Rebuild and Restoration of Hoosier Cabinet

Restoring a Hoosier Cabinet

When we restore and refurbish an old cabinet like this we can get into a wide variety of work. If the cabinet was made after about 1920 or so it could have cheap veneer plywood sides, bottom, and back.

These plywood panels soak up humidity or direct water from rain or other sources. Then the glue lets go between the veneers and the entire piece needs to be replaced. Sometimes you can simply remove the outer layer of the plywood and replace that layer with new veneer. An old iron can help. You use it to heat up the layer of peeling veneer and the heat softens the glue, and bingo, off comes the old veneer.

The new veneer has to be cut with care using a pattern. Then use contact cement to glue down the new veneer. It may sound hard but it is really easy. This Sellers cabinet is really just a variety of Hoosier cabinets but it was a cheap knock off made mostly of poplar wood, a wood which needs to be painted for It rarely looks good stained and varnished.

The best way to get the roll top desk to roll properly is, simply, to work it repeatedly until all the hidden paint crumbs break loose and the track clears enough to let the top move properly.

Don’t be afraid to try it and restore your Hoosier or Sellers Cabinet to its former glory!

Completing the Restoration of a Hoosier Cabinet

The first video we posted up above shows you know how tough this cabinet looked when we began. It was literally falling into parts on the floor. One of our most helpful products for restoring old, broken furniture is epoxy adhesive. Epoxy is tremendously strong, plus, you can add silica thickener to make it stay in the glue joints and not drool all over. Epoxy is a good filler/adhesive and fills up where broken bits of wood have gone missing.

Another trick that gets the job done faster is to use a good commercial paint stripper. Now that might sound like a bit overboard but if you ever try to use the hardware store products, well, you will be there for days with frustration to the moon. We use Benco brand paint stripper, and use rubber gloves, apron, and eye protection. Of course I can’t talk you into anything you just have to decide how many hours you want to spend to strip a cabinet.

Once cleaned up you should sand the cabinet. If you are going to paint your Hoosier Cabinet then prime it first and sand the primer. Then apply two coats of a high quality paint and, voila, you will have discovered a new hobby — or maybe discovered why people bring their furniture to guys like us for refinishing.