Today I'm going to be flipping this retro waterfall-style dresser. I'm going to be painting it black and distressing it to give an old-world charm. This dresser was actually gifted to my mother-in-law by her mother-in-law which is pretty cool. It's really good quality solid wood but that diamond pattern veneer is not hot, so let's fix it up!
The "Before"
Removing the Hardware
Right away, I ran into my first obstacle which was trying to remove the mirror support. The screw was entirely stripped. I tried cutting it and I tried prying it and nothing was working. What did work was spinning it around to slowly work the screw off. It's not exactly elegant but goes to show that there's no right answer to these things. You just have to keep trying and see what's going to work for you.
I started by removing the hardware. A pro tip for you that my husband tells me all the time is to always put the screws back where they came from. He's right! That way they never get lost they're always the right size.
Removing the Drawer Pulls
Sanding
On to my next mistake, which was sanding. I thought I needed to use a sanding block which is a way to get perfectly flat surfaces. It turns out that 60-year-old furniture does not like to be super flat! All this did was scratch a bunch of lines into the top of my dresser.
Instead, I grabbed a soft sanding sponge which would contour to the curves of this old beauty while still providing the grit I needed to adhere paint.
Before sanding the drawers, I used a little bit of wood filler to fill in the holes left from the handles. I wasn't entirely sure what I was going to do about the handle situation just yet but I thought it would be best to leave my options open.
With my finger on the back of the hole I squeezed wood filler in from the top I then used a little piece of cardboard to flatten the surface on top as well as on the back. I kept going until the hole was filled and let it dry for about an hour.
Sanding with a Soft Sponge
Cleaning with TSP
After all my surfaces were sanded it was time to start cleaning with Fusion TSP Alternative.
Tri-sodium phosphate (TSP) is a great way to degrease furniture before painting. It's really good at getting off any fingerprints or stains that might prevent the paint from holding over time. Fusion's TSP alternative does all that while also being safer for the environment. Make sure you take your time around high contact areas like handles and then give the piece a rinse with some warm water.
Mixing Up the Milk Paint
We are done with the dirty stuff and on to the fun stuff! It's time to get painting. I'm using Homestead House's Milk Paint in the color Coal Black.
Milk paint is a very old style of painting. It's made from clay, milk protein, lime, and pigment, which means it's 100% natural and environmentally friendly. It dries really quickly and leaves a flat finish.
Milk paint comes in a powder that you typically need to mix 50/50 with water. On its own, milk paint gives a beautifully chippy finish. But that's not what I'm going for today, so I'm going to be adding Homestead House's Bonding Agent.
A bonding agent will make the milk paint adhere like regular paint and is typically mixed in at a one-to-one ratio with your pre-mixed milk paint. All in all, we have:
- one part powder
- one part water
- two parts bonding agent
To make sure you don't have any inconsistencies between layers, you need to mix enough paint to get you through everything you're going to paint that day. Also, note that milk paint does not last very well overnight.
Painting the First Coat
Because this piece has so many flat surfaces, I will mainly be using this two-inch synthetic brush. I also have a half-inch round brush that I'll be using for smaller details.
I'm going to work with the grain of the wood and apply a solid first layer–not too much but also not too little. I'm working in small sections and going back over my work to smooth out any brush strokes. Milk paint is fairly forgiving so you don't need to be too fussy, but do make sure you take your time. I'm always guilty of rushing into painting and jumping back and forth between surfaces but there's really no reason to. Just throw on some music or a podcast, work methodically, and have some fun!
When painting the sides or any other inset detail I find it's really easy to go around the edge first before I fill in the middle again. You want to work with the grain of the wood and go back over your work to make sure you're smoothing out any brush strokes. You also want to apply enough paint to get a good layer but you definitely don't want any dripping.
I feel like there's a debate among painters about what's worth painting on the inside and the back of a furniture piece, especially in places where a person might not see it. Personally, I'd rather do fewer pieces and do them well. I want this piece to look good even when the drawers are pulled out. If that means a bit of extra time working through the details then that's worth it to me. I think it's little details like this that bring your art to the next level.
