# Refinishing Dresser



## SarahFair (Sep 24, 2012)

I was given a large heavy dresser on the free. 
Its older and the stain is fading.. 

I want to sand it down and paint it black and put new drawer pulls on it 



The top has a clear coat on it and the sides are just stained. 
Do I need to  break completely through that clear coat to paint it black?
Do I need to sand ALL the stain off or just get most of it off?

There are little detail pain in the bottom nooks in some of the drawers, do they need to get sanded perfect too?


After its all sanded whats the best bang for your buck black paint I can use?
What kind of brushes will get me a smooth finish?
What should I seal it off with?


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## Nugefan (Sep 24, 2012)

Is last pix of top or sides ???

looks like formica to me ....or a thin sheet of veneer ( sp) ....

give it a lil sanding to ruff it up , clean off with paint thinner and paint ....


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## dawg2 (Sep 24, 2012)

Nugefan said:


> Is last pix of top or sides ???
> 
> looks like formica to me ....or a thin sheet of veneer ( sp) ....
> 
> give it a lil sanding to ruff it up , clean off with paint thinner and paint ....


X2.  I would not strip it down to bare wood unless I was going to restain it.


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## SarahFair (Sep 24, 2012)

Its the top..
The sides are thin pieces of wood.

Should I bother with a primer?


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## Nugefan (Sep 24, 2012)

dawg2 said:


> X2.  I would not strip it down to bare wood unless I was going to restain it.



thats a lot of detail to be sanding ...


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## dawg2 (Sep 24, 2012)

SarahFair said:


> Its the top..
> The sides are thin pieces of wood.
> 
> Should I bother with a primer?


I would.  And have it tinted in the shade you will be painting it.  Also, if you strip it and it is a veneer, you may do more harm than good.  The veneer may separate if you have never done it.  



Nugefan said:


> thats a lot of detail to be sanding ...



Dremel!


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## redman2006 (Sep 24, 2012)

All that little detail is a pain to sand, so, being as how you will be painting and not staining, consider using a deglosser or "liquid sandpaper" for this project.  

I have used this for a few non-critical projects and been pleased.  The biggest thing is to clean it all off after you are done.  

Personally, I would still do the large surface areas with traditional sandpaper.  A 180 or 220 will scuff the surface enough for your primer to adhere.


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## SarahFair (Sep 25, 2012)

I almost have it all sanded down now. 
Do I need to go with the paint thinner for the top if I will be painting?
Its sanded down to a dull surface now 



What kind of brushes do I need?
What kind of a paint, primer, and sealer?


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## Nugefan (Sep 26, 2012)

use paint thinner on any and all surfaces that need painting , don't use Acetone and such they will leave a film .....

the better the brush the better the end result ....they can git 'spensive too ...

you'll need several sizes due to all the different areas to be painted .... from a 1 " up to a 3 " should be fine ....the wider the better on large surfaces ...


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## SGADawg (Sep 26, 2012)

Nugefan has nailed it right down the line.  Very good advice.  I have done several pieces and can add nothing to what he has said.


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## SapeloJoeBro (Sep 26, 2012)

Nice piece. Please post pics when finished.  It sure is a keeper.


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## SapeloJoeBro (Sep 26, 2012)

I always stain and use minwax products.


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## Nugefan (Sep 27, 2012)

SapeloJoeBro said:


> I always stain and use minwax products.



on new wood .... shoot yea ...


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## SarahFair (Sep 28, 2012)

I sanded it down pretty good and picked up minwax ebony..
Guess Ill do a small area and see how its going to come out


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## SarahFair (Sep 28, 2012)

Well...
I tried the stain and I dont think its going to be dark enough..
Debating on trying a 2nd coat.

First two pictures are sanded
Next two is stain setting (20 minutes)
Last Two is stain wiped up


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## Artfuldodger (Sep 28, 2012)

You were initially going to paint it. The advice given was for painting it. If you were going to stain it, even using black stain, you will have to use paint remover to remove all of the original finish. In the shape it's in, I would just paint it black.
In the future you can experiement refinishing a chest or dresser with paint remover and all the steps in that precedure.
We have some pieces painted black that we didn't think would be worth the trouble to refinish and they look nice.


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## SarahFair (Sep 28, 2012)

I panicked..

There was no one around in terms of customer service to ask if the grey primer would work for black paint
Saw the stain and took the chance.


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## Artfuldodger (Sep 28, 2012)

If you want to stain that piece after using paint remover I would use oil base stain instead of water base stain. Water base stain is harder to work with and is tricky to wipe off evenly. You have to use pre-stain to keep the finish from looking blotchy and uneven.
The first thing though is to determine, as someone mentioned, that the top is veneer and not Formica.

