Dresser

Here is an oldie, but a goodie! When I was about 12 or so, my parents got me a new bedroom set, which included a double bed, a dresser with mirror and a chest of drawers.  (I remember my oldest younger brother also got a bedroom set and his got refinished first! I could not believe the injustice of it and probably grumped around a lot to show my displeasure! (I have to admit, I was a bit of a brat.) Now, I am much more appreciative ;-) and feel bad that my youngest two brothers never got such nice furniture!) Anyway, the set stayed at my mom's in Lousiana through high school and university. Then after I was married and had kids, we moved down to North Carolina along with my mom and the set came there. And from there, HH put it on a little trailer and hauled it up to PEI.  It stayed in our storage room for years (!!??). When we added on to the cottage, I was finally able to use it again.  HH is currently using the chest of drawers and DD has the bed (both have not been refinished).

Now, onto the project. Since this dresser had been in our storage room so long, it had a bit of a musty smell in the drawers. I tried using vinegar to clean them, but that didn't work so I resorted to diluted bleach. I cleaned inside, outside and all around and still the smell didn't disappear completely. I ended up putting baking soda in the drawers and it's not too bad now.  

Ok, back to the project!  I did this in August, 2011.  First, I sanded the top with my hand sander and finished it with one coat of Walnut Stain.  It was a little can from the Restore which I have since taken to Waste Watch. 

 Here, I've taped all around the edges so there will be nice, clean lines.  I primed the bottom part with Zinsser Bullseye 123 using a brush to get into the grooves and corners and a small foam roller to smooth it all out.

 After the primer dried, I put two coats of light blue paint (from Restore) with the brush and foam roller.

You can see above the top turned out too blotchy so I sanded it again and used Johnson Paste Wax for Fine Wood to protect it. I aged the bottom a bit by ragging on Minwax Wood Finish in Early American, making sure to get in the grooves, and wiping it off with a clean rag. 

 Isn't she pretty?  These pictures were taken in our back living room. Right now the dresser is being stored in our front room addition waiting to go in the entry way when all that work is done.

Cheers! :-)