Anyhoo...
This is the dresser:
Since we're STILL waiting on the diva's room walls to cure, her room has become my workshop for the time being since I don't have to worry about dripping paint on the floors.
For now, I'll refer to this son as the wrestler. His favorite sport is wrestling, as to distinguish him from the football and basketball player. LOL
Anyway... The wrestler's dresser has a looooooong history. It was originally my ex-husband's dresser as a boy. It used to be a light yellow and when we first got married, I painted it white to match our bedroom furniture. Unlike today, I just slapped some paint on it, didn't agonize over it, and thought it looked great. When we divorced, somehow I ended up with it. It became my oldest daughter's for the last 17 years. Now that she's on her own, it has been handed down to the wrestler and it needs a paint job... BAD.
Since we're going for the whole Go-Hawk/Hawkeye theme in the boys' room, it is of course getting a good solid coat of black paint.
BLACK and GOLD, baby!
He thinks its looks like a girl's dresser, but I think that's just because its been his sister's forever and his brothers have chest of drawers instead. He won't think its girly when I get done with it!
One thing that I learned in my scavenging the internet for how to properly paint furniture is that it's better to use a roller. I found the PERFECT website that answered all of my questions. SCORE! You can find the same information here. Blue Cricket Design was a godsend! I also found the tip for putting a poly coat on the basketball player's chest of drawers there too. Saved the day!
So, I moseyed on down to my local True Value (its 45 minutes to the closest Lowe's and Menard's - Gotta love living in rural Iowa) and bought mini-rollers for use on wood. I bought the poly and foam brushes at the same time. And when she talks about buying the cheap foam/synthetic brushes at The Dollar Store... Yeah. Do it. The foam brushes are only good for one coat of poly and then you have to pitch them. Who knew?
This dresser met all of Blue Cricket Design's criteria.
1) Its a solid piece.
2) Its real wood.
and
3) Not a bit of veneer on it.
It even has dovetailing on the drawers:
Unfortunately, you can't really see it because I was a slap-happy 17 year old when I painted it the first time. GAH!
Her advice on using the rollers is spot on! I love it! When using a brush, 1) You get brush strokes in the paint, and 2) Its really easy to get too much paint on the brush and you end up putting on thicker coats. Using a roller allows you to get maximum coverage with minimal paint. You just roll the paint on until you get a solid, but light first coat. Plus, its a heck of a lot faster. (See... There's my lack of patience for time-consuming projects. :P)
So, I put on the 1st coat on early this afternoon and by early this evening, I was able to put on the 2nd coat. The coats of paint are so thin that they dry a lot faster than when I applied it with a brush. YAY! Now, I'm just waiting for the 2nd coat to dry before I do a quick touch up on any spots where it looks thin. Lord willing, I'll be able to apply the 1st coat of poly first thing in the morning, apply the 2nd coat of poly by tomorrow evening, and be done! YIPPY!
Here's what it looked like after the 1st coat:
The detailing underneath the top were a pain to get completely covered, but I think I finally got good coverage after the 2nd coat. I'm so excited to see what it looks like after I'm done!
I already bought the brushed nickel knobs a few weeks ago, so I'm ready as soon as the poly dries. Then it's on to the football player's chest of drawers. That one is going to be a new DIY nightmare with its chipped edges, but I love breathing new life into old stuff, not to mention how much money you save!
And that's why we do what we do, right? RIGHT!
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