After this, there is a desk and small dresser as possible projects. I am becoming increasingly interested in furniture refinishing/restoration as a hobby. I've seen some gorgeous solid wood art deco and MCM pieces recently (selling for cheap!) that would look incredible if refinished properly. More on bogleheads.org

I'm refinishing a desk I bought used off of facebook marketplace. First time jumping into a project like this (I'm not a handy man). Will be for my 6yr old daughter. I was going to paint the entire desk off white to match her provisional dresser and bed...however, I kind of like the wood texture. Thinking of leaving the dark wood texture on top of the desk and painting the rest off white. Any recommendations on what type of finish to apply on top? I'm using citristrip to strip off the paint. Worked great on top of the desk and on top of the hutch (was satisfying removing the paint with the putty knife...like peeling off a scab)...however, doesn't seem to work as easily on the legs of the desk and other tight spots. Is it better to use a sander or is there a better method than just simply using a brush to apply paint stripper? I'm not even sure if I need to be thorough with this. Can I get away with just lightly sanding over everything or do I really need to strip off all of the paint? Also, when I attempted to remove the hinges off of the cabinet, I removed some of the wood with it (see photos I attached). Is there something I can use to to fix this? What's the best method in order to remove stuck hinges? I don't want to do the same mistake again with the other hinges. More on reddit.com

Many "Card cabinet scrapers". Plus a file block sharpener and a burnisher! Oh, and maybe a Kremlin 10-14, but start with the cabinet scrapers More on reddit.com

You have a unique writing style. Here’s what I have and it’s not aimed at restoration but just good handy-person tools. powered drill orbital sander/palm sander a solid hammer saws- I have coping, basic wood hand saw. I wish I had a proper circular saw though. a set of metric and imperial wrenches pilers of various sizes. a solid set of Philips and flat head screw drivers. Specific to restoration- 1)Wood chisels. 2)Plenty of sandpaper of various grits (coarse to fine. The lower the # the coarser it is) 3)Rasps 4)Files for tight spaces 5)Dental picks 6)Spackle knife 7)Wire brushes (metal refinishing) As for finishing techniques on a sunny coast, I don’t have experiences there but many natural oil finishes are durable in many conditions and there are a lot of varnishes and epoxy’s that are durable. Also, wear proper PPE: goggles, respirator/filer mask, and gloves when working with old stuff. You are not sure if lead paint was involved and flying debris is an issue. Please also watch some YouTube videos on how to operate tools. I was lucky my dad showed me how to do all this stuff but you will make mistakes, so be patient and try not to hurt yourself. Good luck. More on reddit.com