There’s something to be said for getting the job done with whatever tools you have. It’s commendable, respectable, admirably resourceful. But there’s also something to be said for getting the job done in an hour—because you have the right tools—and freeing up your weekend for the completion of more honey-do’s. Both approaches have merit, and I believe to ultimately “get good” at anything, you have to first “get good” at the basics first. Time and repetition do matter.

But so does having the right tools for that time and those repetitions!

Below, I’m walking you through the Top 10 Furniture Refinishing Tools that not only will save you time, but will add quality craftsmanship to you furniture work. From power tools to sandpaper, everything matters and it’s important that your workshop serve your projects properly.

Let’s get your workshop outfitted right.

Top 10 Tools for Furniture Refinishing

Number 10: 3M Respirator

While not technically a tool, the respirator is the most important accessory to any tool I use. Why? Because almost all of the tools used inside furniture refinishing expose the furniture refinisher to a harsh, noxious combination of vapors, particles, and dust. Protecting your airways is ESSENTIAL. While sanding treated wood, stripping paint, or spraying lacquer, always wear respiratory protection. There is no pride to be taken in exposing yourself unnecessarily to harmful chemicals. If you don’t have one yet, buy one. Now. They’re not that uncomfortable. I wear mine daily and replace the cartridges every 3 to 4 months. If you purchase the respirator linked below, the cartridges come included at a discount.

Purchase on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4lU8V3h

Number 9: Mouse Sander

Often neglected in comparison to its cousins, the orbital sander and Surf Prep sander, the mouse sander punches above its weight as a furniture refinishing tool, and at a price point that’s 1/20th of the cost of its cousins, it’s a must have in your workshop.

Removing old finish is a bread-and-butter task of furniture refinishing. You can use sandpaper to do it. Dental tools. A screwdriver. Your nails. Just about anything can remove finish. But when it comes to the corners of the piece, the mouse sander is so, so, so clutch, because the corners take forever. Word to the wise: don’t take forever when you can take five seconds.

Get yourself a mouse sander, use it when your piece puts you in a corner, and get on with the next phase of your project.

Purchase on Amazon: https://amzn.to/44ynrbf

Number 8: Steel Wool Grade 0000

While technically a supply and not a tool, steel wool is truly invaluable to the furniture refinisher because if we’re to live up to our name and say, actually put a new finish on a piece, we better put a smooth finish on our piece. Steel wool is our purveyor of smooth.

Nothing is worse than getting to the end of a project, a project which required you dedicate Saturday afternoons, afternoons where you could have been watching your Oklahoma Sooners stampede over their conference opponents, afternoons where you could have been getting better at tennis or golf or surfing or napping, and watching that project fail at the finish line because its finish is bumpy.

Steel Wool 0000 is your ticket out of amateur hour and into professional furniture refinishing. Between layers of lacquer, between rounds of polyurethane, rub your piece with steel wool (but don’t forget to wipe-off the residue!). Then, after all those afternoons of work, you’ll be pleased with your sacrifices of football and napping, maybe even proud.

Purchase on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4m1kg1O

Number 7: Clamps

Occasionally—okay, more than occasionally, let’s say weekly, maybe hourly—to get the finish you’d like for your furniture, you must repair your furniture. To the make the necessary repairs, like reattaching veneer that’s come loose or reglueing a drawer that’s come apart, you’ll need clamps. Unless, of course, you like standing in your workshop and squeezing things with your hands. In that case, help yourself to those idle hours. You’ll earn yourself some chiseled, woodworker hands.

Jokes aside, clamps are awesome. I have multiple sizes in my workshop and to seem to always need a size bigger. This Jorgensen set is a great addition to any shop and let me tell you, much cheaper than buying each of them individually.

Purchase on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3UhxHyy

Number 6: Molding Scraper

Speaking of corners, those pesky corners, sometimes the mouse sander doesn’t get everything. And you’re stuck with a choice: use your fingers and sandpaper to grind out the rest of the finish that remains or use a molding scraper. Please, for your fingertips and your ability to continue to use your fingertips to access your computer and phone, use the molding scraper. It’s a furniture refinisher’s utility infielder.