I noticed right away that this paint was actually going on blue! I think this was due to the bonding agent. I kept going with my first layer because I wanted to see how it would dry.
Painting the First Coat
Painting the Second and Third Coats
I came back about two hours later for coat number two. The blue had disappeared quite a lot and I was left with black with a little bit of the brown wood still poking through. I was happy with that so I continued on with the same paint and applied my second and third coats in the same way.
I do really love the way that milk paint adheres. It's so thin but at the same time opaque. It almost looks like an enamel or glaze on top of the wood, It's hard to describe but it is quite different than chalk paint which creates a really thick layer. This is thin and beautiful and keeps the original character of the piece.
I also didn’t sand between layers. I'm not going for a perfectly flat finish but I'm also finding that this paint is drying really smooth. If I wanted to I could hit it with a 320 or 400 but I don't think that's necessary.
Distressing
It is time to bring this piece to life with some distressing!
I am using a coarse grit sandpaper as well as my medium grit sanding sponge to scratch away paint along the edges. This gives your piece a weathered look that adds character, making it seem like it's lived through many years.
You want to distress around edges corners and details imitating the natural wear that life might have on the piece. It's best to just let loose here and let your hand take you wherever it wants to go, stepping back fairly often to get a look over the whole piece. You want to catch yourself before you go overboard.
Once you are done, wipe away any dust with a damp towel or a tack cloth.
Adding Some Depth by Distressing
Sealing with Furniture Wax
I used clear furniture wax to seal this piece and I think in this case it was the right choice.
Furniture wax, like the one I used from Homestead House, is typically a natural wax like beeswax. You apply it almost like a lotion, rubbing it in and hydrating the surface. Over time it will cure and harden which creates a protective layer. This is nowhere near as hard as something like epoxy or polyurethane will be, but this dresser is going to be sitting in a bedroom. While the top will get some use, it's an aged and weather piece anyways. Any additional distressing only adds to the character.
I'm applying the wax with a wax brush and letting it sit for a couple of minutes. You don't need to work very quickly with this. I will come back with a cloth and rub it in. You want to rub almost to the point of buffing it. This stuff really likes to be polished. It's also important to work in thin layers. If you glob this stuff up, it will not harden well. I actually only applied one layer to the entire piece but if you were looking for extra protection, come back a day or two later to apply a second coat to the top of any surfaces or anywhere that would be higher touch.
One last tip is actually using this wax inside wood sliders. This dresser is old and though it is really well built and has maintained its shape, the sliders don't slide as well as they used to. I went through and did four or five layers of wax on the sliders. It made such a difference! They slide and glide really nice now.
This piece is good to go as soon as you have buffed that wax in. You are supposed to give about 30 days for the wax to fully harden. For this dresser, I'm going to avoid putting anything on top of it for a while. Other than that, no odor, no fuss! Wax is really good to work with.
Applying Furniture Wax
Reassembly & Hardware
Last but not least, we needed to put back on the hardware. I got my husband to help me drill holes. If you don't have a husband, don't worry! This is really easy to do on your own. Just take your time to measure it out and you'll be just fine.
We ended up using the same hardware that came with this dresser, just moved over slightly. But this is a really great opportunity to change up the hardware! If you want a different look it can make such a big difference.
I also reassembled the mirror which was just two clamps on either side. There is a little piece of felt that sits between the metal clamp and the mirror. This had degraded over time so I ended up cutting out a new piece of felt to live here.
Done! Now It's Your Turn!
What do you think? I love this dresser and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I think I put a lot of time and care into this. I went slowly and I did things the right way.
The "After"
If you take away anything from this project, I hope it's a sense of purpose. I want you to go out there and do this on your own! You don't have to follow my exact steps. You don't have to use this exact color. But get out there and do something!
I feel that making is a really important part of being human. Use your hands, get messy, try something new, and don't be afraid to fail. Things will undoubtedly go wrong, but that's part of the fun. It's way better to have something to show for it than nothing at all!
At the same time be nice to yourself. Art is not a race and it's not a competition. It needs to be authentic to you.
Thanks for joining me on this journey. Until next time!