yet you couldn’t even tell because it all just blended together.
We stripped the entire body down revealing a blend of natural fruitwoods with some amazing tone variations. Drawers simply understated in General Finishes Queenstown grey and flat High Performance Topcoat. Body stripped and sealed in our favorite hand applied GF Arm-R-seal. Polished brass original hardware is the perfect...
"Perfectly matched pair of MCM or Danish inspired style curly maple chairs with added ottoman. Stripped the chairs fully down, and clear coated that beautiful grain in General Finishes Arm-R-Seal. Because that’s like wood magic right there!" - Restoration Reserve
"I found an old 90s entertainment cabine at a local thrift store. It was ALL beautiful hardwood cherry, not a piece of plywood on it besides backer boards and drawer bottoms. Only problem is, nobody needs giant entertainment centers for tube tvs anymore!! So I decided to buy it, break it down and build furniture....out of furniture. I've been on a MCM kick lately and I decided on building this cherry and maple mid-century modern inspired sideboard with a black walnut pull on the custom maple...
"Have we got a rustic gentleman for you! He’s a home built pine tool bench we took from outside! Sanded down, burnished, sealed and painted. I think we did a little of everything and still managed to keep a TON of his original character! Body in black. Drawer fronts and top burnished and sealed in General Finishes Arm-R-Seal." - Restoration Reserve
"This clients table went simply from blah to beauty in one week!
I got a little obsessed when I found the clarity in this wood grain and ended up staying late one afternoon just to strip the whole thing…. Because I couldn’t wait to see the result! And I definitely wasn’t disappointed. Clarity is my MOST favorite thing when pulling down old finishes and revealing that original wood below again!
All she needed was a full thin and strip down, a gentle hand sand so as not to lose that...
"Refinished mid century dresser, sanded to bare wood and simply sealed with General Finishes Arm-R-Seal for gorgeous results. Unique finger edge brass handles were cleaned to a new shine." - Just a Touch of Paint 2.0
Great little walnut top with the greatest character and all the little flaws we love to see!
Top stripped, sanded and refreshed in natural walnut and our hand applied...
"Here she is! This Bassett tallboy wasn’t in “terrible” condition but definitely had a hazy vintage finish and veneer damage throughout the case. I sanded her down to her natural glory, sealed the drawers with General Finishes Arm-R-Seal to let her natural tone and grain shine, and painted the case in Limousine Leather satin enamel. And then of course those drawer interiors needed a little flair." - Rising Phoenix Refinishings
"John Carpenter mid century dresser. Restored to gorgeous finish featuring beautiful wood handles. Top stained with General Finishes Nutmeg Gel Stain and sealed with Arm-R-Seal." - Just a Touch of Paint 2.0
General Finishes Medium Brown Dye Stain and Arm-R-Seal Semi-Gloss
Solid maple with a stunning maple grained top, this piece will last another 50 years
Products:
Melange Paints Nirvana, Knapsack Khaki, & Board & Boot in Hippie Chick
Redesign With Prima Floral Polish Small Decor Transfer, Grandeur Keyhole Decor Mould (Restoration Bronze, Nirvana, Knapsack and Eternal Gold Decor Wax on the moulds with new crystal knobs)
The top is solid maple and the shelves are oak-all wood was sanded down to its original state and sealed with General Finishes protective Arm-R-Seal topcoat. The body was painted using their Milk Paint in Basil.
"I wanted to share some before and afters of a desk I just did for a friend. This belonged to his grandfather, and he inherited it when he passed. Sanded it down completely then used General Finishes Nutmeg Gel Stain and Arm-R- Seal in satin. It looks like a brand new piece and he's thrilled!" - Modern Vintage Refinishing
"A little over a week ago this old lady walked in after being in Loft storage for over 40 years! She had years of dust and grime, and a darkened old lacquer that didn’t do her deep grain structure much justice! We carefully stripped and thinned her down, unable to truly sand, but cautious enough to reveal her glorious burl again!
Sealed in General Finishes Arm-R-Seal, after some stain filling on the previous damages- we’ve got all that old character and a brand new sealed surface for years...
"I worked on another diamond in the rough last week! This custom job turned out soooo good! Sanded to bare wood, and top coated with Arm-R-Seal from General Finishes" - A Life Refurbished
