How to Upcycle an Ikea Bekvam Kitchen Trolley

I decided to update our plain IKEA Bekvam Kitchen Trolley after it spent a sad year living outdoors on a patio.  It was pretty worse for wear and covered with lots of dirt and stains.

Materials Needed – Ikea Kitchen Trolley Update

– Damp cloths  – Multi-purpose cleaner – Drop cloth – Sandpaper – Paint brushes – Wood stain – Primer and Paint – Polyurethane spray

Step 1: Sanding

Before I started sanding I cleaned the kitchen trolley thoroughly with a cloth and soap and then dried it off thoroughly.

I used a small hand sander because I already had one, but for a small project you can easily just go at it with the sandpaper alone. 100 grit should work fine for most projects.

I alternated putting a coat of stain on the butcher’s block style top with painting parts of the legs and trays white. The bottom of the trolley only needed 2 coats of paint.

Step 2: Painting & Staining

Step 3:Polyurethane Coat place

The polyurethane spray unfortunately needs two hours of drying between coats. I did 3 coats as per the bottles instructions.

I purchased polyurethane spray which made applying super quick, but you can get it as a brush on varnish, it doesn’t have to be a spray.

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