Generally, Hyde makes superb woodworking products and their molding scraper is no exception. It reaches every angle, even contour, and almost daily, helps me pry open cans of paint and stain.

A molding scraper is a massive efficiency booster.

Purchase on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3IyrWtO

Number 5: Sanding Blocks

Let us begin with their utility: sanding blocks apply consistent pressure while sanding wood, particularly veneer, and allow you to control the depth of sanding.

Now, let us get to the soul of their essence: sometimes, for the love of not losing yourself and your hearing in the monotony of orbital sanding, sanding blocks offer you a break.

I, unlike many in our profession, actually enjoy sanding. I find it rewarding. Maybe I’m a psycho. But even me, the psycho, gets tired of holding the orbital sander. Sometimes, for the soul, you just need a break. Enter sanding blocks.

You’ll find a new, useful means for them in the shop on the daily. And you won’t have to buy sandpaper for them. Recycle any old orbital sandpaper you’ve got lying around.

Purchase on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4m2GVuB

Number 4: Paint Sprayer

I know, I know, I know. Painting furniture is not furniture refinishing. Paint should never go on wood furniture. Paint is a crime against humanity. I get it.

But I’m ready to admit something: Paint, on occasion, makes furniture look much much better. And at the end of the day, our job is to make furniture look better. And furthermore, the best way to make paint look good is to spray it.

Remember, we’re leaving amateur hour behind, which means we’re leaving brush marks behind. And roll marks. If we’re going to commit a crime against humanity, we better make the crime look damn good. Spraying is the best way to accomplish this.

HomeRight’s sprayer is cheap with an adjustable flow and doesn’t require an air compressor. Sign me up.

(Psst: if you’d like a how-to-guide for getting a professional, painted finish, here’s a video: https://youtu.be/kSFQ_BfT0U4?si=PS-T3TVPMoTLSvJI)

Purchase on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4kB4YPX

Number 3: Festool Sander and Dust Extraction System

If you were to analyze the surface of every piece I’ve every worked upon, you’d clearly see the demarcation of before and after I acquired my Festool 125 EQS and Dust Extraction System. No more pigtails. Only smooth, level, consistency. If, as the saying goes, “the smooth merchant leaves no traces”, then the smooth merchant must have owned a Festool.

It’s ergonomically built, which matters immensely over jobs which require sanding for hours on end. It’s fairly light too, much lighter than my other other orbital sanders. And it’s designed to be built into a dust extraction system. Speaking of which, here’s the link to the dust extraction system: https://amzn.to/4m07aBM

(I can literally sand in my “going out clothes” right before going out to dinner with my wife. No dust. Not a speck. YOU CAN SAND INDOORS!)

Purchase on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Iy3SXY

Number 2: General Tool Kit

In furniture, as in life, you will be presented with chaos and uncertainty and limited experience with which to guide yourself through it. In furniture, as in life, owning a general tool kit will be to your advantage.

In the course of my daily work on furniture, I have used just about every tool in this general toolbox. Wrench. Socket set. Tiny screwdrivers of all flathead and Philips orientations. Sometimes, there’s just not a tool to solve the problem you have in the shop and you’ve gotta improvise. A general toolkit is your improvisation parachute.

Buy one and be surprised how often you find ways to use it.

Purchase on Amazon: https://amzn.to/44LZBHP

Number One: Pull Scraper

Why is a pull scraper number one? Why not any other tool? Why something this simple?

Because truly, there is no other tool as versatile and immediately helpful as the pull scraper. Scraping finish (painted or varnished) is a fundamental task of furniture refinishing. Scraping something fast, without damaging the wood below, is the fundamental task to master. Without a pull scraper, I cannot conceive how it’s possible to master that task.

Purchase on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4m4KSPv

Want proof? Here’s the hardest paint I’ve ever scraped, pull scraper to thank:

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Did I miss a product? Drop a comment, and I’ll send a recommendation your way. You can also see my full inventory of workshop tools and supplies HERE.

Disclaimer: Not all of these products are affiliate products, but some are attached with a link. If you purchase the product after clicking the link, I receive a small commission in return from Amazon.