This dresser is solid mahogany, but the finish on it is in really bad shape, there is going to be a lot of elbow grease to make this one come to life again. The pictures really can't show how bad the finish looks in person.
Hardware removed, now it is time to put on the stripper to remove all the shiny varnish.
This is what the finish looks like on top before I strip it, scratched up and beaten up.
First coat of stripper worked ok, but I am going to have to do more than one coat to get this off. In the end it took 3 coats plus a lot of srubbing.
It looks kind of rough, but now I just have to wait until tomorrow to sand and get a smooth finish. I still need to strip down the drawers.
I painted the body of the dresser a creamy white and then decided to do a little duck egg blue and hand painted on some vines
This is after all of the drawers were stripped of there varnish, sanded, stained and the clear waxed. A lot of hard strength into that part.
The top and sides are also clear waxed to protect the mahogany and caulk paint, and the whole thing is slightly distressed.
Gorgeous, Lauri! You do awesome work!
ReplyDeleteI'm very, VERY new to all this but this is the most beautiful work and inspired me to do something similar to an old lowboy in my garage! Question - did you need to strip the sides you painted also?
ReplyDeleteThe only parts you need to strip are the parts you want to restain. If you use latex paint you will need to do a little sanding and priming. If you use chalk paint you don't need to prime. Something that can be an issue, but does not happen with all furniture is bleed through. Sometimes mahogany furniture that is over 30+ yrs old can bled through the paint. I have only had this happen a few times, but if you are using white paint it shows up like crazy. If you notice this happening you need to use a shelac to seal the paint before you put anymore coats on. I used Zinsser Clear Shellac Spray as do many other people. It dries fast and will resolve the bleed through problem. The reason I mention it is that I had this happen in a few little spots on this dresser. Anywhere the finish was scratched before painting I had red mahogany stain pop through.
DeleteIf you have anymore questions as you dive in, please feel free to ask!
Happy Painting!
Your dresser is gorgeous!!! I'm featuring it over on my Power of Paint site (powerofpaint.net) this Thursday, April 3rd. If you have any other paint projects you'd like featured please do submit them on the site. Thanks!!!
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