Painting a Dresser

[saladbar]

A friend gave DD a dresser which is an off white color with gold trim. DD wants it white. Where do I begin? What kind of paint? HELP!

TIA

Diane

[zydeco]

Originally Posted by saladbar A friend gave DD a dresser which is an off white color with gold trim. DD wants it white. Where do I begin? What kind of paint? HELP! TIA Diane

I like latex, myself.
You first need to know if the original paint is oil or latex.
You can use latex over oil. But if it's latex and want to cover it with an oil base. It will need a primer first.
happy painting!

[saladbar]

Originally Posted by zydeco I like latex, myself. You first need to know if the original paint is oil or latex. You can use latex over oil. But if it's latex and want to cover it with an oil base. It will need a primer first. happy painting!

So covering with a primer is the first step? No need to sand or anything like that? lol Do I use a brush or roller? As you can see I have never done anything like this. lol Oh, and how do I tell if the orginial paint is oil or latex?

Thanks,

Diane

[billythekid]

Hi Mrs.Diane, I can paint but I'm afriad to tell you which to use without seeing the desk. A primer is always necessary and will be beneficial if you do in fact use the wrong paint. Sanding the desk will cause it to be smoother, however I don't think thats going to be necessary for a desk yes/no? Try this link, maybe its a desk similar to the one you have

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/g...is-desk-008290

[jasmom87]

I have painted my dressers with great results. Lightly sand the dresser with very fine grit sandpaper. Clean off all sandpaper with a damp rag rinsed often. Let dry and then use a good primer, followed by latex paint. Don't use flat, I think semi-gloss is the best because of the wear and tear and dusting/cleaning. You can use a good quality paint brush (not the cheapos - they leave brush marks) or the sponge brushes. A good quality paint brush is not the place to save money on (I know from experience as it will cost you more in the long run if you use a cheapo).

[zydeco]

I don't use primer nor do I use a brush. (I use a sponge-on-a-stick.)
:beavisnbutthead:

[saladbar]

Thanks for all the helpful information.

[BzyBee]

You might check how snuggly the drawers fit when they are pushed in. We painted a dresser for DS that had previously been stained. The addition of the paint around the edges of the drawers added enough thickness to cause the drawers to be too snug...needed a bit of a push to get them in. DTMS...the drawer fronts slid in and were flush with the dresser front. I had to sand down all the edges and do it again...it was a pain. If they are snug already, go ahead and sand them down first.

If you are considering skipping the sanding/priming make sure you test an area with your white paint and let it dry completely...overnight. Sometimes paint that appears to be off-white is really yellowed due to smoke (being in a house with a smoker) or oils in the wood, or an old finish under the paint, or the paint itself has yellowed over time. In any of those cases, the color could bleed through your new white paint and make it appear yellowed too. If that happens, you will need to prime.

[berlinsmommy]

We've repainted Berlin's dresser a few times (just did it for the 3rd time a few weeks ago) and DH uses this orange stripping chemical that he buys at Home Depot, its about $10 for a bottle and easily does the whole dresser. Yor put it on, let it sit a while, and then just scrape off the paint. Its pretty good about going all the way down to the wood. Then if it needs to (like if it was exposed to smoke) you can let it air out, wash it down with soap and water (this is a good use of Palmolive Dish Wipes), let it dry, and paint it. All 3 times we did it, it worked out great.

[MOM2SNOX]

When my DS was younger, we used to paint his dressers to match his room. I remember one year, we took two dressers outside, placed them on a old sheet, painted them white (latex, semi-gloss) paint and then, using Tempura paint in primary colors, I had him make handprints in different colors all over the dresser. Put two white sheets outside and he imprinted his hands in primary colors on them too! Hung them in his room and it made a nice, bright and refreshing theme with the dresser!