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Help refinishing dresser

10 years ago

Hello,
I am not sure if this is the best forum to post this on, but I am in need of help trying to "refinish" a dresser for my bedroom. It is wood veneer, and I was planning to restain in black using Minwax Polyshades. There is either a rubber or wax "bumper" on the edge of the dresser that I am not sure how to deal with. I do not think that either staining or painting that black is an option. Does anyone know any way to cover this up in black that would work?

One thing that I am thinking of that may work is to remove the "bumper" and replace with wood edge banding before staining. If that is what is necessary, I do not know how I would remove the "bumper" prior to installing the banding. I have also never worked with that before, so if that seems like the only option, any advice for working with that would be helpful also. thank you!

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Comments (2)

User
10 years ago
It will be easier to just use paint.

Stain will only work on bare(unfinished)( wood---that means removing all the existing finish. In the case of that piece, a professional stripping company is the best way--it is not DIY easy.

And, Polyshades is crap. I use a lot of MinWax stains---but not Polyshades or their gel stains(which is actually modified paint anyway).
CEFreeman
10 years ago
You might try picking up a sample of someone's black chalk paint. CeCe Caldwell, Annie Sloan, American Paint Company or someone.

Chalk paint adheres to most everything. They all claim everything and I've yet to prove them wrong. Even my fridge. It's outlandishly expensive, so go for a sample. You must put a clear coat on it, or wax, which you would do anyway after refinishing (no quotation marks necessary) your piece.
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Drexel furniture was really never high-end back in the days, that said its still a nice piece of furniture compared to todays standards its high-end. The problem with staining is that Drexel used so many different wood species and applied toners and many different levels of stains to get all the different types of wood to look the same. Thus trying to strip off the old finish and stain down to the base coat or toners would be a lot of work and quite difficult to do. I dont think you would be very happy with the outcome and even seasoned professionals would shy away from a job like this. Your best bet is do as much touch up as possible as it looks like the top is where most of the wear and tear is. You could try and sand down and paint just the top portion.
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I bought this dresser at an antique store. I know a little about refinishing furniture but not a whole lot. I have a sander and I know how to use it :) this is obviously chalk painted. The top feels smooth but the rest of the piece is rough; chalk like. I want to take it down to the original wood and stain a dark color and paint the drawers a smooth shiny grey color. Will the top sand right off if it's been sealed or do you have to use paint thinner? Also suggestions on painting the drawers what type of paint gives you that shiny laquer look that won't chip off?
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