The starting line. Purchased off of Craigslist for $25. Coach was less than thrilled and wanted to know what I was going to do with this thing. When I said refinish it and paint it black he looked at me like I was crazy, lol.

We showed up at the sellers house and I squealed with excitement when I saw it for the first time in real life! The seller (a man none the less) gave my husband the "Your wife is nuts" look. Coach gave him the "I know" look.


I skipped off to Lowe's with one of the drawers in tow and asked the paint guy "What do I need to refinish this dresser?" He told me that sanding it would be trouble... possible loosing some of the detail in the little "peaks" as I like to call them. I left with a recommendation for $30 gallon of Jasco chemical stripper.

On my way home I had to stop in Walmart for a gallon of milk. I decided to swing by the paint department and price compare what they had.

While browsing, who would walk up but The Old Man Charles. Charles is the sweetest man you'll every meet and has worked as the Greeter at our Walmart the last few years. He is single (widowed), retired, drives a jaguar, and is bored. So he greets at Walmart and makes friends with every kid who walks through the door!

He asked me what I was working on and I told him about the dresser. He replied "Honey, all you need is this here $6 can of spray. It works just as good." He then picked up two cans and told me to have a good day. I decided if it was good enough for Charles... It was good enough for me. I bought a can, plus the gloves and the $2 stripping tool.

A spray can of what the Lowe's guy suggested. So thus became the showdown between Jasco (Lowe's) and Klean Strip (Walmart) It's only a $1 price difference in the spray can, so not that big of a deal. But once you start getting into the gallon size you are talking a $10 price difference!

What about here?

Nope. I can't either. They worked exactly the same for me. Although I have to say the Klean Strip was easier to scrape. It seems to "goo up". But Jasco seemed to create "chips" of paint which were easier for clean up. For the record, Klean Strip is on the left and Jasco is on the right.

At any rate, I favored the "cheap stuff", so I bought 2 more cans and finished up! (If you are counting, that is 4 cans total = 1 @ $7 and 3 @ $6 ea)

1. Put on gloves and protective eye wear
2. Spray on the furniture in about a 3 X 3 foot section.
3. Let sit for 10 or 15 min. (the two brands are different. Whatever you choose, read the can)
4. Scrape

My tips:

1. Buy the gloves that are specifically for stripping. Yes it says it on the package. This stuff is STRONG. It's not the traditional burning feeling (kind of like a cool tingling sensation)
2. Wear Shoes (as in tennis shoes) a long shirt and pants. Old stuff you don't care about
3. Wear protective eye wear. While stripping some little pieces would fly off and hit my face.
4. The little shavings Burn and stick to everything. Use an old sheet or buy a drop cloth that you will throw away after it is all over. Yuck. And yes the little shaving even burn after drying out and sitting in 106 degree weather.
5. Do not do this in the heat. I tried. It would dry within 5 minutes, not giving it enough time to penetrate the paint. Not Fun.
6. Be Patient. You may have to spray, scrape , and then respray to get all the paint off.
   

After I finished getting all the paint off, I washed it down with water and a touch of soap. Mind you I didn't soak the thing. I just used a rag and wiped any access off. Let dry.

There were still a few spots on the top of the dresser of water damage. I tried to sand it, but couldn't put enough pressure on the sander to get it done. Coach came out and worked his magic! Of course it took him like 5min after I had been working on it for a good 20. Lol

And here it is ready to paint!

Painting supplies:

1. Brush for the inside grooves and trim
2. Foam Roller with tray. It is specifically for furniture. It actually says in bold on the package for Cabinets but then bullet points other things, like furniture.
3. Tintable Primer-mine was tinted with G2. No I do not know what that means, the back of the paint chip tells you what you need. The paint counter took care of it for me :-)
4. I went with Lincoln Cottage Black in Gloss.
   

Here it is primed! I did two coats (no reasoning behing this decision. I just did it, lol). It is actually a gray color. Wouldn't it have been pretty white too?!? lol

yes that is a stick down there. I used it to stir the paint.

What can I say? I'm resourceful. Be sure and grab some stir sticks while at the paint counter!

Here is a pic of the drawer.

I then applied 2 coats of gloss paint in black. Due to the heat, it took 2 days to dry. I was not happy about that, but Coach kept telling me to be patient.

And while we are on the subject of Coach, I have to say he has been awesome during all this! In the beginning he was pretty skeptical about this project. But after we got started he was right there with me at the paint counter deciding on just the right shade of black. He made sure we purchased the right primer, and was the one who mentioned it told us what primer to use on the actual paint chip. He is a trooper.

Now if I could just get him to agree on another project :-) lol

I had planned on purchasing a collection of whimsical round mirrors to hang above it. Then accessorize with a lamp etc. Once we finally got it into the room, Coach mentioned we should just try out what the old mirror looks like. I hesitantly agreed and he went to get it.

As soon as he put it on top, I was immediately in L.O.V.E. It was perfect. I grabbed a few other things we had in my linen closet and BAM... it was done. I don't think I have ever had anything come together that perfectly. It just worked.

Like I mentioned before, the next morning after practice Coach came home with some roses that were the perfect touch.

I hope my adventure in refinishing furniture has inspired you to take the plunge and buy that old dresser you find at a local garage sale or out by the dumpster. I know I can't WAIT to find my next piece!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave me a note, or you can email me!