Deciding whether to post my dresser, following Kari's restoration is a difficult proposal. We picked up this dresser for free on craigslist, the owner had tried to refinish it but had succeeded in wedging the drawers shut. The dresser was painted black, not just painted, but every inch was covered. The drawers would stick because the 1"x1" wood pieces that act as drawer guides were painted and the sides of the drawers were also painted, causing the two surfaces to disagree. The most interesting aspects of the dresser is that all the drawers have key locks and the dresser is assembled with rough dovetail joints and old t-head nails (think small railroad spikes). 
The first step was sanding the dresser and removing the decorative molding (twisted pillars) on both sides of the face. In the process I had to remove several of the old guides (the previous owner got creative with a chisel in an effort to smooth the guides). Since the structure of the dresser is pretty rough I decided to keep it simple, minimal sanding and leaving all of the numerous imperfections.
We used Glidden's Black Onyx satin-finish and avoided painting the guides and the sides of the drawers (even as raw wood the fit is tight). My only hindsight critique is that you can see the edges of the bare wood peeking out. I may yet decide to use a black stain to darken the drawer openings. I struggled to find drawer pulls, but ultimately decided on antique nickel pulls.
All in all I really like how it turned out.
Micheal
No comments:
Post a Comment