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You love refinishing. But your finishes aren't coming out like you envisioned.
Furniture prep is where most refinishing projects succeed—or fail. The Essential Guide to Furniture Prep breaks down exactly how to clean, sand, strip (when needed), and prepare furniture surfaces so paint and stain adhere properly and finishes last.
This guide walks you through professional furniture prep techniques, including cleaning and degreasing, sanding fundamentals, grit progressions, prepping different surfaces like wood, veneer, laminate, and MDF, and knowing when sanding is enough—or when stripping is the safer choice. You’ll also find step-by-step prep workflows for both painted and stained furniture, along with troubleshooting tips to help you avoid common mistakes like adhesion failure, blotchy stain, and sand-through.
Whether you’re refinishing vintage furniture, painting dressers, staining wood furniture, or upgrading thrifted pieces, this guide teaches you how to prep with intention instead of guesswork. Designed for beginners and experienced DIYers alike, The Essential Guide to Furniture Prep gives you the knowledge to protect your pieces, save time, and achieve smooth, professional-quality results.
If you want your finishes to look better, last longer, and stop failing halfway through a project, this is the foundation every refinisher needs.
Everything I wish I'd known before I started.
WHAT'S INSIDE
This book walks you through the full process from start to finish.
What "PREP" Really Means
Tools & Materials You'll Use
Grit Progressions
The Stripping Process
Working with Different Woods
Workflows for Paint & Stain
A look inside
WHO IT'S FOR
Perfect if you're...
A DIY refinisher
Tired of finishes that chip or peel-
ready to finally get it right from the
start
A Furniture Flipper
Flipping pieces for profit and want every piece to look polished and sell faster and for more money.
A first-timer
Just starting out and want a clear system instead of guessing your way through.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hi, I'm Charene - and I wrote this from experience.
I started refinishing furniture for my own home. Moved a lot, loved old pieces, figured out how to make them work in new spaces. Eventually I sold one. Then another. And somewhere in the middle of all of that, Olive Street Designs became a real thing — a business, a community, and now over 575,000 followers who are doing the same thing I started doing in my own living room.
Along the way I wrote it all down. The prep process, the sourcing, the finishing techniques, the business side — there's now a full library of guides, trackers, and a hardcover book covering the complete refinishing journey from first flip to profitable business.
The one thing I kept hearing — from beginners and people well into their flipping journey — was that their finishes weren't turning out right. And almost every time, the problem wasn't the paint. It wasn't the technique. It was the prep.
That's why I wrote this guide. Not to cover everything — just to get this one part right. Because when the foundation is solid, everything else gets easier.
QUESTIONS
Before you ask- here's the deal.
Is this for complete beginners?
It's for anyone who wants to stop guessing and start getting consistent, professional results. Beginner or not — if your finishes aren't turning out the way you envisioned, this is where to start.
Does it cover painting techniques?
No. This is a prep book. It covers everything from the moment you touch your piece — cleaning, degreasing, sanding, stripping — everything that gets your surface ready for paint or stain. This is what makes your products work.
What format is it?
Instant download, PDF format. Download it to your computer or tablet and it's yours to keep forever.
I already follow you on YouTube — do I still need this?
Yes. My videos touch on prep, but never the full picture. This guide is the complete system — start to finish, nothing left out — in one place you can reference every time you start a new piece.