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?

My Gorgeous Black Thomasville Dressser

I found this vintage Thomasville dresser on my beloved Craigslist for $50. I was really excited to get it. It had everything I look for in a dresser. It was sturdy, large, made of solid wood, had great bones, and it was a name brand. 

This picture's quality is for the birds, and so was this dresser.

There was nothing structurally wrong with it, but it had tons of deep scratches, especially on the top - the results of someone's pet bird making the dresser its home. This dresser even had some bird poop on it. Yuck! 

Like many dressers from the 60s, this one had a thick layer of varnish on the top. I stripped it using Citristrip (more on that in another post) and discovered a beautiful walnut top. I also discovered that the bird scratches, although deep, didn't make it down to the wood. Yeah!

See the gorgeous wood?

I primed it with my trusted Zinsser primer. I wanted this dresser to be durable, so I painted with Benjamin Moore's Advance paint in Black Tar. The thing I love about this paint is that it is a hybrid paint, which means that it goes on like an oil and levels like an oil, but it cleans up like a water-based paint. I will post more about this paint later.

The drawer fronts had lots of crevices and it was a bit tough getting the paint to be perfect. I used sponge brushes to get in the corners and give the fronts a  smoother finish than I could get with a brush. Black is a tricky color because it shows every mistake and imperfection in painting technique an itt took 4 coats to get the even coverage and finish I was looking for. 

I changed out the brass Chippendale hardware for some very cool brass awning pulls I got on ebay for the same price I sold the Chippendale pulls for. They give the dresser that more modern and traditional look I was going for. 

So here she is...

Zinsser Primer Catastrophe

I have to first say that I lOVE Zinsser primer and it has never failed me. Until today. I always use the primer in the gold/brown label because it is a stain blocker and bonding primer. That means that it's really good at sealing in the old stain, preventing it from showing through into the new paint job. 

Well, I have been working on this Bassett mid-century dresser. Isn't it cool?

 I wanted to update this baby to make it look a little more modern for today. I thought that a pure white body would be great while keeping the drawer fronts natural. Totally cool! 

I primed the sides and top with 3 coats to make sure that I didn't have any bleed through. I then painted it with 2 coats of white paint, gave it 2 coats of poly, and hit it with Rustoleum's enamel high gloss clear coat.  This is what it looked like 2 days after I applied the high gloss.

Not a good look. I have never had bleed through using Zinsser primer before. Ugh! I am really surprised and a little sad. I thought that this dresser was finished.

So, now I have to go back and sand, prime, repaint, hit it with poly and enamel so that this gorgeous mid century dresser doesn't look like it's got measles and it looks more like this one by Phylum Furniture. Wish me luck.

I will still continue using Zinsser to prime my furniture, but I just have to be more careful and keep an eye out for bleeding when redoing dark stained, older furniture. I have heard that the bleed through doesn't always happen right away and that is may take a few days for it to happen. When using white, I will definitely slow it down and watch for any signs of bleeding so that all my work painting and polying isn't wasted. Lesson learned.

How to Sell on Craigslist Quickly

I love Craigslist! I have purchased much of my furniture through CL and scored some really great deals. It can be addicting looking through the ads. There is a lot of neat stuff out there. 

I have also sold items that we just don't need or don't have room for anymore, like strollers, a toy box, furniture, clothing, toys, etc. There is nothing I have listed that hasn't sold. Most times my items sell quickly (within 2 weeks).

What's my secret? Nothing. I just list my items the way I would want them to be listed if I was looking to buy. That's it. 

Here's what I do.

1. Stage it.

     No one wants to see my other junk around the item. As a buyer, I have passed on some amazing deals because the seller had too much mess around the item and I have to wonder what kind of environment I may be visiting.  I clear everything out of the way to let my item be the star. 

2. Take great pictures. 
     If possible, I take the item outside. Things seem to look better in the natural light. This is a picture of a dining room table I recently sold. See how nice and crisp the photo is? And the more picture, the better. 

3. Write a detailed description of the item.

     Ask yourself what you would want to know about it. Things like dimensions, age, manufacturer, condition, and whether it has been in a nonsmoking environment are all things buyers want to know.

4. Be honest.

     If there are defects or issues with the item, state it in the ad and show it in a photo. Be upfront about it. This will save you and your buyer time. 

