Bringing Out Hidden Details

Christopher Giles
by Christopher Giles
7 Materials
$120
1 Week
Medium
I am a fan of painted furniture as well as stained furniture. I even love a blending of the two. When I upcycle a piece of furniture it is all about the condition and character of a piece that helps my eye to decide what's best. In this instance, I opted for a blending of the two!
I am a huge fan of the app OfferUp, you can find many great quality pieces. I have had the best luck a the end of the month when people are moving. They either don't have room for various pieces of furniture, or have decided to purchase new items for their new place. I found a nine drawer Bassett furniture dresser for $60! The family was moving out of state and didn't want to try and transport it. Unfortunately, I did not take a picture of it before I started working on it. Luckily, I found one almost identical online minus the appliques on the front edges.


The previous owner painted the entire thing, hardware and all in a high gloss black paint...it wasn't done very well though.
I coated the entire top surface of the dresser, as well as the hardware in a thick coat of CitriStrip to loosen up the paint job from the previous owner. While the stripper was hard at work I painted the drawers and body of the dresser in French Linen chalk paint by Annie Sloan. The drawers have lots of moulding so I wanted to draw attention to it with some antique gold craft paint.
The hardware was actually in pretty good shape after getting most of the paint off.
My go to for metal hardware is Rub 'n Buff. I chose an antique gold color to match the moulding on the drawer fronts.
After lots and lots and lots of rubbing, and even more buffing, the hardware came out great. I added a tiny bit of dark wax to fill in some of the recessed areas to make them have a bit more character than a solid gold color.
The drawers looked a little flat to me so I added some depth by applying a mixture of clear and dark wax to the entire piece. It really warms the entire piece up.
Two of the top drawers had spills from nail polish on them in the bottom. I tried the CitriStrip on those, but it discolored the wood of the drawer bottoms. To help hide that I added some kitchen cabinet shelf paper from Wal-mart. It is very easy to cut to size and lays flush in the bottom of the drawers.
The top of the dresser took the most work. The black paint wasn't the best quality job, but it was really on there. After lots of stripping and sanding I was able to get all of the paint off. I went with a oil based stain from Minwax called Jacobean. I LOVED the dark rich color it added to the piece. I then added four coats of oil based polyurethane. I let each coat dry for a full day and used a 220 grit sand block between each coat to ensure a smooth finish.
I absolutely love the way it turned out in the end. All of the detail was hidden because of the black paint. The wax really added dimension to the piece and the gold accents really make the drawers pop.
Suggested materials:
  • CitriStrip   (Lowes)
  • Antique Gold craft paint   (Hobby Lobby)
  • Antique Gold Rub 'n Buff   (Hobby Lobby)
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Frequently asked questions
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3 of 7 questions
  • Mar8433494 Mar8433494 on Sep 10, 2016
    How do you get such a smooth finish with chalk paint before Waxing?
  • Yvonne Yvonne on Oct 03, 2016
    After the four coats of polyurethane were applied, were the two coats of dark wax applied as a preference on your part or did it enhance the beautiful sheen on the top of the dresser?
  • Judie Starrett Judie Starrett on Oct 30, 2016
    Can you use clear and black wax with other painter other than Annie Sloans Chalk Paint. Like a latex or flat paint?
Comments
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  • Judie Starrett Judie Starrett on Oct 30, 2016
    Thank you for answering my question. I reside in the mountains in Panama. They have no idea what chalk paint. Maybe in Panama City but not in the city of David or smaller villages. Ugh for a crafter. Thanks for your comment. Beautiful piece!
  • Sylvia Garrett Sylvia Garrett on Nov 01, 2016
    I have a black mirror purchased new I want to change the color to mahogany any tips
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