Has your old chest of drawers had its day and lost its aesthetics over the years? To bring it up to date and give it a more contemporary style, a few coats of paint are enough. But for the result to be up to par, the makeover of the furniture must follow several stages.
The first essential step in the operation is to first clean the support. By reflex, we tend to wash the furniture to remove dirt and dust. However, this is a mistake, because waterlogged, the wood cracks. It is rather advisable to use the vacuum cleaner then black soap and a damp sponge to get rid of stubborn stains. Don't forget to remove the doors, handles and drawers to make painting easier. Then, you will have to observe the furniture to detect any holes. If this is really the case, you must fill them with wood putty. But be careful, as the dough tends to shrink, it is necessary to repeat the operation many times.
This is another essential step in the makeover of your furniture. In the case of a varnish dresser, start sanding with coarse grit paper and finish with fine grit paper. Be careful to always sand in the direction of the grain of the wood so that the fibers fall back and the surface is scratched, which will promote the adhesion of the paint. Sometimes after sanding, we discover the beauty of raw furniture and some people, instead of repainting, prefer to leave it as is.
Then comes the famous step of applying the undercoat. This primer has the advantage of making the support more adherent to the paint and gives rise to a uniform paint and an optimal finish. In addition, it avoids waste by limiting the necessary quantity of paint. On raw wood, it is advisable to use gesso to be applied with a special brush, as it tends to damage the bristles of conventional brushes. On varnished wood, a special smooth surface undercoat will do the trick. And finally on already painted wood, the undercoat will be a mixture of paint and 10% water.
The time has come to get to the heart of the matter, that is to say the application of paint. Place the chest of drawers on a block in order to clear the feet. Mix the paint well to have a homogeneous color. Preferably use a roller adapted to the size of the support. The finishes and angles will be provided by a brush. After drying for 24 hours, you can apply the second coat of paint. In order to better preserve your furniture, apply a coat of wax or varnish after the paint has completely dried. All you have to do is install the handles, drawers and doors. A word of advice:if you really want to give your chest of drawers a new look, replace the old handles with new ones.
