Raw Natural Wood Dresser
Transforming this old dark wood dresser with mismatched knobs that I found on the side of the road ( for free!) into a raw natural wood look with antique handles. This is my first time bleaching the wood and using a wax instead of painting so it came with a lot of trial and error.
This is the before…
My first step was was cleaning it off because it was so dusty and disgusting. I removed the handles and began wiping it out inside and out.
Then I started the process by apply a liquid sander. Then I scraped off the liquid sander and existing stain with a metal putty knife. Then I did some light sanding with a sanding block. After I took the top coat of stain off I began the bleaching process. I basically just took a rag soaked in bleach and rubbed down the whole dresser and then let it dry and then I would do it again and again (specifically 5 times).
The drawers in the pictures were already stripped, sanded & had couple coats of bleach. I filled the holes with wood filler while I let the bleach coats dry.
The bleach was not producing the look I wanted yet, so I decided to just go over it with a good old hand sander (That is what I usually do when I flip furniture) I used a 220 grit sand paper so I didn’t over sand. I lightly sanded everything and it came out so nice and took like 5 minutes!
Once that was finished, I added a couple coats of a white wax to seal it and give the grain a light white-wash look. I added my new hardware from amazon and it was done!
I don’t know how well the bleach method worked for me, but I also don’t know what it would of looked like if I hadn’t used it so… The dresser came out exactly how I wanted it. I absolutely love it and it is my favorite thing in her nursery! I also made some matching book ledges/shelves to match! I do think the bleach made the wood softer ( and definitely cleaner haha) I will definitely have to try it again to see if I can get the hang out it.
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