We all have one of these in our home or garage, or we definitely know someone who has one around. You know, the OLD dresser that is solidly built, but solidly dated in the look. You know my motto: Don’t throw out, Redoux it! Let’s dive in and see how easy it can be to makeover an old piece of furniture.
The Prep for your old Furniture
Good news! If you use DIY 100% Natural Clay & Chalk Paint. You really don’t have to prep. Just start with a clean piece of furniture. Make sure it is free of dirt and especially anything greasy. If it is especially slick (like you can see your reflection in it) or laminate or plastic, you might want to give it a quick once over with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to give it some teeth. Otherwise, just crack open your paint and let’s get started.
Sand and clean your piece, or not
I use DIY Paint exclusively for all my projects. Over the last 25 years, yes, 25 YEARS! I have been painting and repurposing furniture, I have tried just about every paint under the sun. When Chalk Paint came to the US shores, I used the very good Annie Sloan Paint. My only issue with it is that I could still smell it. I was parenting 3 small kids and often did my custom work inside the house or garage so I could be with them while I worked. I knew enough about paint and chemicals at that stage of my career that I knew I didn’t want that around my family.
As luck would have it, or God would have it, the company that makes DIY Paint reached out to me! They were getting ready to launch nationwide and offered to send me some paint to try. Once I used it on this project: I was hooked and never looked back.
This was a frame that was actually not a frame. It was a shipping frame to hold some home decor in place. I used the MDF frame and MDF to make this chalkboard frame for a sweet client. Anyhow….back to the dresser and paint!
I don’t typically sand. DIY Paint will stick to just about any surface. Unless it is super slick, you can see your reflection in it, it is laminate or plastic. I skip right on by with the sanding. If your piece is super slick that if you put on your socks you would just glide right over it, then give it a quick roughing up with 220 grit sandpaper to give it some teeth and (I don’t recommend sock sliding by amateurs)
Because I skipped the sanding, I was able to get right to the painting! I like to spritz my surface with a Super Fine Mister water bottle. I have tried every one of these under the sun and THESE are really the best ones I have ever found.
Dip your brush (These are my favorite work horse brushes) in just about 1/4 of the way, start at one point on your piece and go all the way to the end. If the paint seizes up on you, just spritz more and you will be amazed at how far the paint will go.
Here is the How To Video of How to Makeover Your Old Dresser
If you are visual person, this is a quick 6 minute video where I go through every step, beginning to end. Please give it a like and subscribe! It helps people find the channel and allows me more good juice to make more videos for you!
Finishing your piece and protecting it
Once you have your piece painted the way you like it. I like to go over it with a piece of 320 grit sandpaper. This is a super fine sandpaper and it will polish and smooth the Porcelain clay in the paint. It will make the surface as smooth as glass and I highly recommend this step.
Once you have sanded it to smoothness, wipe off the excess dust. DIY Paint is super durable, because there is no latex or acrylic in DIY Paint so it will not chip, scratch or peel off. It is however, very absorbent. You will want to either use a good brush on Top Coat. I recommend Big Top or Clear Patina. My favorite is 100% Natural Clear Wax from DIY Paint. If you didn’t watch the video, please do! I go over all the awesomeness of Clear Wax.
The Big Reveal!
It’s the best feeling in the world when you finish a project. I was so happy with the way my Dresser Turned out. I hope you are inspired to complete a Dresser Makeover Yourself.
Thank you so much for stopping by. Hope to see you next time I share one of my Dresser or Furniture Makeovers.
Leave a Reply