Old Fashioned Milk Paint antique dresser in Lexington Green

It is 2017, time to post my first Old Fashioned Milk Paint blog rep post of the year. I chose to use milk paint on this sweet antique dresser I literally pulled out of the dumpster. I was only damaged from other items tossed in on it. This makes me so sad that people think old pieces are trash worthy even if they don't want them. Trust me, there are many who would give old pieces a new home and new life!

First step is to make all repairs; this includes securing the frame and drawer rails, fill dings and dents with wood filler and replacing one drawer bottom. Once all repairs are made I usually begin the sanding process. But this piece had stickers galore stuck to it so those had to be soaked and rubbed off with orange oil to remove all.

the poor girl lost two shoes (AKA casters) in the toss too so I removed the other two ;(

Now to the sanding step. These antiques have shellac finish that goes all crackly so it tends so sand off easy but requires ventilation and a mask so luckily on day two the weather was nice enough to haul outside to finish my sanding process.

once wet the shellac can go white when dry (above), so this was where sanding started and check out this gorgeous wood it reveals (below)

below the center drawer is the original finish between 2 sanded drawers ;)

Once all sanded well I give all my pieces a deep scrub clean with warm water and soap then hose till run clear and left to dry. To me this is a huge part of a fresh start for any piece. It removes and grunge and grime and gives a clean slate. The pieces all were left to dry well before I started oiling the drawer front and dresser top. I chose Hope's tung oil mixed with mineral spirits for the first 3 coats. (Available thru Old Fashioned Milk Paint website) Each coat had the oil mix applied then left for an hour and the excess wiped off and left to dry 24 hours before this was repeated.

This picture shows the top 2 drawers oiled compared to a still bare wood. This old wood was so thirsty after 3 applications of the oil mix, I went to straight tung oil for 3 more coats each drying 24 hours between.

The body of the dresser was were the fun begins with color. Oddly enough, I seem to be on a brown roll and chose driftwood. Old Fashioned Milk Paint is so easy to mix up, get yourself a mini whisk to even make it easier.

the paint covers nicely over the wood

I sanded it then applied  Daddy Van's clear wax shown here on the left side, it really deepens the color

but the variations in the wood tones (esp the top red ones which I even gave a coat of java stain) just did not pop so I chose another color from the Old Fashioned Milk Paint line up and went with a coat of it, Lexington green.

but before you can paint over the now waxed and buffed surface it had to be wiped down with mineral spirits to remove the wax and allow the milk paint to adhere even with the added bonding agent

and with only one coat it went on perfect, was left to dry, sponge sanded and waxed with clear  Daddy Van's wax again

here the dresser is at the end of all these steps, now the piece needed some added character so dark wax was added and this is the end result...

*Disclosure

I have received product in exchange for this post, there is no monetary compensation received from the sponsored links. Huge thanks to my great sponsor, Old Fashioned Milk Paint

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