A valued customer entrusted me with restoring an antique dresser she found online. It was in much rougher shape than advertised when she picked it up, but I believe I transformed it to match her vision. With its classic warm white finish and a darker stained top, it now has the timeless charm she envisioned.
The dresser was dropped of for its turn in my workshop.
The drawer bottoms were cracked and missing in spots (L) and one drawer runner was completely gone. (R)
All the escutcheon / keyhole covers, casters and some knobs were gone (L) and the other 2 drawer bottoms had missing bottom and the other was replaced by a fiberboard nailed haphazardly. (R)
On one side, one of the panels was cracked with an entire chunk missing.
Now to get started, the first step a very deep and well needed clean. I mixed this TSP like cleaner in a bucket of warm water.
Using a scrub brush every surface inside and out was scrubbed until clean then rinsed thoroughly. Look at how dirty the water is coming off in the left photo.
The really warped drawer bottom was flipped over and a gallon can set on it to flatten the bottom as it dries.
There was a chunk missing from top corner of the veneer that needed repairing. DAP wood pro was squeezed into the area, smoothed out and left to dry.
Now to address the damaged and missing side panel.
I had these wood euschechon pieces but they are to ornate for this style dresser and too small in scale.
The client opted to have them filled in instead. DAP wood pro was used here as well.
As well as a pile of it here back along the damaged side panel. All the pieces and wood filled areas needed to dry well overnight.
The next morning it was time to get back to work.
All the pieces were now good and dry.
This repair looks complete and so much better.
The inner edges of the frame have had a lot of wear with deep gouges. DAP wood pro to the rescue again applied with my oh so handy offset metal spatula. When dry it was sanded smooth with the rotex sander.
Looking from the side you can see the warp on a drawer edge. I took allot of it off with a hand planer (L) then smoothed the remaining surface with low grit paper on the Festool Rotex 90 Sander.
The delta pad works great on the routered top edge to sand smooth.
See in the above left photo how worn down without a flat front edge the drawer stops are? I cut new ones from a piece of wood lath.
Then glued them next to the existing ones to create a solid stop for the drawers when closed.
Repair an sanding progress so far. It has come along way but all these steps are super important to complete before the next painting steps.
Drop cloth Dixie Belle Paint, a favorite warm white was brushed on the drawer fronts. Perfect.
Now to stain the top. The client wanted a medium stain.
To be sure the bare wood did not absorb the walnut to dark I applied a coat of golden ash No Pain Gel Stain. It looks darker above on the half it went on.
While the golden ash was still wet I applied a coat of walnut No Pain Gel Stain over top and wiped it back as well.
To repair the one drawer's missing runner edge I found a piece of scrap wood I had on hand.
My handy helper cut it to size, predrilled pilot holes and nailed it in place after I ran a bead of Titebond wood glue on it for added stability.
The drawer is back in working order.
The top had another coat of walnut gel stain applied. Now it was left to dry 72 hours minimum before sealing.
The warm white drop cloth was now brushed on the base. This paint covers well even in one coat. The repaired side is looking great don't you think?
This is the color combo the client wanted and is so pleased with how her piece is coming along. That is always my goal.. achieve the client's vision.
2 coats of drop cloth were applied, the paint was sanded and edges distressed after each coat.
The clear spray wax also makes the next step easier. This step is to make the piece look old again. Yes allot of work goes into making the piece new again then the detailing gives it an aged worn appearance to keep the piece looking its age.
The dresser edges were worked on next. You can see above how it makes the warm white paint look like it has been on the piece for years. The solid clear white looks just to "clean".
Dark wax progress.
More video tips
A longer video showing how I dark wax the dresser edges
These old dressers have very dry wood so to rehydrate the wood and allow the drawers to slide easily I applied Big Mama’s Butta with a dedicated La Petite brush. the excess is wiped with a lint free blue shop towel. The inside rails were done as well as inside the drawers themselves.
This butta also comes in scented which helps with stuffy antique smells too.
The stained top was sealed with 3 coats of Minwax paste finishing wax in dark which is oil based. it is rubbed on in thin layers then buffed to a shine when dry.
The Amazon link above is meant to show the product, that price is outrageous and it can be found at local hardware stores for much cheaper.
The last step is hardware. I found 4 knobs in my stash that matched the pulls that were on it. I am not sure they were original but all can be easily changed out in the future. For now it has functioning hardware.
Links to the Dixie Belle products are for your convenience. My affiliation with this company does not increase prices on your end, your purchases via my links do however provide a small subsidy which allows me to keep providing these free tutorials. Thank you! Please note the Amazon affiliate links are for your convenience to see the products I used as well. Ordering via the link may get me a small commission but does not affect your pricing. Thank you if you do choose to order them.
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