Hoosier Cabinet Restoration (Part 1: Prep)

This antique (1920s) Hoosier cabinet was among the items salvaged from my grandmother’s home post-hurricane. I never liked it, but it meant a lot to my grandmother, and to my mother, so I worked on refinishing it to make it more modern and neutral for my home. Here’a a recap of the process in part 1 of 2: prep. The refinishing is in the post that follows this one.

[Read the origin story of these heirloom restorations here: Heirloom Restoration]

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I learned from relatives that it was my great-grandparents’ cabinet, and my grandmother had it refinished by someone in the family when she brought it home in the 1990s. I remember it being painted blue when I was a tiny thing, but she had it stripped to its natural color and varnished. Now I know with antiques, original finish is preferred, but in this case I didn’t care about its monetary value. I wanted a functional piece that fit in my home. I knew I wanted to paint it, I just hadn’t settled on a color until I knew where it would go. There was no place for it in or near our kitchen, so a dry bar or coffee bar just didn’t make sense. Instead, I decided to get rid of my craft cabinet and use the Hoosier for craft supplies. I scoured the internet searching for inspiration and found some great examples of my exact model. If I had to pin a year on it based on what I found online, I’d say mine is a 1922 Hoosier Beauty or Pearl.

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To make room for the Hoosier, I needed to rehome this old ScrapBox, which was a horrible match for the new house. It was too large for my craft room and was difficult to open/close on the carpet. I had to reconfigure my craft supplies for their new cabinet, so I found antique/vintage Hoosier jars on eBay, and purchased bins on Amazon.

Bins: mDesign Plastic Stackable Storage Organizer Container Bins

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Now with a purpose, the Hoosier cabinet could be prepped and refinished. I disassembled the cabinet completely and lost my parking spot in the garage for about a week through this process. All hardware was removed, drawers removed, and doors removed. I also disconnected the hutch from the base, and removed the porcelain enameled zinc top in between. I took a lot of pictures so I would know how to reassemble these pieces when the time came. I also sanded every surface I could get to (minus the tambour roll doors) to prepare everything for painting.

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There were some problematic pieces that needed repair or replacing. Many screws needed to be drilled out and replaced. Some shelves in the hutch were split and needed repairing. And the back board on the hutch was so warped it needed replacing as well. I also discovered after stripping the hardware that it was not brass as expected, but aluminum. No bother, I planned on painting the hardware anyway. It made me smile to see some places still had blue (as I remembered it) and green (that predated me) paint on it. I wood filled large gashes but decided to not repair minor scratches, cracks, or water damage, as these imperfections were a part of the cabinet’s character and history.

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The most intimidating parts were restoring the tambour roll doors. My Hoosier cabinet came home with only one door, the other being lost somewhere in the last 100 years. So I found a replacement door on ebay in okayish condition. Both doors has missing or broken slats, so I found the next best thing at Home Depot. The shape of the modern slats is beveled while the antique ones are sort of s-shaped. But the thickness was the same, and I was good with that! The twill tape needed replacing on both, but the hardware was solid. I found replacement twill tape and tambour glue from Kennedy Hardware. If I screwed up the doors, I knew I could buy reproduction doors (and hardware, for that matter) from Kennedy as well. But I tried to keep as much of the original pieces as possible.

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Paint stripping is a nasty but necessary evil. My husband and I went through a lot of rubber gloves, aluminum roasting pans, towels, and paper towels that day, but we stripped most of the the heavy varnish and thick cracked paint from the slats. We had a 3-tray system from first coat of stripper, to second coat, to brushing off the goo with wire brushes. Then wiping each slat with After Wash, then letting dry, and then sanding. Some paint and varnish remained, but these were manageable surfaces for repainting.

Stripper: Klean Strip Premium Stripper Non-Methylene Chloride Formula Fast-Acting Liquid Works 15-mins Removes Multiple Layers of Latex and Oil-Based Paint Now Comes with Putty Knife by Centaurus AZ 1 Quart

Brushes: Lavaxon Wire Brush Set 3Pcs – Nylon/Brass/Stainless Steel Bristles with Curved Handle Grip for Rust, Dirt & Paint Scrubbing with Deep Cleaning – 7 Inches (Red)

Cleaner: KLEAN-STRIP Premium Stripper After Wash, 1 Quart (QKSW94341)

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Next is the refinishing of the Hoosier cabinet (the fun part!): Hoosier Cabinet Restoration (Part 2: Refinish)

For more in the series, click here: Heirloom Restoration or follow the corresponding board on Pinterest.

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