Pie Safe Restoration

Restoring furniture is hard work any way you put it, so I thought it would be a refreshing change to blog about this pie safe restoration we did this past summer before we moved. We are beginning to get everything unpacked here in our new home and finding places for all our furniture pieces. The hardest part has been choosing the perfect spot to showcase all the hard work that went into creating these pieces, which is why they were keepers! One piece in particular that I don’t think I could ever part with is this handmade vintage pie safe we brought with us from San Antonio.  While it wasn’t quite an antique, it was hand crafted by a carpenter who made this piece for his wife many decades ago. I got this piece for a steal and I knew it would look best restored. Here are some before photos:

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There was nothing really wrong with the pie safe as is. It is solid oak, in amazing condition, minus some mystery spills on the shelves and some cup rings on the top. The curtains were not my favorite but I planned on replacing them with pie tins anyway so I had no qualms about trashing them. I also wasn’t a huge fan of the light oak color, but I loved the wood grain and painting was just not an option for this.

I choose to deepen the stain instead. I wanted a warm, rich oak color, but didn’t want to go too dark with a piece like this. I had to do a ton of prep for this, so below are the steps I took and the products I used to prep:

The Prep Process

• Cleaned with mineral spirits to remove gunk and grime.
• Sanded with grits 80, 120 and 150 (oak is a hardwood that needs an open grain to accept multiple coats of stain).
• Used Citristrip to strip the shelves of the mystery stains and gunk.
• Mixed Simple Green and hot water to give it one last thorough cleaning.

Staining this piece was a tedious process. I used my favorite 2 inch foam brushes to apply the stain because these are heavy duty and don’t typically fall apart after long use. I only used one foam brush for this project! You can buy them in packs of 48 which means they last me about 4-6 months depending on my workload.

I applied only one coat of Varthane’s Dark Walnut Stain. It was rich enough to give me the warmth I was looking for without going to dark. I wanted to see the grain and add some character to it by allowing the true beauty of the oak wood to come through. I made sure to wipe up any excess stain with shop towels.

After the stain had dried for 72 hours, I topcoat with three coats of General Finishes High Performance Top Coat in Satin with my sprayer. When using different finishes, you need to make sure you follow the rules regarding oil and water. 72 hours is ample time for an oil based stain to dry, allowing a water based topcoat to follow.

I didn’t want to stain the interior, rather I choose to add a bright fresh gray color called “Pebble” from the Fusion Mineral Paint line. I have been using FMP for a few years now and they use the highest quality acrylic resin and pigments to formulate their paints. This color goes perfectly with the wood and compliments the tins very well!

The real show-stopper on this pies safe is the tins. They are the heart of any pie safe and tins are what really define an era or style of pie safe. I got these reproduction punched tins from D. Lawless Hardware which has an endless supply of amazing hardware and antique/vintage accessories. I got these unfinished, but treating them for protection is super easy. You just need to wipe them clean with mineral spirits, avoiding touching them with your bare hands as they leave fingerprints. After a couple hours and the mineral spirits have evaporated, I applied three coats of clear spray lacquer to protect them from tarnish.

Although painting is the heart of my business, it’s beautiful to see a restoration do justice to a solid, quality piece of furniture like our pie safe, which now houses all our cookbooks, and wine glasses! I’d love to hear your thoughts on this restoration! You can do so by leaving a comment below!