Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Dresser Refinish


When I got married almost 6 years ago, this was the dresser I brought with me.  It is old, beautiful, and beat up!!  Unfortunately I forgot to take the BEFORE picture, and we had already sanded the bottom two drawers when I remembered.  But I am sure you have a good imagination.


Here is the majority of what we used (when I say we I mostly mean my husband, I did help though). 


First we sanded it to death.  It had a thick layer of varnish and stain that was hard to get off.  After it was sanded we wiped it down with paint thinner to clean it up real nice.


Then we painted 2 quick coats of white paint that we had lying around (it isn't pictured above).  Before using the paint we added a little Flotrol (also not pictured).  This helps the paint go on smooth with no brush strokes.  After each coat it was lightly sanded with 220 grit sandpaper.


Then we painted 3 coats of the color I picked, Valspar's Flood Tide 5001-6A.  We also added Flotrol to this paint.  Again it was sanded in between each coat.  This made it so smooth!  After it was all painted we were going to glaze it like they do here.  We started painting it on one side and, YUCK!  I don't know why it didn't work, but it looked terrible!!  It made everything just look dirty.  People would have looked at it and said, "man, do these people every clean their furniture".  So instead we used a wood stain.


To get this same look, after the dresser is sanded and distressed the way you like, brush on some of the wood stain.  We used Walnut colored stain.  Leave it on for just a little while then wipe it off again.


Since we painted with white underneath, when you sand just the color off it shows through beautifully.  After we stained the whole dresser and distressed it, we sprayed it with the Clear Wood Finish.  This lacquer worked wonderfully.  It is very easy to use and doesn't run.  We did 3 coats.  After the first two it was sanded with 400 grit sandpaper.  The third coat was put on really thinly.


For the hardware we spray painted them with a rubbed bronze finish.  Before spraying them, they need to be roughly sanded so the paint will stick.



This is the top of the dresser.  I love this big spot, it probably won't ever be covered.

Here is the AFTER picture ( I got all the drawers in this picture!).

I am in LOVE with this dresser.  It turned out just the way I pictured it.

28 comments:

Amy said...

Oh my, I love it!

kim west said...

oh this is so cute! I think your whole blog is adorable!!!!

Sue@Uniquely Chic said...

I love this dresser too. The color is perfect and so is the distressing. I've been wanting to try stain as a glaze instead of regular glaze...next time I will. Really beautiful!!!!

Vanessa said...

I LOVE this piece! I have a small table/cabinet in my kitchen that is very similar in finish! Looks like you guys did a great job!

willowcreek said...

I love the dresser! Great color choice. I found you at Miss Mustard Seed. I love your blog. Come visit me at www.willowcreeks.blogspot.com

Jenny said...

It's beautiful! Love the style of the dresser, love the color and the distressing too! Well done!

Kate said...

Looks beautiful!! I'm going to feauture your dresser in my Flaunt it Friday features Saturday. Come on by and grab an "I was featured" button if you'd like. Thanks for linking my party! :)

Vanessa@Lovin-Life said...

Love it. I am going to do this to my dresser soon!

Kim @ A Brush of Whimsy said...

I love the color and the distressing! Awesome job!

Cassie Bustamante said...

that turned out beautifully! love the color you chose and the distressed finish- i hopped over from tatertots and jello to see!

The Cottage Chick said...

You mention a product called Flotrol? I have never heard of this. You add it to the paint and it helps not have brush strokes? I didn't know sucha thing existed. I am happy to hear about this and am going to look for it. I love your transformed piece of furniture! Thanks for sharing.

Denise

One Life Many Journeys said...

Visiting from Funky Junk. Very nice finish. Amazing what color can do to update a piece of furniture!

abeachcottage said...

Visiting from the blog hop, Love the new look of the dresser, the new color has brightened it up, well done!

Queen Bee Media said...

This turned out really cute! I am thinking I should do a dresser we have in our family room a pretty blue too! Thanks for sharing and it's a great tute!

Esther Lynn said...

This look GREAT!! Makes me want to redo something NOW!! Great JOb!!

http://createthelifeyourlllove.blogspot.com/

Shelley@1510farmhousefancy said...

Great makeover!!! I love the color!!

Jane @ Jane's Junk and Treasures said...

Great job!
You did a really nice job on the distressing!
I love the color!

I just became a follower!
Stop by and say hi sometime!

Jamie @ DIY Home Sweet Home said...

That turned out beautiful.

Vintage Culler said...

That dresser turned out beautiful! I love the color and everything about it.

Trisha @ The Sweet Survival said...

What an amazing transformation! I love the color.

Cara @ Gardenview Cottage said...

love the color! It turned out great.

Allison said...

I love your dresser, too! So beautiful!

Cristie said...

The color and the distressing you did is fabulous! great job.

Unknown said...

I so have been on the lookout for a similar piece for our TV also. Your's turned out great!! The color is nice & I love all the distressing. Thanks bunches for linking ths wonderful makeover to my blog bash K.I.S.S., much appreciated. :)

http://thetatteredtag.blogspot.com

Daiane Cascini said...

Muito lindo!

Unknown said...

thank you so much for these tips! im in the middle of a similar dresser! sooooo helpful! :)

wall art said...

That is really a cool transformation. You had fixed it very well and let it shine for the second time around.

Steph @ somewhatsimple said...

I love this dresser!