Latest Refinishing Project

My husband traveled into some very dangerous conditions to pick up this gem. I found it listed on craigslist for $30 and thought for sure it was too good to be true. I almost lost this dresser to another buyer, but they ended up backing out. Thank goodness they did and I'll never again hesitate on making the call as soon as I find a piece I like. 

This first thing I did was take all the drawers out and sand the face of them with square foam sanding blocks. You can find these in any hardware store for a couple bucks. They come in different grits, depending on how much you want to sand off. I got a medium grit, I wasn't trying to sand of too much just enough so the primer and paint would stick good. 

 After everything was sanded I got out the shop vac and vacuumed the inside and outside of both the drawers and dresser. {As I mentioned earlier the conditions of the 'house' this dresser previous resided in were less than livable so it got a vacuum and Clorox wipe down!}  After that, it actually looked very pretty and I contemplated {momentarily} just staining it and keeping its wood finish. That daydream didn't last long and I knew it would fit in my home much better painted black as I had planned.

Kilz spray primer is a LIFESAVER!!! I think I used about 8 cans of primer on this dresser. You just want to make sure you spray as evenly as possible. And the good thing about the primer is you can't ever use too much, the more the merrier. The primer seals the wood and prevents you from having to use so much colored paint. 

I only wanted to paint the fronts of the drawers so I used magazines and painters tape to protect the inside of the drawers. 

On the dresser I didn't want to spray the inside so I also taped it off with magazines. { I guess all those Ballard magazines actually serve two purposes }

Gave the drawers and dresser and hefty coat of Kilz

This was the first piece I've actually ever painted black and after finishing the entire dresser, something just wasn't right. I could see the spray strokes, which has never been the case with the lighter pieces I've refinished. So I decided I had to do something else before this dresser was complete. 

Luckily, I had some Faux Glaze and some black paint, so I mixed up a batch of black faux finish and painted it with a foam brush over the entire dresser. I love the matte finish it gave the dresser.

 It was my largest refinish to date, but I truly enjoyed its transformation :) I was waiting to blog about the dresser until I was completely finished - hardware and all. But, picking out the hardware has proved harder than expected and I knew if I didn't just get it posted I never would! 

BEFORE & AFTER