A Mid Century Dresser Refinished

Ok. I think I am beginning to have an obsession with Mid Century furniture, especially dressers. I found this beauty on Craigslist (remember the Zinsser catastrophe?). 

I thought she looked great, but she was emitting a yellowish glow that wasn't very attractive and made her look older than she really was. She needed a face-lift. Since this dresser was modern and happenin' in the 60s, she needed to be modern again. So, it was obvious she needed a white body and natural walnut colored drawer fronts. 

Before continuing with this post, you probably should read this to see how her transformation began. 

 Anyway, to fix the bleed through I was seeing without having to start from scratch, I sanded down the enamel I had sprayed on and left all the other coats in tact.

I then mixed a batch of home-made "chalk paint" using plaster of paris and painted 3 coats on the entire dresser. This worked like a charm. I then put 3 coats of Minwax Polycrylic on the front and 6 coats on the top and sides. I wanted this baby to be protected. I discovered a trick to using the Polycrylic without getting those dreaded bubbles. You may want to check this out because if you are like me, you are always fighting bubbles.

I didn't like the yellowish hue on the drawer fronts, so I stripped them using Citristrip (which I love). I found that all the yellow was in the polyurethane top coat and the wood underneath was a beautiful walnut color. I added another coat of walnut stain and protected them with Polycrylic. 

Well, here she is complete. What do you think?