Thrift Store Makeovers, Removing Old Paper Decals

Today I have 2 thrift store makeovers , each involving removing old paper decals from vintage wooden vessels.

If you are worried about the antique value of an item you may want to leave your piece alone and appreciate it as is. If you want to enjoy your piece, and get it to where it’s pleasing and useable to you, you bought it, it’s yours.

My first project is this midcentury modern tray. After a little research, it seems these trays are going for about $30. Mine was $8. It doesn’t have tremendous value, I can now feel free to modify him.

The fruit still life glued to the bottom of the tray was in fantastic shape, no spots or watermarks, no rips or tears. I can just picture Grandma hanging it on a wall in her knotty pine dining room and never using it. Grandkids came in and it went straight to Goodwill. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

So why did I want to get rid of the fruit still life? The tray was destined for my youngest son and his wife who absolutely love mid century modern but are way too young for Grandma’s fruit bowl. The clean lines of the wood is what interests them.

If I was going to resell this piece, I would not touch the fruit, but this tray is going to be used.

As with all old pieces of wood, the tray did have some scratches.

The paper decal did not come off super easy. When scraped with a razor blade it was more likely to relinquish just the upper layer of paper.

I did find that if I applied Goof Off to the peeled layer of paper and let it sit for just a couple minutes the paper peeled right off.

Fine sandpaper on my sander made quick work of getting rid of the top layer of paper on the remainder of the tray.

After letting the Goof Off work a few more minutes, the paper is completely gone.

There remains a shadow where the decal had once sat.

Back to the fine sandpaper and I’ve completely removed all the stain on the bottom part of the tray.

Only thing left to do was to add some stain and varnish to the tray. One coat of this Danish Oil hides all the scratches on the sides of the tray. Two coats of the Danish oil on the bottom of the tray and it is now ready for serving.

My second decal project was this carved wooden bowl. With Google Lens, I couldn’t find anything that was even close to the style of this box so I’ll just call it one of a kind.

I love everything about this box except the coats of arms. There are 3 of them, all cracked and peeling.

Besides cracking and peeling off, each of the coats of arms were also wrinkling and pulling away from the wooden box.

Not being my coat of arms, I had no particular ties to these heraldric signs.

No wonder there was so much wrinkling of the paper, those paper coats of arms were not adhered particularly well. No glue at all in the center of the decals.

Like the first project, once the top layer of paper was off, I simply soaked the remaining paper with the Goof Off and any remaining bits and pieces peeled right off.

Where the stain is gone, I added a little dark brown paint to black and smeared it on with my finger. You may need to match your stain. You may not be able to tell from the photo, but mine was just about black.

Final step, I brightened the finish with a coat of clear wax (on the right).

It really is a beautifully carved box.

So much better without stickers.

Those were both easy enough. But what if you start with a Modpodge covered table like this one. I have a solution for that too. You’ll just have to pop back to my 2017 post. Now that one was a great before and after makeover.

Until next time, stay inspired.