5. Add tag words.

     Every word in your ad is searchable by Craigslist. Think of words that buyers for your item may be searching and ad them in your ad. If you can't fit in naturally in the description, add them to the bottom of the page in a list form.

6. Be Realistic About the Price.

     Craigslist shoppers are looking for a bargain. If you paid $3000 for a dining set, don't expect to get even half of that. Ask yourself what you would be willing to pay for that same used item. Even if you have only used the item a few times, it is still used.

7. Appear Friendly

    Words like "Price is Firm" and "I will not respond to emails" make you sound unreasonable and hard to deal with. You may want to avoid these. Many people write them, but many people don't sell their items either.

8. Respond Quickly

     Buyers want to hear from you quickly or they'll move on to the next item. Check your emails often. If I am selling, I check my email once an hour. You can leave your phone number in the ad. If you do, expect people to text you. Many people don't like to call, so make sure you are ready to accept any texting charges. 

Cleaning Brass Drawer Pulls

I pulled brass Chippendale drawer pulls off an old 1960s dresser. The pulls had years and years of tarnish. So much so, I wasn't quite sure they were brass. I pulled out my trusty magnet and the magnet was not attracted to the pulls. Definitely brass. They were ugly and needed cleaning desperately. I wish I had a picture of what they looked like, but trust me, they were horribly tarnished.

I had heard that letting them soak in vinegar works to remove tarnish. It didn't work for me. A little came off, but definitely not enough to notice much shine.

This is what worked.

I do not get paid for recommending this product. 

It worked well, but it was not easy. I let the pulls soak in warm water mixed with BKF for over an hour in a plastic tub. Then I pulled out each one and scubbed each vigorously with a toothbrush and BKF paste I mixed together. Each pull took at least 5 minutes to clean, but the gunk came off. 

This is what my work surface looked like when I was through. See all the dark tarnish that came off? Yuck!

I had 8 pulls to clean. Minus the soaking time, it took me at least 45 minutes of scrubbing to get all of them looking like this.

Real brass is actually quite pretty. 

My Campaign Dresser Make-Over

I have been on a search for a campaign dresser on the cheap for about a month. I found this guy on CL for $10.

It was not very pretty. Ok. It was ugly, but I could see its potential. 2 of the drawer sliders were broken, it was missing one drawer pull, and another drawer pull was broken. It had a piece of wood screwed in its side and scratches galore. It had a laminate top and I knew it was not a real Campaign dresser. I like to call it my faux Campaign.

The drawer sliders were an easy fix. I just needed to re-staple and super glue the metal slides to the bottom of the drawers. I removed that hideous piece of wood that protruded from the side and all the drawer pulls and I got to work filling in the holes and the scratches with Elmer's Wood Filler. 

Filled in the drawer pull holes so I could center 2 pulls.

See the big scratch along this side?

Mid Century Redo

Flimsy mid century dresser

I love mid century furniture! There's just something about the style that just really appeals to me. So, when I found this dresser/buffet, I rushed to purchase it. I had to drive an hour, but I felt it would be worth it. Dreams of mid century craftsmanship were dancing in my head and how wonderful it would feel to own a piece of nostalgia.

Scratches galore!

When I finally arrived at the seller's home and was able to look at it in person, my excitement faded. The color and style were definitely what I was looking for, but when I touched it and started opening drawers, I could feel that it was a bit flimsy-definitely not the solid piece I had been dreaming of. The wood was not high quality and had many scratches.

Too embarrassed to tell the seller I'd pass (I'm working on becoming a better business person), I bought it and drove home. When my teenage son and I were unloading it from the car, I thought the dresser might fall apart. Nails popped out everywhere and part of the bottom trim fell off!

Determined to salvage my dignity and not let my hubby see what I had bought, I started hammering in the loose nails that were everywhere, fixed the bottom loose trim, and polished up the piece. By the time he got home, it was better.

Blingy Drawer Pulls

I let it sit in my garage for a couple weeks while I decided what to do with the thing. I realized that it needed paint and perhaps a little bit of ornamentation to make it special. I primed it, painted it a nice creamy white, but it was still missing something. I jumped in my minivan and drove to the local craft store. I picked up some balsa wood crosses for 69 cents a piece and 3 girly drawer pulls and headed home.