Dresser Upgrade

Dresser before (in blue and yellow) and after with natural wood top and chalk painted the rest.

I’ll be the first to say that my refinishing skills are average, but I did pick up a few skills learned from my Mom. She learned from a good friend whom I would argue to be one of the best wood restorers in the country. His work is stunning. Both of them have passed on, and every time I take on a refinishing project, I wish I could give them a call to answer my questions.

Like my Mom, I can’t pass up a sad piece of furniture without envisioning its potential beauty. She would always choose to bring it back to its natural wood, which I have come to admire and appreciate the work she put into that refinishing process, especially after spending hours myself working on a piece.

Five years ago I was on a mission to find several pieces of used furniture for my daughter who had moved into a new home and was expecting our first grandchild. I was living in Texas and any Texan knows that the mother of all antique/used furniture shows is the Roundtop Antique Festival held twice a year. It’s hard to describe the miles of tents and buildings overflowing with goods. I could digress…

Long story short, I drove my friend in my Honda CRV and came home with her in the back seat because it was the only way to get it all in. Actually, I had to leave five chairs and one dresser behind to pick up later. I am happy to say she is still a good friend!

Carol still smiling in the back seat with a little furniture.

Nice Blue and yellow vintage dresser, just right for an update.

One of the pieces I brought home was this highboy dresser. My first step was to strip it down to its original wood, and change the hardware. I knew that even if I repainted it, the detail would show up so much better if it was stripped because there were several coats of paint on it and the colors just didn’t go with my daughter’s interior. We had already stripped another dresser and did a white wash (thin layer of white paint diluted), and we were hoping to match that same finish.

The stripping was not fun or easy. I used Citri-Strip which works well, but you do have to be patient and it took a few applications and lots of scraping, washing down with mineral spirits and scrubbing with steel wool. One tip I learned from my Mom was to cover the piece with cellophane wrap after you brush on the Citri-Strip so that it won’t dry out while the product works on the paint.

Once the stripping was done, I washed down the dresser with mineral spirits to remove any stripper residue and dust from sanding. Then I let it dry overnight.

I wanted the dresser to be natural wood with the same white wash as the other dresser, but after closer inspection, I saw that the front of the drawers had veneer panels and the bottom drawer had a few imperfections, so I decided to paint the body of the dresser and leave the beautiful top stained to show off the natural grain of the wood. That also meant that my daughter no longer wanted the dresser, so lucky me! I will do the work and enjoy it in my own home.

I taped off the body of the dresser and stained the wood top first. I primed the wood with a wood conditioner that helps the wood take on stain evenly, following the directions on the can. I used Minwax Water Based Pre Stain Conditioner, then I used a Minwax Gel Stain in hickory. It went on very nicely with a soft cloth. Once the stain dried, I was able to apply a satin sealer called Deft Clear Wood Finish. It gives the wood protection and I love the satin finish. I applied two coats, letting it dry in between coats.

Same stain I used for some chairs we brought home that day. Rich color that I love without covering the grain.

On to the body of the dresser. I first used a little bit of wood putty to smooth out the edges of the rough veneer paneled drawer and once dried, I sanded smooth. Then I painted the body of the dresser using Valspar Chalk Paint. It went on smoothly with a roller and a two inch brush for details. I painted in light coats and after the second coat had dried, I discovered that there was a persistent pink tint coming through the paint. After a little internet search, I learned that older pieces of furniture often have wood tannins that bleed through, and you have to block the stain from coming through with a shellac product. Off to the hardware store I went. I found a spray shellac primer and that did the trick. I made sure the paint was completely dry and then once I applied the shellac, I waited another day before painting a final coat of chalk paint.

The shellac-based primer I used to block the bleed through.

I could have taken the pic before I painted, but now you can see how messy I am.

Now I let the dresser sit for a few days to fully cure the paint. I also needed to decide on a final finish (aka sealer). Do I wax the piece or apply a spray sealer. I chose the spray because I want this dresser to match some Jenny Lind headboards that I want to paint the same color and I know that often a sealer like wax can yellow a bit with age. Waxing spindles on the headboards (x3) does not sound like fun. So I went with a spray sealer. Also, I added some wood knobs and stained them the same color as the top of the dresser. They were inexpensive and tied in the wood accent.

Again, I waited several days for the sealer to dry before moving it to its home upstairs. I am very pleased with my final product. If you have any questions or comments, I would be happy to answer. I added a little slideshow of the process below. Don’t forget to hit subscribe at the bottom of the page if you want to be informed of new posts or updates to my blog.

Grateful,

Brenda