Classic Grey Dresser (Twin 2)

Estate sales can be great places to pick up pieces of furniture at a good price.  We found this dresser and another dresser that was identical to it at a local estate sale, so we properly named the dressers the twins.  We had a friendly competition where Sydney designed one and Josh designed the other.  This is the story of Josh's design, The Classic Grey Dresser.

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This dresser did not have the intricate carvings or features that some of the other dressers that we have worked on had, but it was solid wood, which opened the floodgate for possible designs. My original design did not quite turn out as planned, but we were able to make some adjustments that resulted in another beautiful piece.

We used the following supplies on this dresser:

• Purdy 3-Pack Polyester-Nylon Blend Angle Sash Paint Brush Variety Pack
• Fusion Mineral Paint - Color (Soap Stone)
• Fusion Mineral Paint - Color (Bedford)​
  • We purchase our Fusion Mineral Paint from a store in North Carolina called The Weathered Soul Shoppe.  You can buy Fusion Mineral Paint from a number of vendors in various locations, but we have found that The Weathered Soul Shoppe ships the paint quickly and has fantastic customer service.  The paint is a little bit pricey, but it provides a really great finish and has self-leveling features that reduces brush strokes.​
• Bosch 2.5-Amp Orbital Sander
  • Just remember, this is a staple item that will continually be used, so you can utilize this on a ton of DIY projects after you make the purchase.  We decided on the Bosch sander because of the quality of the Bosch brand; however, you can probably get away with a cheaper option if you don't want to invest in a nicer sander, and if you only plan on doing a few DIY projects with it.  
• Gator 50-Pack 80-Grit 5-in W x 5-in L 8-Hole Hook and Loop Sanding Disc Sandpaper
  • Depending on the type of stain that the original manufacturer of the dresser used, you may be able to get away with just sanding down the dresser without using any type of stain remover (This is huge, because stain removers are a pain).  Just keep in mind that if the dresser is not solid wood, then you may want to go with a more gentle approach; i.e., a combination of stain remover and hand sanding.  
• Frog Tape Trim Painter's Tape
  • Frog tape is a life saver if you are going for a more professional look.  Generally speaking, it is a time consuming task to tape up the dresser, but you will be happy that you did when you see the finished product.  
• CitriStrip 32 fl oz Paste Multi-Surface Paint Remover
  • CitriStrip is extremely effective, but we must give a warning; due to the fact that CitriStrip is thick and sticky it requires a little extra work to ensure that all of it has been removed from the wood, and it can be a headache later on if it is not properly removed (for us,  a combination of mineral spirits and steel wool seems to do the trick).  
• FolkArt Home Decor Wax - Clear, 32 oz. 
  • There are many wax options out there, but this may be the most reasonably priced.  If you time the sales right at A.C. Moore or Michaels, then you can just about get this wax half off of the retail price, which is a huge discount!  The 32 oz bottle will be overkill if you are only planning on doing a couple DIY projects; however, it can produce huge savings if you are planning on doing lots of DIY projects.
• Home Decor 1-3/4 in. Chalk Finish Brush
  • This brush will help you to apply the wax.  This is not a necessary purchase, but it will help you if you have a lot of detailed carvings on the piece you are repurposing. 
• Urban Outfitter knobs
  • We would have hyperlinked this for you, but it appears that Urban Outfitter no longer supplies the knobs that we used for this project.    

The paint that was on the dresser was extremely thick, so we were not able to just take a sander to it. So we turned to our favorite paint stripper, CitriStrip, to remove the paint before we started sanding.  We use a cheap paintbrush to apply the CitriStrip, and then we let it sit for a while.  You will be able to tell when it starts to work because the paint we start bubbling up (the picture on the right shows this).  After letting it sit for a while (on this project we let it sit for a couple of hours) we will use a scraper and scrape off the paint.  Sometimes you might need to use a little muscle to get the paint off. As we noted above, it is important that you ensure that all of the CitriStrip is removed, or it could affect your finish later on.  ​

After we finished scraping the paint off the dresser we sanded the body down.  We start with our orbital sander using an 80 grit sandpaper.  Then, we hand sand with a 120 grit sandpaper.  This process seems to be extremely effective in putting the dresser in its bare bones state.  ​

After we sanded the dresser down, we made sure to tape the inside of the of the body and the inside of the drawers.  Taping the drawers will provide clean lines, and it is one of those little details that make the finished product stunning.

Once the body was taped, we were ready to paint the body with mineral paint.  We usually do two coats of paint to make sure that everything is sufficiently covered. 

Mineral paint generally dries pretty fast, so we were ready to apply a coat of wax after waiting an hour for the paint to dry (it dries quicker than this, but we wanted to make sure that it was fully dry before we started applying wax to it).  Remember not to overcoat the dresser with wax because it will create major streaks, especially with a darker paint color.  After the wax has been applied, allow it to sit overnight.  The next day you should take fine steel wool (we used #000) over the entire body, then buff out the wax with a cloth.  (Note: Make sure that you are not too aggressive with the steel wool because you may end up peeling back the paint).  

​After you have accomplished this, you will want to let the wax cure for around seven days before putting the dresser into any significant use.  

​Also, until it is fully cured be careful to touch the wax with your fingers because the oil from your hands may transfer into the wax giving it a dirty look.  

​This dresser turned out great!