Dresser Project (Part I): Red*

My family owned a furniture store in San Jose for over 150 years. L. Lion & Sons was started by my Great-Great-Great Grandfather in 1856. My parents always said, "Spend more for good furniture because it will last. You can always repaint, restain, and recover.

Growing up, my parents had a set of oak dressers that were stained black and looked great. Over the course of 50 years, they've been moved to my brother's room, and then to the garage.

Finally, I used them in my bedroom because they are really great and really solid pieces of furniture (and they were FREE!) However, you can clearly see the years of wear and tear upon them have taken their toll. It was time to look for a solution.

I am not that experienced at refinishing furniture and I'm certainly not a patient man, so I was a bit worried I would rush the job, or screw up the job. But I decided two things: 1) I will give it a shot,  2)  start with one so I don't screw up two dressers at the same time, and 3) if I screw it up, I'll sand it down and start over.

Then I found this:

No need for a top coat! It's all sealed in one step. 

So, I pulled off the metal handles and scrubbed them with Bar Keepers Friend liquid cleaner... Holy Moly! That stuff made them sparkle.  50 years of grime will add up--you know they may have been cleaned, but I'm sure they were never really cleaned. Now they have been.

I sanded them down, wiped them off, used a tack cloth and then stained them. I didn't use a pre-stain conditioner, which I'll probably use in the future. A few coats of paint over several days and I think it turned out pretty nice: 

I added the red to the sides of the drawers to punch it up a bit. I'm going to have red accents in the Master Bedroom (ignore the carpet, it's temporary). I really like the look and the shine.

*Since the original post, I've now dubbed this dresser as Red, because the other dresser will have blue sides to match the bedroom where it will be located. 

Lessons learned from this project: 

• Slow down and take my time. 
• Thinner coats are better with stain. 
• Don't be afraid of color!
• Have fun.
• TAKE MORE PICTURES AS THE PROJECT PROGRESSES!!!