Does the Oven Cleaner trick really work on Wood Furniture | The Rural Legend
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  • Writer's pictureThe Rural Legend
    • Mar 3, 2022

Office desk Reveal plus Does the Oven Cleaner trick really work


home office with feminine vintage glam style. farrow and ball dead salmon wall paint. loloi alice rug, farmhouse table desk. white upholstered office chair, gold etageres with craft and office supply storage, black sewing cabinet in front of window


home office with feminine vintage glam style. farrow and ball dead salmon wall paint. loloi alice rug, farmhouse table desk. white upholstered office chair, gold etageres with craft and office supply storage, black sewing cabinet in front of window

Shortly after I flipped our Facebook Marketplace kitchen table I saw several videos of stripping furniture with oven cleaner. I was so annoyed with how easy it looked knowing how much time I had invested in stripping and sanding my table! I have been determined to give the oven cleaner trick a try and finally got the opportunity with my dining table turned office desk!


antique trestle dining table painted gray in blue gray dining room
our dining table before

using oven cleaner easy off to strip a wooden dining table


If you haven't heard of the viral oven cleaner trick let me fill you in. Traditional Easy Off oven cleaner is sprayed liberally all over the wooden surface you would like stripped. Let the oven cleaner sit an hour, and then scrub and rinse off with water. The end result online looks incredibly stunning! Rich raw wood with a slight patina from the magic of the oven cleaner is exposed for a jaw dropping big reveal.



I had tried using oven cleaner on my antique bench I refinished a few weeks ago. It helped to take off several layers of paint, but couldn't quite get through the last few layers and varnish. I was hoping the thin layer of paint and finish on my wood dining table would be no match for the magic of oven cleaner, but alas, it was not a sure fire winner. After 4-5 cans of oven cleaner (I kind of lost track) I gave up and sanded away the rest of the finish. With every application of Easy Off, more finish came off in gross brown gunk, but it wasn't the fast process I hoped it would be. The true victory out of my efforts was that I never had to use paint stripper - the thing I loathe the most!




So is the oven cleaner trick worth it? In professional home blogger terms - kinda sorta. It definitely helped me out, but wasn't a once and done application like I had high hopes for.



home office with feminine vintage glam style. farrow and ball dead salmon wall paint. loloi alice rug, farmhouse table desk. white upholstered office chair, gold etageres with craft and office supply storage, black sewing cabinet in front of window

The moral of the story is that good things take time, and refinishing furniture is no exception. If you are trying to unveil that gorgeous raw wood you're going to have to put in the effort and a little elbow grease.


home office with feminine vintage glam style. farrow and ball dead salmon wall paint. loloi alice rug, farmhouse table desk. white upholstered office chair, gold etageres with craft and office supply storage, black sewing cabinet in front of window

So can we talk about this table transformation now??? I am in LOVE with how this table turned out! I wanted a light, natural wood tone for my vintage glam office and I think this table is giving off all of the right vibes! We inherited this table from my Mother in Law, and while it is a strong solid table, I never loved the curvy trestle bottom.


As I always say, fill your home with the things that bring you joy! Like our playroom coffee table, this table got a set of new (old) legs too! These beautiful turned legs are from my grandparents' original farmhouse table.




After cleaning them, I gave them a few coats of flat black paint for a brand new look. My husband and I played Dr. Frankenstein and pieced our 2 family tables together for a match made in heaven that gives me butterflies! What do you think???


refinishing a dining table with new antique turned farmhouse table legs

The legs weren't as long as the original trestle base so we added a painted 4x4 to each end to lift the table to the appropriate height. We made a few mistakes with securing the legs to the base because, in case you didn't know, we're not furniture making experts! When we originally assembled everything together the table wobbled significantly! So here's what you need to know:


  • Use long sturdy bolts, not basic wood screws for a project like this!


  • Along with bolting everything together, apply wood glue or construction adhesive between layers. As my dad said, "glue and screw!"


  • If you don't get it right on the first try, you haven't utterly failed! Go back to the drawing board and find a better way. We had to have a lot of these brainstorming sessions. lol


changing the legs on an antique dining table

We also had to add a piece of 1x4 trim to the 2 long ends as a "skirt" to conceal where the 4x4 and legs meet. This wasn't a difficult task, but not something we had originally factored into the project.


the rural legend, farmhouse table makeover, home office, vintage boho glam office, antique furniture restoration

If you're curious about the sanding and sealing process when refinishing wood furniture you can find my tips and tutorials here and here.


home office with feminine vintage glam style. farrow and ball dead salmon wall paint. loloi alice rug, farmhouse table desk. white upholstered office chair, gold etageres with craft and office supply storage, black sewing cabinet in front of window

Now that my office desk is complete, I can start bringing in some of the smaller details to the space, and I cannot wait to show you what's coming next! Make sure to subscribe at the bottom of the page to receive email updates when new posts are published! And remember to follow along on Instagram for more easy DIYs, home styling tips, and a peek inside our every day life!


xoxo, L




shop the space





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home office with feminine vintage glam style. farrow and ball dead salmon wall paint. loloi alice rug, farmhouse table desk. white upholstered office chair, gold etageres with craft and office supply storage, black sewing cabinet in front of window
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