How To Restore a Tallboy
How do you restore an old tallboy?
A dowdy tallboy that was out for hard rubbish can become a genuinely good-looking piece of bedroom storage. The sequence is clean it, paper the drawer fronts, glue on new handles, and wax the exposed timber — no screws, no stripping, and most of the elapsed time is curing rather than working.
The detail that makes this method work is that the handles are glued into precut holes in the wallpaper rather than screwed through it. That avoids splitting the paper and avoids drilling new holes in the drawer front to suit handles that do not match the old centres.
What you need
- Selleys Sugar Soap
- Selleys Araldite 5 Minute
- Wallpaper
- A non-solvent based adhesive for the wallpaper
- New handles
- Feast Watson Wax in Natural
- A paint roller, a soft dry cloth, scissors or a knife, and a bucket
How to restore a tallboy
- Mix ½ cup of Selleys Sugar Soap into ½ bucket (5 litres) of water. Use a soft clean cloth to clean the tallboy from top to bottom with the sugar soap solution.
- Cut the wallpaper slightly oversized to the face of the drawer, and cut holes in the middle of the wallpaper where the handles will be.
- Attach the wallpaper to the drawer with a non-solvent based adhesive. It applies white so it is easy to see where you have been, but dries clear for a neat finish. Apply glue to the tallboy and to the wallpaper, then attach the wallpaper to the drawer. Use a paint roller to make sure the wallpaper is smooth. If any glue squeezes out, clean it up with a cloth and some water.
- When the wallpaper glue is dry, cut off any overhang.
- Use Selleys Araldite 5 Minute to glue the new handles into the precut holes in the wallpaper, which avoids the need for screws. Dispense equal parts of both liquids onto a clean disposable surface — a disposable plastic plate works well — and mix both parts together thoroughly. Apply the mixed glue to both the drawer and the hardware, then bring them together. Leave to dry for 16 hours before using.
- Polish the exposed wooden areas with Feast Watson Soft Wax in Natural. Apply a thin even coat with a soft dry cloth, leave for 5–10 minutes to penetrate the timber, then buff the surface with a clean dry cloth to achieve an even coating with a higher sheen.
Why each stage matters
Sugar soap before anything else
An old tallboy carries years of furniture polish, dust and hand grease, and nothing sticks to that. Cleaning it off is what lets the wallpaper adhesive, the epoxy and the wax each bond to the piece rather than to a film sitting on top of it.
The ratio here — ½ cup into ½ a bucket, 5 litres — is for standard Selleys Original Sugar Soap. If you have the Super Concentrate, the same ½ cup goes into a full 10 litre bucket.
Cut the handle holes before the paper goes on
This is easy to leave until later and much harder if you do. Cutting a clean hole in wallpaper that is already bonded down means cutting on a surface you cannot support from behind, and the paper tears rather than cuts. Mark the handle centres from the drawer, cut the holes while the sheet is flat, and align them as you lay it.
Why a non-solvent adhesive for the paper
A water-based, non-solvent adhesive gives you working time. It applies white so you can see the coverage, and it dries clear so any missed patch or slight squeeze-out disappears. Just as importantly, it lets you slide the sheet into position — a contact adhesive such as Kwik Grip grabs instantly and gives you no second chance, which is why the bedside table version of this project handles the alignment quite differently. See how to restore a bedside table if you would rather use contact adhesive.
Roller the paper down properly. Squeeze-out cleans up with a cloth and water while it is wet, and not afterwards.
Trim after the glue is dry, not before
Wet paper stretches and tears; dry, bonded paper cuts cleanly against the edge of the drawer. That is why the oversize allowance exists — you are trimming to the finished edge rather than trying to land the cut perfectly first time.
The handles, and the 16 hours
Selleys Araldite 5 Minute is a two-part epoxy. Dispense equal parts, mix thoroughly until the mixture goes creamy and small bubbles appear, and then move — the published working time is 2 to 3 minutes at 20°C. Do not strain the joint for the first 30 minutes, and leave it the full 16 hours before using the drawer, which is when the epoxy reaches maximum strength. Its published bond strength is up to 75 kg/cm² on clean, abraded steel.
Get the back of each handle clean, dry and free of grease before you glue — those strength figures assume a clean, abraded surface, and a quick scuff on the mating face makes a real difference.
Wax last, and only on bare timber
Wax goes on at the end for a reason: it is a release layer as far as adhesives are concerned. Any wax that gets onto a surface you still intend to glue or paper will stop the bond forming. Do all the sticking first, then wax the exposed timber.
Limitations
- Araldite will not bond PTFE, polyethylene or polypropylene. If the new handles are moulded plastic, check what they are — Selleys All Plastics with its primer pen handles those plastics.
- Epoxy bonds soften above 60°C and recover when they cool.
- Pre-test on leather if any of the hardware has a leather pull.
- Cold weather extends bonding times.
- Glued handles are not a substitute for screws where the load is real. A clothes drawer is well within it; a drawer full of tools is not.
- Uncured Araldite cleans up with acetone or nail polish remover — but acetone will also damage most wallpapers, so keep the squeeze-out minimal and wipe with a cotton bud rather than a wet rag.
Safety: sugar soap at the start, epoxy at the end
This project is deliberately low-solvent — the wallpaper goes on with a water-based adhesive and the finish is wax — so only two steps carry a serious classification, and they sit at opposite ends of the job.
