The Painted Key: Custom 9 Drawer Dresser

Yay – it’s finished!

(Click any of the pics for a closer peek)

It was a project that took MUCH longer than I had anticipated. With cold weather, paint issues and our household getting hit with flu's and colds (oh, and throw Christmas and New Years in there as well!) this project took about 3 months to complete. Certainly NOT my average time frame for a piece.

It was a custom refinishing job after a client mentioned she was looking for a dresser. She had already purchased the side tables and desk I had refinished, so when she saw this dresser, she asked if I could refinish it the same way which I was happy to do.

I realized I forgot to actually take a "before" photo, but still had a copy of the picture from the original online ad.

I started by stripping the old finish off the top. I’m not exactly sure what that particular finish was, but it was a bear to get off!

After lots of chemical stripper, plastic scrapers, sanding pads and steel wool (oh, and lots of time!), it was finally ready to be conditioned, stained and finished with a glossy polyurethane.

Once completed, I wrapped it in paper so I could start on the base. After sanding to rough up the old finish and applying two coats of primer, I sprayed on 5-6 coats in a white satin followed by 6 layers of the glossy clear coat.

First coat of primer and looking far from pretty!

The drawers were also papered and received the same paint treatment, but were painted in a beautiful rich blue/green duck egg color.

They were finished off with brand new hardware. Such a difference!

Original hardware was scratched, dated and boring. It HAD to go!

The new hardware spacing was different from the original hardware, so the original holes were filled and sanded before the painting started. It’s always a good idea to buy your hardware BEFORE you paint your project for that reason!