If you decide to paint it, you can use a weenie roller on most of it and not have brush lines. You can brush on the paint over a small area and then quickly go over it with a roller.


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## Tnwoodman (Oct 3, 2012)

First what look are you going for? If a blacked out look is what you want,(no wood grain showing) go with an aerosol lacquer spray paint. Spray thin even coats in opposing directions, first coat up and down, second side to side, last coat up and down. Then topcoat with a clear lacquer spray paint two coats. If your wanting to do a rub through look, then after you get your color coverage take a razorblade and lightly scrape edges of profiles to expose the current wood color. This will give you sharp clean distressing lines. If you want softer lines then use fine sandpaper to soften the razorblade scrapes. Once you get the look your going for topcoat. I do custom cabinet work and this is my process, only difference is I us a professional lacquer


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## SarahFair (Oct 5, 2012)

Well, I have already started painting with a brush.. Its literally taking forever. Some days I work 6+ hours because of the drawers, trying to even coverage on all coats. 

Im using Krylon Color Creations; Acrylic, Latex, Enamel; Satin Black.
This stuff is as thin as water. It says it coats in one to two coats. 
On the main dresser Im on the 4th. Bought a $10 Plymouth Painter brush (marked best :eyeroll and its leaving lines all over the place.
A sponge brush is doing better than this. Problem with the sponge brushes is they are tearing after a few strokes.
I'm lightly sanding between every coat..
When I went to get more sand paper this morning the steel wool caught my eye and I wondered if it wouldnt be easier using that for the little detail areas??


I did put two coats of Krylon grey Primer on it.
It was nice and thick, beautiful smooth finish on the 2nd coat.


Ugh. This is turning into a mess.
When my phone decides to cooperate Ill try posting updated pictures. 



If I want a nice hard sealer, what type should I use, what type of brush should I use, and should I sand between clear coats?


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## SarahFair (Oct 5, 2012)

Products Ive used


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## rjcruiser (Oct 5, 2012)

Did you sand it back down before painting?


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## SarahFair (Oct 5, 2012)

Yes I did


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## rjcruiser (Oct 5, 2012)

interesting.  I'd put on a heavy coat with a small roller on the top and sides and use the brush only for the fronts of the drawers.  Put it on thick and let it dry.  Put it on again where there isn't coverage. 

I wouldn't bother sanding the brush strokes or imperfections on the primer until the last coat.


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## Artfuldodger (Oct 5, 2012)

Your luck sounds like mine. I bought a thousand dollar car and before long i'd put so much in it , i now have a $2,000 dollar thousand dollar car.

Don't give up it'll look better once inside. Me and my wife have refinished a few pieces that didn't look to good until they were in a dark bedroom covered up with lamps, pictures, junk, etc.
After you finish this project and you are "over it", wait awhile and refinish something that you can stain & varnish. Then you will feel "redeemed".


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## SarahFair (Oct 5, 2012)

hahaha, its already inside! Im doing it in an empty bedroom.. 
Luckily the one its going in is on the north side of the house, so its not as bright in there.


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## SarahFair (Nov 6, 2012)

Ugh!

Okay so I put the clear coat on with a foam roller and it is not a smooth finish and has a couple "bubbly" areas. 

What do I do about these?


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## boneboy96 (Nov 6, 2012)

wait til it's really dry...a few days at least.  lightly sand it with 120-220 grit sandpaper, wipe clean with a tack cloth.  reapply sealer with brush or spray!


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## SarahFair (Nov 9, 2012)

Not the original dressers but I took some night stands that were wood stained. They had water stains and were starting to flake.. Almost threw them out several times, but never could because they were still very sturdy (and Im too cheap to buy new ones)


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## rjcruiser (Nov 9, 2012)

Very nice....how'd you do the pin striping and the graphics?


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## SarahFair (Nov 9, 2012)

Drew the birds and feathers on before I started painting then taped them off. Taped the lines off, painted black, removed tape, retaped around the outside of everything, and painted everything white..


Tip: don't skimp on quality tape


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## Artfuldodger (Nov 14, 2012)

Those look nice. There's something about being able to re-do or recycle things to re-use. I was watching a show maybe "Storage Wars" where one of the bidders was a lady buying chairs, tables, etc. She would fix them up a little with paint & cloth and re-sale them in her shop. I thought they looked nice after she fixed them up a little and she didn't spend a fortune on anything.


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