refurbished dresser

Refurbished Dresser – How to Flip One

Refurbished Dresser - How to Flip One

I wanted to show you this refurbished dresser that I did. Isn’t flipping furniture the best? It is like the easiest way to get a diy project down and you did not have to do a whole room! 

I love how much a piece of furniture can change by just some love and paint. 

Did you guys know that most DIY instagramers/bloggers started out flipping furniture? 

That’s how I started. About 8 years ago I started flipping furniture and getting confident in a few tools then it turned into flipping houses. 

So if you want to start, start with furniture! 

If you love how this turns out, you should check out a flip I did of a shoe storage dresser here

Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how I did this refurbished dresser.

Materials

dresser
primer
sandpaper/sander
nail gun
wood glue
drill
legs for your piece of furniture
polycrylic 
paint
screws
wood filler

Step 1 - Sand the Dresser

I started sanding with 80 grit sandpaper. 

I have a corded sander that I love and I can hook it right up to my shop vac. 

There was some hidden gorgeous wood under the paint on the top of the dresser. 

Once I got all of the paint and stain off, I used 80 grit sandpaper again, then I went over it with 120 grit sandpaper, and then I went over it with 220 grit sandpaper to make it super smooth. 

refurbished dresser
sand

Step 2 - Sand Some More

The rest of the dresser was different wood. 

Because the edges are different, I painted those and kept the top. 

Next, I just did a light sand on the rest of the painted areas. 

refurbished dresser

Step 3 - Create Trim for Your Refurbished Dresser

For the drawers, I sanded them down until the paint brush strokes were gone. 

I used 80 grit sandpaper for that, and then I went over them with 120 grit sandpaper. 

At the last second, I decided to add some trim to the drawers as well. 

The trim pieces were laying around so I decided to use them, I cut all the trim 2 inches shorter than the drawer. I am making a mark every once in awhile at an inch so I know where to place the trim. 

Before I nailed the last one in, I made sure the last trim fits. Put one nail into the 3rd piece of trim, check it and nail it in. 

Use 5/8 inch brad nails. 

drawers
refurbished dresser

Step 4 - Add Legs

***Adding new legs to a piece of furniture always helps with the end piece, especially with refurbished dressers.***

This dresser needed some new legs, the ones that were on it, weren’t stable.

 I tore the existing legs off and sanding the bottom smooth.

After that, I predrilled the hole and made sure it was smaller than the bolt in the new leg. 

Wood glue helps with everything and I used that and screwed it in. 

For more stability, I also added some screws to the leg. 

Remember to always predrill your holes if you don’t want the wood to split. 

Sand them down and fill them with wood filler. 

leg
refurbished dresser
leg

Step 5 - Prime and Paint

After sanding and prepping it all, I primed everything (except the top), with zinsser bin ultimate stain blocking primer and then I got to the painting.  

Whenever I paint furniture I use cabinet paint. 

This is my favorite cabinet paint. The color is Sherwin Williams Accessible Beige. 

refurbished dresser

Step 6 - Protective Coat

My all time favorite protective coat is General Finishes. They don’t sell it locally and I buy it on Amazon.

 I had Polycrylic at home and I have used it before and still like it. 

Polycrylic
refurbished dresser

Here is what I started out with . . .

before

Here is the dresser I ended with . . .

refurbished dresser

If you love it, you can pin it

pin
refurbished dresser

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