Refinishing a Cheap Ikea Bed Frame

[seglie]

Hello, I have a cheap but reliable simple Ikea box bed frame. It originally came with that fancy wood grained style contact paper glue to the particle board type wood to give the "rich and famous look" without spending much money. After multiple moves, the contact paper is tearing off and I was hoping the group might have some suggestions for how to cover up the tattered mess. I have considered contact paper again or possibly buying some thin wood and gluing/nailing it around the outside. The parts that need to be covered are the outside facing wood (largest surface area) and the 1" width of the same piece of wood that faces up.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Thanks!

[JoeSpareBedroom]

What does the wood look like? Particle board, or solid wood?

[seglie]

The "real" wood underneath the contact paper looks like thick particle board.

[Lawrence]

Don't waste your time or money. Ikea is good for what they do, however, their furniture is not worth the effort to refinish. Standard advice: toss it and buy another. Refinishing is for real wood not particle board.

If you are absolutely in love with this priceless heirloom then by all means do whatever you wish with it. It's your bed, your time and money. The ideas you have are fine otherwise you can just paint the darn thing and call it done. Whatever you do, you cannot screw up a cheap piece like that.

[JoeSpareBedroom]

If you can remove the vinyl fake wood stuff completely, and sand the wood enough to produce a surface with no remaining adhesive, you might be able to apply a nice wood veneer. If I were you, I'd post this same question in another newsgroup, rec.woodworking. You'll probably be buried in response by tonight.

Something to consider: The cost of the tools needed to do the job may be higher than buying a better wooden bed frame, or a nice solid metal one.

Another option would be a dust ruffle to hide the ugly frame. I hate dust ruffles, but some people think they're great.

[marks542004]

I would go with contact paper. Its the easiest to do although may not be the cheapest.

Next choice would be to clean it up and paint it.

Another option Might be to get a sheet of the wall panelling and cut a piece of that to cover the side. You might need some trim to hide the edges.

Whatever you try is coing to be cheaper than a new one. Unless you need a lot of tools.

[BobK207]

however, their furniture is not worth the effort to refinish. Standard advice: toss it and buy another. Refinishing is for real wood not particle board.