Let’s Refinish a Mid Century Modern Dresser!

Several years ago, hubby picked up a dresser to use in our garage. Neither of us remember where he got it, maybe from a coworker? We had been looking for something to set our little outside refrigerator and freezer on and it was the right height for that. We used the dresser as an appliance stand for years. Since it wasn’t my style, I didn’t much care that it was taking a beating in the garage.

Here is the dresser when we were using it as a stand for our small garage appliances.

What to do with the dresser?

Last year, our son gave us his garage cabinets. We were SO thrilled to have them! We had been talking about organizing the garage for years and this was the perfect time to do that project. I wrote a post about it here if you’re interested in the before and after. Once we had the cabinets in place, we no longer needed the dresser for the appliances.

As I mentioned, the mid-century modern style is not one that I love. If it was, I would have gladly refinished it to use in our home. Since it isn’t, I wasn’t sure what to do with the dresser. Afterall, it was pretty beat up. One of the leg supports was broken, the laminate top was badly damaged, there was a water stain running down the drawers on the right side. Did I really want to start a project that would take a lot of time just to give away or sell? Hmmmm…..

Round 1

After some thought, I decided to do a little work on the dresser to see if doing the full project was worth my time and energy.

Round 1 Step 1 – Strip drawers & sides

Before digging into this project, I wanted to see if removing the water stain on 3 of the drawers was possible. Using one of my favorite strippers, QCS Quick Clean Safe. I removed what little finish there still was on the drawers and sides of the cabinet. The finish was easy to remove, and the wood was beautiful!!! However, the water stain was now more prevalent. It’s not like I expected the stripper to remove it, but I did have hope that it would.

Round 1 Step 2 – Remove spider stuff

Since the dresser had set in the garage for years, I was not surprised to see lots of spider nests underneath. Like most people I know, I am not fond of spiders. I actually cannot believe that this was not my first task. I do acknowledge that spiders have their place; just not inside. Using the shop vac, I removed the webs and nests, then wiped down the bottom of the dresser to remove any residual webbing.

Round 1 Step 3 – Repair broken leg support

With the spider stuff removed, it was time to see if I could repair the broken leg support. The legs are attached with a built-in screw so removing the two on the right was an easy job. Once they were removed, I assessed the damage. It looked like adding some wood glue and additional supports might fix the issue. I removed the broken support, screwed 2 pieces of 1 x 2 board close to where the legs attach, added wood glue to the broken spots and clamped everything together to dry.

Round 1 Step 4 – Clean drawer pulls

My plan is to use the original drawer pulls and keep them ‘as is’, so I needed to clean them and assess their condition. Using Bar Keepers Friend, I scrubbed each of the six pulls. I was hoping the gold color meant that the pulls were made of brass and the white centers were enamel. Once they were clean, I could tell that they were not made of brass and enamel, but metal sprayed gold and centers painted white. They still looked better than before, though, and if I could fix the white laminate, they would still work well on the dresser.

Round 1 Step 5 – Top

With the supports repaired and the wood stripped, it was time for me to decide what to do with the damaged top of the dresser. Besides being stained, dirty, and scarred, there were two chips in the laminate. I gave the top a good cleaning and while it looked better, I had no idea how to fix the chips.

Round 1 done – Project on hold

Round 2

It’s now the following summer and I’m ready to continue the MCM dresser project. Over the winter, I researched how to repair chipped laminate and discovered that there is a laminate repair kit. The kit is not expensive, and it looks easy to use. However, fixing the chips would only address one of the problems with the top, the other is that it is badly scratched. I mulled over my goal of restoring the dresser to its original state and decided that I just might have to paint the top of the dresser.

Hubby and I pulled the dresser out of the shed and moved it into the garage. Now that the weather was warm and having had the winter to think about the dresser project, I was excited to start working on it again! I had also taken time to research how much the dresser might sell for. Mid-century modern furniture is currently in hot demand, and I saw similar dressers selling for several hundred dollars. That’s also exciting! But to be honest, I am hoping that my son, who happens to like the MCM style, will want to use it in his home.

Round 2 Step 1 – Sand drawers, sides, front, legs

It was nice to jump back into the project with some of the work already done. With the dresser cleaned, repaired, and the wood stripped, the rest of the project should be easy…or at least, less time-consuming. The first step in the 2nd round is to sand all the wood. I used my orbital sander and a sanding block to sand the wood. I started with 120 grit and moved onto 220 grit sandpaper. Now that the wood was sanded, it was time to decide if I wanted to stain them or just apply a sealer. But, before I did that, I wanted to decide what to do with the top.

Round 2 Step 2 – Sand & prime top

After much consideration, I decided to paint the top and front of the dresser black. I cleaned the top and sanded it to rough up the surface. Using a 4″ foam roller, I applied 2 coats of Zinsser primer to help the paint adhere to the laminate. This was my first time using this primer. I was surprised at how thin it was – it splattered everywhere! It didn’t take me long to realize I needed to move slower with the roller…but…not too slow because the primer also dries very fast! Using a roller gave the top a textured look. If you want a smooth look, you’ll want to use a brush or sprayer.

Round 2 Step 3 – Paint top & back

When the primer was dry, I applied 3 coats of Iron Gate All in One Paint. I also used a roller for this application. While it is unlikely that the dresser will be used in a spot where the back is visible, hubby suggested I paint it anyway. It looked so much better once I did!

Round 2 Step 4 – Seal wood with tung oil finish

I decided not to stain the wood on this dresser, just put a clear sealer on it. I usually use polyurethane to seal wood work but, this time, I went in a different direction. I thought the wood would look nice sealed with an oil. The next decision was what type of oil? Linseed, Danish, Tung? After some research, I settled on Minwax Tung Oil Finish. This is not pure Tung oil. I chose not to go with pure Tung Oil as the application is time-consuming due to a long drying time between coats. Even using the Tung Oil Finish, the process took longer than using a polyurethane. Using a soft cloth, I applied 4 coats of the finish, allowing each coat to dry overnight.

Round 2 Step 5 – Paint drawer pulls and attach to drawers

Finished MCM Dresser

This was a project that I was reluctant to do. Once I started and saw how beautiful the wood was, I had no doubt it would come out to be a stunning piece! It is now at home in my son’s house. I could not be happier!

MCM Dresser: Before, during, after

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