Do you remember when Deb and I made a flying trip to Illinois a few weekends ago to pick up a 12′ antique store counter. (You can see the before pictures in that post.)   We want to use it as our kitchen island.  Well… I wanted to strip it down to the original pine wood because it was a bit too dark for me.  And, it almost had a red tint to it, so it was a must. 

The house project is going SO DANG FAST.  I started getting worried that it was going to be time for the countertop boys to install the countertop on the antique store counter and it wouldn’t be done.   So between lots and lots of other things going on, I thought I better start this task.  

12′ Antique Store Counter – After

I have used the oven cleaner method on several pieces and thought it would be perfect for this as well.  Well… I thought wrong.  😝 As soon as I took off the first coat of finish, it got really gummy…. and tacky.  I couldn’t scrape it off with a scraper or scrub it with a brush.  It resembled trying to mix oil and water.  So I figured that maybe I better switch gears and use a stronger furniture stripper products that I had on hand.  You are supposed to remove it with mineral spirits.

NOTE:  I am going to try this new green furniture stripper but I had this and wanted to use it.  I will keep you posted on the other when it arrives.

Sure enough, that worked way better.  Remember the counter is 12′ long.  So I did about 2 foot sections at a time.  By the time I got to my last section, I was in the groove and had it figured out.  If I left the stripper on too long, it wouldn’t come off easily.  So I applied the stripper and immediately used a paint scraper and took it off.  I applied more… and let the second layer set for a bit.  And then I used steel wool with mineral spirits and really wiped it clean.

I followed it all up with a good sanding.  It isn’t at all perfect, but I am sure happy with how it turned out.  Since this will be in the kitchen, I will probably add a few coats of sealer.  I don’t think I am going to stain it, as I like the look of the raw wood. I also don’t want it any darker.  PLUS.. I want it to blend well with the cabinets that are going to be hung on the wall behind this.  This will be getting a quartz countertop and the inside will be painted white.

Now onto another fun surprise…

When we were picking up the antique store counter, the guy said that he had a lot of other antiques in his storage facility.  And, he asked us if we were interested in seeing what else he had.  As soon as I saw this card catalog, I knew what I wanted to do with it.  

Deb is going to rebuild the inside of the counter so that we can have a few more shelves.  It is where we store all of our dishes, serving bowls, etc.  That card catalog fits perfectly on one of the shelves.  I want her to build it into the counter for me.  😁 

Again.. all of the inside shelving will be painted white and guess what I will be doing in the next couple of days.  If you guessed stripping the finish off of this card catalog, you win.  

What do you think of our 12′ antique store counter.