Step 1, the sugar soap. Both Original Sugar Soap and the Super Concentrate carry the signal word Danger on a single classification: H318, causes serious eye damage, Category 1. That is permanent injury rather than a sting that passes, and the product is alkaline at roughly pH 11 — alkali injuries to the eye keep penetrating the tissue instead of self-limiting the way acid burns do. The risk is concentrated in the step the method describes in one line: measuring half a cup of concentrate and pouring it into the bucket. That is the moment of undiluted product at arm's length, and it is the moment nobody wears glasses. Wear them for the pour; the diluted solution on a cloth is a much milder proposition. If you would rather not handle concentrate at all, Instant Sugar Soap is ready to use and carries Warning with H319, serious eye irritation, which resolves.
Step 5, the Araldite. Araldite 5 Minute carries the signal word Danger, and the classification sits mostly on Part B, the hardener: skin corrosion Category 1C (causes severe skin burns), eye damage Category 1, and skin sensitisation Category 1. Part A, the resin, carries skin and eye irritation and skin sensitisation as well. The relevant detail is what the method asks you to do: dispense both parts onto a plate and mix them thoroughly. People mix epoxy with a fingertip, or wipe the stirrer clean on a thumb, and that is direct contact with an uncured Category 1C hardener. Sensitisation is the slower problem — it is not irritation, it is generally permanent once acquired, and it is built by exactly that sort of casual repeated contact rather than by one big spill. Mix with a disposable stick, wear nitrile gloves, and keep the plate away from the edge of the bench.
The wallpaper step is the safe one, and that is worth noticing. The guide specifies a non-solvent adhesive for working-time reasons, and the safety benefit comes free: the contact-adhesive alternative, Kwik Grip Horizontal, carries H225, highly flammable liquid and vapour, and releases solvent for the whole 20 to 40 minute flash-off. In a closed bedroom in winter, that is a very different job.
Poisons Information Centre — 131 126 in Australia, 0800 764 766 in New Zealand.
Common questions about restoring a tallboy
How much sugar soap do I mix?
Half a cup into half a bucket — 5 litres — for standard Selleys Original Sugar Soap. The Super Concentrate is half a cup into a full 10 litre bucket.
What adhesive do I use for the wallpaper?
A non-solvent based adhesive. It applies white so you can see the coverage and dries clear, and it gives you time to position the sheet.
Can I use a contact adhesive instead?
You can, but it changes the technique — contact adhesives bond instantly on contact and give you no repositioning. Both faces are coated and kept apart for about 20 minutes before joining.
When do I cut the handle holes?
Before the wallpaper goes on, while the sheet is flat. Cutting them afterwards tears the paper.
When do I trim the overhang?
Once the wallpaper glue is dry. Wet paper stretches and tears rather than cutting cleanly.
How do I clean up glue that squeezes out?
A cloth and some water, while it is still wet.
How long do I have once the Araldite is mixed?
Two to three minutes at 20°C. Mix only as much as you can use.
How long before I can use the drawers?
Leave the handles 16 hours, which is when Araldite 5 Minute reaches maximum strength. Do not strain the joint at all for the first 30 minutes.
Will glued handles actually hold?
For clothing drawers, yes, provided both surfaces were clean and dry. Araldite 5 Minute is rated up to 75 kg/cm² on clean abraded steel — a figure per square centimetre of bonded area, so a handle with a decent flat mating face is far stronger than one that touches at two small points.
What if the handles are plastic?
Check the material. Araldite will not bond polyethylene or polypropylene; Selleys All Plastics with its primer pen will.
Why wax at the end?
Wax stops adhesives bonding. Do all the papering and gluing first, then wax the exposed timber, leave it 5–10 minutes to penetrate and buff it off.
What else can I do to the piece?
Line the drawers with the leftover paper as in how to restore a bedside table, or fill any dents first — see filling dents in timber furniture.
How much sugar soap do I mix?
Half a cup into half a bucket — 5 litres — for standard Selleys Original Sugar Soap. The Super Concentrate is half a cup into a full 10 litre bucket.
What adhesive do I use for the wallpaper?
A non-solvent based adhesive. It applies white so you can see the coverage and dries clear, and it gives you time to position the sheet.
Can I use a contact adhesive instead?
You can, but it changes the technique — contact adhesives bond instantly on contact and give you no repositioning. Both faces are coated and kept apart for about 20 minutes before joining.
When do I cut the handle holes?
Before the wallpaper goes on, while the sheet is flat. Cutting them afterwards tears the paper.
When do I trim the overhang?
Once the wallpaper glue is dry. Wet paper stretches and tears rather than cutting cleanly.
How do I clean up glue that squeezes out?
A cloth and some water, while it is still wet.
How long do I have once the Araldite is mixed?
Two to three minutes at 20°C. Mix only as much as you can use.
How long before I can use the drawers?
Leave the handles 16 hours, which is when Araldite 5 Minute reaches maximum strength. Do not strain the joint at all for the first 30 minutes.
Will glued handles actually hold?
For clothing drawers, yes, provided both surfaces were clean and dry. Araldite 5 Minute is rated up to 75 kg/cm² on clean abraded steel — a figure per square centimetre of bonded area, so a handle with a decent flat mating face is far stronger than one that touches at two small points.
What if the handles are plastic?
Check the material. Araldite will not bond polyethylene or polypropylene; Selleys All Plastics with its primer pen will.
Why wax at the end?
Wax stops adhesives bonding. Do all the papering and gluing first, then wax the exposed timber, leave it 5–10 minutes to penetrate and buff it off.
What else can I do to the piece?
Line the drawers with the leftover paper as in how to restore a bedside table , or fill any dents first — see filling dents in timber furniture .