Dresser Re-do

Life is kinda crazy these days and I seem to be good at blogging in spurts, but I really want to try and be more consistent. We'll see... 

I have been doing things though.  I've actually been checking off a few things on my to do list of home projects.  Here's one I am really proud of.  I painted my littlest one's dresser. 


Here's the before....

Ugly golden colored pine... in style and what we wanted 9 years ago when we bought it, but did not go with anything I wanted to do in Riley's room now.

So here's the after....

The color is Sherwin-Williams Light French Gray.  I'll post pictures of her finished room, because it also got a total re-do and I really love how it turned out.  But for this post I thought I'd explain my steps for painting furniture.  I've done it so much, I have almost perfected it and I get a lot of questions from people about how I do it.  So if you need these instructions here they are.  If not, just admire how great it turned out! :)

The first step is priming.  I use a product from Sherwin-Williams called Adhesion Primer.  Unfortunately, they don't sell that specific thing anymore, but I have been told they do have something similar.  And any primer that is meant to adhere paint to normally unpaintable surfaces will work.  It's just such a huge time and effort saver because the primer coat goes on right over any previous paint and/or top coats.  I don't sand AT ALL. It sounds like it wouldn't work, but with the right primer it really does and the paint sticks like glue!

The primer goes on completely uneven so don't worry about how it looks at this point and it takes about two coats to really get the coverage you need before applying the paint. 

Now, to get the smooth "sprayed on" look I am able to get on my projects use my two hand/two brush technique.  It's not complicated.  I use 2 brushes: a 2-inch angled paint brush in one hand and a
4-inch foam roller in the other hand, alternating between the two the whole time. 

These two brushes used together leave NO roller or brush marks on your project.  The trick is to use the brush only in places the roller absolutely can't reach and then immediately smooth out everything possible with the roller.  Until the foam roller is completely saturated with paint (the same with primer) it will leave small bubbles, but I just keep rolling over them and they will go away quickly.    Once the entire piece has been primed, let it dry a couple of hours.  I think I let this dresser dry overnight. 
When the primer coat is dry, it's time to paint.  I always use Sherwin-Williams Pro-Classic paint.  It's made for trim and cabinetry and makes a big difference in the final appearance.  The technique is the same as with the primer though.  Just roll on the paint with the foam roller. Brush only the tiniest places, like corners and other places where the roller can't completely touch.  Then immediately roll out any brush marks, even squishing the foam roller into the corners as much as possible. 

The last step is to top coat it with a varnish.  I used a water-based high gloss varnish.  I put one coat on and it really seals the paint. 

That's it.  I use the two hand/two brush technique with all the layers and it creates a really smooth finish with no brush strokes.  Go ahead...see if you can find one!

I'm really happy with the finished product. It took about 4 hours of actual work, but I saved a ton of money being able to use a dresser that is a super sturdy piece of furniture with many years of life left in it.  It still makes me happy every time I see it!