How do i refinish an old dresser?

Question

I have an old dresser with old hardware. Its currently painted black all over except the drawers are a cream color. Its obviously not the original color since there are chips of paint missing and i can see the old.

My question is how do i strip it down and refinsh it ? is this hard? I would love to make it really rustic and old looking. But in reality anything would make it look better then it does already!

Also.... I am 6 1/2 months pregnant. Are the paints used in this process safe or are there andy that are? if not my husband can do that part!!

Thanks

Answer 1

Use Soy Gel stripper.  It is low fume and nontoxic, but industrial strength!  Also being a gel it stays where you put it.  Remove the stripper and old paint with a scraper and steel wool.  Sand the clean wood.

If you also use soy stain or a low VOC stain you should be safe.  The lacquer or poly finish coats should be left to hubby.

Answer 2

You need to remove the hardware and you can either sand it down to the finish (very dusty, you need to do it outside and wear a mask) or you can apply a paint remover (your husband as to do this outside as well but the fumes are harmful). Once all the paint is removed, do to it what you want. You can spray paint it, put a wood veneer on it, brush paint it, or even stain and varnish it if the wood has a nice grain. not too hard. Done properly, he may have spend about 10 hours on it but it will be worth it.

Answer 3

3M makes a paint and varnish stripper that's non toxic, no fumes and cleans up with water. It works well on paint. Brush the stripper on let it sit for awhile, take a scrapper scrapping most of the stripper and paint off  then wash down good with water and 000 steel wool let it dry then sand it. You can either paint it or stain it, if you stain it put a top coat of polyurethane on  it which will seal it and protect it. Always wear a mask and gloves when you are doing any type of stripping, sanding and staining. Since you are pregnant your husband should do the staining and top coating. You can buy new hardware at any hardware store or on the internet, there's alot to choose from!

Answer 4

Take the hardware off. Spray paint them the color you want them to be. In the meantime while they are drying get a handheld sander and sand the old paint off the dresser using a semi soft sandpaper. Once all the paint is off and its down to the wood, get a very fine sandpaper and sand it again to give the wood a smooth soft feel. Then brush the sawdust off the dresser and paint it in the color you want it to be and when its dry add the hardware. You can do it outside since you are pregnant and the fumes shouldnt be harmful that way.