Let’s Use Brown Paper Bags on Laminate!

I have a really quick furniture refinishing project for you! I know, that’s not usually my style 🙂 On my last visit to my mom’s house, she showed me a small side table that she had found during one of her morning walks. She said it was on the curb by a neighbor’s house. When she stopped to get a good look at it, the neighbor came over and asked if she wanted it. She said yes and he offered to bring it to her house. Good thing, too, cause this little table is heavy!

Free table

When she showed me the table, I asked what she planned to do with it. She said she hadn’t thought much about it, she was just tickled to have been given a free table. I looked it over. It was obvious that it had set out in the weather because most of the stain & finish had worn off. It looked like a quick project and I offered to refinish it for her. I figured it would just need a light sanding & a clear coat. Since mom doesn’t have a stash of furniture refinishing supplies, we went to Home Depot and I picked up a sanding block, paintbrush, and the smallest can of polyurethane that they had.

Starting the project

Let’s Strip

You might recall that I have used Easy Off to strip a few furniture pieces. I find it easier and less messy to use than actual stripper. I put the drawer and table out on the graveled area in mom’s backyard and sprayed the few sections with the oven cleaner. After letting it work for about 20 minutes, I scrubbed the wood with a scrub brush and a little dish soap before washing it down with the garden hose.

Below is a video on how to use the Easy Off/Oven Cleaner stripping method

Easy Off/Oven Cleaner Stripping Video

Oven Cleaner Process

• To use the oven cleaner as a stripper:
  • Apply a thick coat
  • Allow it to process for 20 minutes
  • Scrub with a small scrub brush that has been dipped in water that contains a couple of drops of Dawn dishsoap
  • Rinse with water
  • Allow to dry
• Repeat as necessary until the finish has been removed

Sanding & Removing veneer

After the wood dried, it was easy to use my sanding block on the wood. With the wood sanded, I figured I’d go ahead and remove the veneer. I set a hot wet towel on the top of the table and let it sit in the sun. When I removed the towel and tried to remove the ‘veneer’, one of the corners just chipped off. It was THEN that I noticed that it was not veneer but laminate! Not only that but under the laminate was not wood but particleboard! I really have no excuse for mistaking laminate for veneer but my reasoning for doing so is that a few of my recent projects have involved removing veneer 😉

What to do with the top?

Once the glue dried, I had another decision to make in regard to the top of the table. I couldn’t leave it as is with the corner pieces glued back into place. I could paint it but the glued on pieces would be obvious. There had to be another option! After giving it a bit of thought and considering what supplies I had on hand, I decided to try a technique that I’ve seen but not used before – decoupaging with brown paper bags! After all, I already had glue and had seen a stack of paper bags in a kitchen drawer.

Brown paper bag technique

While I’ve not used brown paper bags to cover a surface before, I have decoupaged many items in the past. All you need is glue, water, brown paper bags without any printing on them (you can also use brown wrapping paper), and a paintbrush. The technique is simple. The first step is to mix a little water and glue together. The next step is to tear the bags into small pieces and then crumple them. To apply the pieces to the tabletop, I dipped the paintbrush into the glue mixture and painted a small section of the tabletop. I then laid a piece of the crumpled but smoothed out a bit bag and applied the glue mixture on top of it. You could also dip each piece in the glue mixture if you prefer.

As I got close to the iron & brick, I removed them only to find that one of the corner pieces just fell off again. No worries, I’d just cover the space with paper and it would be hardly noticeable. After the entire tabletop was covered, I added a little more of the glue mixture to pieces that were sticking up too much and pressed the pieces with a finger. Since I was working on the table outside, the glue dried quickly.

When the top of the table was dry, the brown paper bags looked like leather! There is a variation of color which just makes it more interesting.

Sealing the table

To seal the wood, I applied 2 coats of Minwax water-based polyurethane in satin using a paintbrush. As I was working in the sun, I allowed only 1 hour between coats for drying time. Because the tabletop will get more use, I applied 3 coats of polyurethane to it. I didn’t take pictures of this part of the project; my sisters had come over for a visit so we were busy chatting as I was finishing up on the table.

Finished project

When I started this refinishing project, I thought it would be a simple sand & poly one. But, with most of the projects I tackle, my estimate of what they will entail and how long it will take is usually too optimistic. However, this really was a quick & simple project. It just seems long since I walked you through my thought process as I worked on it 🙂

• Spray with Easy Off
• Scrub wood & rinse
• Sand wood
• Decopauge with brown paper bags
• Apply polyurethane

In the first picture, if you know that the corner piece is missing, you can see the indentation. Where mom has the table set, though, it is not noticeable.

Before, During, After

Supplies Used

• Sanding block
• Easy Off
• Scrub brush
• Water
• Minwax water-based polyurethane
• 1 1/2″ paintbrush
• Elmers glue
• Brown paper bags
• Clamps
• Screwdriver

Instructions

• Remove any hardware
• Remove finish with Easy Off oven cleaner
• Spray Easy Off (or other oven cleaner) on a section of the furniture
• Allow to sit for 20 minutes
• Use a scrub brush dipped in water to scrub off finish
• Rinse with water
• Allow to dry
• Sand with 180-220 grit sandpaper
• Mix Elmer’s glue with a little water
• Tear brown paper bags into small pieces & crumple
• Using a paintbrush, brush glue mixture onto surface
• Flatten pieces of paper back & lay onto glued surface
• Brush more of the glue mixture onto each piece of paper
• Allow to dry
• Apply two to three coats of water-based polyurethane

For your convenience

This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you choose to order through these links, it will be at no extra cost to you

Want more project ideas?

Send me all the Goodies!

* indicates required

Email Address *

First Name

Leave this field empty if you’re human: