Welcome to the story of how we turned this dresser and side table from neglected, damaged ducklings to the Blue Beauties you see today. The process described here is a very common treatment that most of our pieces undergo, including custom projects.

 

1. The first step for any of the pieces we refinish, is a thorough vacuum & scrub with TSP to ensure all dirt & oil contaminants are removed from the wood’s surface. 

2. The piece is then disassembled, hardware and old liners or felt feet are removed. All damage is repaired and any spots that need filling are puttied with the appropriate product like Bondo, Plastic Wood or wood filler.

3. Depending on the piece, the item is then chemically stripped, especially in cases where there is thin veneer to protect or thick finishes to remove. In this case, the dresser did not require stripping. 

4. Sanding! Everyone’s favourite! Machine sanding is almost always indicated and can be very timing consuming. Sometimes further patching or repairs are found to be necessary. Machine sanding is ALWAYS followed by hand sanding, usually with a 120 grit, then a 220 grit and sometimes a 320 and 600 grit. Proper prepping is the key to success and a beautiful finish. 

5. Everything is vacuumed again, then washed and allowed to dry.

6. Finally, the fun part! 🎨 Paint, stains or varnish are applied. Some paints, like milk paint, need to be sanded when dry, and some paints need wet sanding. Any surface that we paint or stain is protected with a finishing coat such as beeswax, hemp oil or varnish. These particular pieces got some wood stain on the very top, followed by 3 coats of brushed poly (with light sanding in between coats) and 3 coats of wipe-on poly. The body and drawers were painted with brown milk paint, then a light coat of blue milk paint which was gently sanded to reveal an amazing contrast of colours and stunning wood grain. The body and drawers of the night stand were soaked with hemp oil, then buffed to a shine. The body of the dresser was treated the same way but the drawers were finished with furniture wax. The hemp oil will look a bit patchy as it cures and like wax, it hardens as it cures, a 28-day process.

7. I love it when the original drawer pulls can be reused, especially on vintage pieces! Usually I give them a good cleaning and paint them with a modern colour. Although these pieces are not vintage, I liked the simplicity of the original knobs and reused them after giving them a metallic facelift.

8. The piece is then reassembled, new felt feet are applied, new shelf liner is placed and everything is buffed up and made ready for the grand reveal! 

​

Fun fact: This dresser took 15.3 hours of labour while the nightstand took just under 6 hours. A timesheet and supplies list is kept in order to calculate costs, track specific colours used for specific pieces in case they need any repairs in the future, and for billing purposes when doing custom work. Also, we're just plain nerdy that way! We start a stopwatch every time we start a new step of the process because it's just interesting to know how long everything takes, and helps us be more precise when giving estimates to clients on custom work. See our timesheet below for this piece if you're nerdy like me! : )

 

Have some wood-based furniture that you love but wish were a different colour or style? Contact me today to discuss a custom plan!