This was a Craigslist find in Lynchburg, VA. Every once in a while we find a Craigslist posting, and we say that it is the perfect dresser for a design we would like to accomplish. Well that is definitely what this piece was for us - the perfect build for our first image piece.
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So you might be asking, what makes a piece of furniture perfect for images? Honestly, all you need is a piece of furniture with a relatively flat front. The type of image you want to use might dictate the shape of the piece.
We used the following supplies on this dresser:
Follow Our Easy Steps:
Our first step was to sand down the body and drawers. We usually start our sanding process with our orbital sander using 80 grit sandpaper. We also sanded down the areas with the orbital sander with 120 grit sandpaper using the orbital sander. Then we use 60 grit sandpaper to make sure all of the original finish has been properly removed. Finally, we hand sand with 120 grit sandpaper to get a smoother wood before applying stain or paint.
After we sanded the dresser down, we went ahead and stained the top using dark walnut stain. Stain generally takes longer to dry, so we generally do the stained surface areas first before starting any painting.
Before we painted the body of the dresser, we made sure to tape the inside of the body and the inside of the drawers. It is always important to remember to tape the inside of the body where the drawers slide in and out, and the inside portions of the drawers where paint might drip/or paintbrush might touch. We will admit that this is unnecessary, but if you want to have a re-purposed dresser that looks professional-grade, then every detail matters.
After we finished taping the body and drawer, we started painting. The first stage was to use the Woodland Sage paint to create a painted base before painting the bear image. We used two coats of paint.
After the base paint was dry, we went ahead and hooked up the projector. We tried our best to make sure the bear image was in between the hardware. You will need to edit your image so that it will be to your liking and print the image on transparency paper (we had done so before getting to this step).
Finally, Sydney freehanded the letters onto the top and bottom drawers.
After the stain and paint were dry, we were ready to apply a coat of water-based Polycrylic to both the body of the dresser and the drawers.
Poly does two things: (1) it creates a layer of protection for the furniture from everyday abuse, and (2) it creates a smooth finish. We typically apply two coats of poly, but some projects may require more. After the poly has dried, we use a wet sanding technique with extremely fine sandpaper to ensure that the stained areas are smooth to touch. The wet sanding process is really simple, just spray on some lemon oil and lightly sand over the stained areas with an 800 grit sandpaper (you can also do this over the painted areas, but you need to be careful not to sand too aggressively over the painted areas or you will end up with a distressed look). We had a lot of fun on this project, and we look forward to doing more image pieces in the future.
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AuthorsJosh and Sydney are life adventurers that love to learn and create. We are exact opposites and enjoy gaining new perspective. Our home is where our varying personalities shine, and we use it to gather our friends and family together. Archives
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