This summer I spent some time at home in Canada with my dad. My dad is amazing at wood work! Creating things, refinishing things, and fixing things. He can look at a piece of wood and say "You know what I could do with that!..." I was inspired to do a like wood work myself.
My living room lacks any way of telling time unless you strain your neck just the right way at just the right angle to read it off the microwave. I set off to find just the right thing, something simple I could refinish, so I hit the local thrift store and found this. (Sorry I forgot to take a picture until I was part way into sanding.)

And I got it for this price...

I thought it would look great in black!
I removed the glass and tried to remove the face plate but that baby is on there good! No amount of prying and unscrewing screws worked. I really wasn't keen on keeping the Ducks Unlimited logo! I would have to think of something later.

I spent a whole day sanding this baby. We had saw dust on the kitchen table, in the carpet, on the back porch and all over the front porch, everywhere ape baby wanted to go (or where I could find something to entertain her) I would take it with me and kept my hands a moving as long as she would let me.

My intentions were to stain it ebony, but after sanding it I kind of liked it just the way it was! It looked almost white washed antiquish.

So I grabbed some scrap paper and cut a few circles out and tried them on. Found one I liked and modge podged it over the DU, I put it back together, muted the chime that rings on the hour and VOILA!
I LOVE IT! Now we have a decent way of knowing what time it is all for less than $10!