How do you refinish a dresser top with stains?
by
Pam
+2
Daughter's dresser is antiques white finish & has rust, makeup, and ??? stains that will not clean off.
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is the dresser wood or laminate
sand it off, prime and finish off with whatever color you want
I assume that you mean this piece is antique wood? If this is the case, I would recommend completely refinishing it. Buy some paint stripper at the hardware store and a few pairs of heavy rubber gloves. This is a really messy, smelly job and needs to be done outside. Set the piece of furniture on a drop cloth and follow the directions on the back of the can of stripper. It will bubbble up and then you scrape off the old finish. This may take a few tries. Then you need to remove all of the stripper. Now it's time to begin sanding and decide what your new finish will be.
Sand it, paint a latex top cover over with high gloss, gives a nice finish, and you can wash it.
If it's a pretty slick finish, you might try magic eraser. I'd try it in an inconspicuous area first in case it dulls the shine. But it worked for me on an old desk.