Sanding and Restaining a Dresser
If your dresser requires a new coat of stain, then you could be preventing the job due to the stripper. However, you don’t always need to use a stripper if you don’t plan to lighten the color. You may not require a sander, depending upon the condition of the dresser and the finish. You can re-stain your dresser in one or two afternoons.
The Need for Stripper
If your plan is to maintain the colour of the dresser the exact same or darken it, you most likely don’t need to eliminate all the old end. Only sand of the old end to permit fresh stain to penetrate. That is a job that you can often do by hand, using paint scraper and a block. You have to strip the finish and sand off the blot to lighten the colour of the batter, however. The fantastic news is that dressers are usually finished with lacquer, which should come off having a stripper that is gentle, such as the oil type that is orange.
Hand-Sanding Techniques
You most likely don’t require an orbital sander, which makes swirl marks in the end and the timber that can be hard to eliminate, to refinish your dresser. After setting the dresser on newspaper and removing the drawer hardware, you should have the ability to cut through the old end with sandpaper. Using a block raises the efficiency of the paper on horizontal surfaces, for sanding in corners and a instrument is created by wrap the paper around the tip of a putty knife. If your dresser has molding, then wrap the paper about a piece of foam pipe insulation to sand within the curves.
Run Through the Grits
If you sand by hand or use an orbital sander, it is important to”run through the grits,” so to make several passes, each having a finer sandpaper grit. The finest you usually want on an finish or within bare wood that you’re etching for restaining is 180-grit. You shouldn’t over-sand along edges if your dresser is laminated using a veneer. The veneer can wear , and it could be tricky to fix, if this occurs. When trimming by hand, always sand with the grain of the timber. Your pass should always be even if you have been sanding using a machine.
Conditioning and Staining
Some wood species, such as pine, birch, alder and even oak, accept stain unevenly, so it is ideal to seal the timber grain before pruning it to avoid the stain from penetrating and blotching. You make your own by diluting finish with 50% solvent or can use a timber conditioner. The process for staining is uncomplicated: Distribute the material using a brush or a rag; let it penetrate and wipe off the excess with a clean rag before it dries, going with the grain of the timber. Stains are prepared for a protective end in a matter of hours, but it is ideal to wait patiently before clear-coating.
