How do you strip&refinish a dresser?

Over the years, furniture can acquire bumps, scratches and other unsightly blemishes. Stripping and refinishing your existing furniture, such as a dresser or coffee table, is a cost-effective way to avoid purchasing new furniture or paying for professional refinishing. Only a few basic tools and supplies are required to give your old furniture a fresh, new appearance.

Stripping

Before you can refinish, stain or paint your old dresser, strip or sand any existing stain or paint. A wide selection of tools are available for this process.

Depending on the existing finish of the piece, apply a paint-stripping chemical to the dresser and allow it to dissolve the finish. These chemical applications are sold at most home and garden or hardware stores. This is a harsh application and can leave residue on the wood, leaving you with no option but to sand it down.

No matter the finish, sanding down the dresser to strip the existing stain or paint is the most effective process, though doing this by hand will take time. Avoid using belt-operated power sanders. These devices run at a high rpm and can easily strip away more wood than necessary.

A palm sander works with vibration, rather than with a motorized belt. Sand down the larger flat areas using a palm sander and use individual squares of fine-grit sandpaper to get into grooves and around cosmetic woodwork. For extremely tight grooves, use a pointed object, such as a pencil or punch tool, and wrap the sandpaper around the tip. Sand off the entire surface of the dresser so that no old paint or stain is left.

Refinishing

Dust off the dresser thoroughly to remove any sawdust or debris, which can show through a fresh stain or paint job and make the piece appear rough. Use a towel or a compressed air duster.

Refinish the dresser to match your other furniture or to set it apart. Furniture stain or varnish is available in a variety of shades, and all have specific instructions on how to apply the treatment. As an alternative, leave the dresser in a fresh-sanded style and add a coat of polyurethane to make it appear shiny or vibrant.

Take the dresser drawers out and apply your treatment or paint to the drawers only. Use a consistent brushstroke and apply it evenly over the entire surface. If you apply the finish with a back-and-forth stroke, use this method throughout the entire process. After refinishing the drawers, allow them to dry overnight, then apply a second coat.

Use the same techniques on the dresser body. Evenly coat the entire surface once, then allow it to dry for at least 24 hours. Apply the second coat and you'll begin to see the luster of the new refinished piece. You may decide to add a third coat. Additional coats will help to seal in the wood and allow for longer furniture life.

Source:

Al's Net Biz: Stripping and Refinishing Wood Furniture and Cabinets

KJ Woodworking: Furniture Refinishing Tips

Mirror Resilvering: Refinishing Tips