We have had these pine bookshelves for over 20 yrs and I thought they could do with an update, so I sanded, primed and painted them. While doing that, I also painted the front room that they are in and tidied the area up. I still need to restore my grandparents' chairs but that's a project for another day.
Before 
After
Materials
- Sandpaper
- All purpose filler to fill dents and some of the bigger knots
- Primer/undercoat (I used Crommelin Aquablock left over from another project)
- 2 large sample pots of Dulux Wishard Green
- 2 rolls of contact for back of one bookshelf
Tools
- Detail sander
- Spatula for filler
- Paint brush for cutting in corners and grooves and 100mm roller
- 18v Ozito staple gun to re-attach backing board
Steps
Step 1
Unfortunately I forgot to take many progress photos so essentially the first steps were to empty the shelves, clean them thoroughly of any dirt and dust, then I sanded with 120grit sandpaper on a detail sander to key (rough up) the varnish.
I then primed with the Aquablock and applied two top coats of the Wishard green.
Step 2
One of the bookshelves stores all my gardening books so I decided to use one of the botanical adhesive film from Bunnings to put on the backing board. Thankfully the back was only stapled on so quite easy to remove, the other bookshelf was nailed on and I thought I'd wreck it trying to take if off so just painted it instead.
It was so much easier to apply the contact this way rather than try to put it between each shelf. It didn't quite line up properly the full length but not really that noticeable unless you look closely. It helps to work a little at a time removing the backing sheet to get the smoothest finish with contact. The books helped weigh the roll down and line up the edges before fixing in place.
Step 3
With the room now painted and the shelves given a week to cure, I was able to put the room back together again and reload the shelves.
