Sanding, Priming & Prep Work – Part 2

          In Part 1 of this blog, I showed you how Sanding, Priming, & Prep Work are necessary when taking on a project like painting an old dresser.  Now, in Part 2, I continue where we left off:  the priming.  If you buy paint with primer already in it, you don’t need to prime.

          Even though portions of the dresser that had rotting and water damage were replaced, I noticed this strange stain coming through when I began rolling on the primer.  I primed every inch, but I still ended up having to give it THREE coats of paint in order to insure the weird stain didn’t bleed through.  A paint sprayer would have been ideal for this project, but at the time, I didn’t have one yet.  I used a combination of brushes and rollers.  I especially like the small rollers that come with their own tiny paint trays.  They’re ideal for painting small projects, and unlike paint brushes, you’re not left with tiny lines in the paint showing each stroke.

I’m using an antique white paint color and rolling it on with a 2″ paint roller that gives me lots of control and leaves a smooth finish. (To save my back, I’m also using my husband’s shop chair with casters.)

          Once the paint is dry, it’s time for the hardware.  I put on the drawer knobs, and was able to replace missing ones (thanks to the fine selection found at Hobby Lobby), and then all I had left to do was replace the old contact paper inside the drawers.  Believe it or not, it wasn’t that easy.  The old contact paper must have been glued on there.  Eventually, I got it all off, and put in the clean new one.

          You’ll notice, these drawers have wooden slats creating different compartments within the drawers.  How cool is that!?  They don’t make furniture like they used to.

          Here’s the finished dresser.  It’s not only beautiful, it’s structurally sound and sturdy.  It’s going to look good for years to come, all because of the Sanding, Priming & Prep Work that was done before it was painted.

Here it is all done!

And here it is in it’s new home: A baby girl’s nursery.