Revamping the old desk

Some women miss soft cheese while they are pregnant.
Some women miss doing contact sports.
I, on the other hand, missed doing home improvement projects.

There are always projects to be done around the house.
Things that aren't urgent but annoy you every time you see them.
One of those was this old desk.

This is the said old desk. It is from hubby's bachelor years that he couldn't bear to throw out.
The origin is unknown since he got it from someone who took pity on a poor, overseas student.
It is big, heavy and very worn out. I wanted to throw it out, but then where will I do all my crafting and sewing? So we kept it. But it looked bad. The water stains and the dull colour was killing me softly every time I saw it.

 So I started doing some thinking. I could sand it and give it a new coat of varnish. But upon closer examination of the desk, I found out it was veneer, not solid wood. I was afraid if I sanded it, the veneer surface might vanish. Besides, who was gonna carry that thing outside for me to sand? So I did some more searching on the internet and found these.

Howard products. It's supposed to blend away water damage, remove haze and dullness, and nourish, protect and seal wood. So I gave it a go. I used the 'Restore-A-Finish' on fine steel wool to scrape away the water marks. It was looking good already. Then I used the 'Feed-N-Wax' to seal the surface and then polished with 'Orange Oil'. The result?

Pretty good if you ask me. The old, beaten up desk looked shiny and clean. Now I could bear the look of it until we have to move it out to make room for the second child. At least I know that the Salvos won't reject the desk now that it's all cleaned up.

"Mum, I think I can see my reflection now."