I am less than one week away from the deadline for the Spring 2021 One Room Challenge. To those of you following along, I will not be meeting that deadline. But! I finally bit the bullet and have started painting/refinishing the ugly old orange wood dresser. This post will be updated as it is finished (with hardware and a protective top coat). For now, here is my progress and partial review of the paint I am using.
Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 / Week 5 / Week 6 / Week 7 / Week 8
BEFORE
AFTER One Coat
AFTER 2 coats
AFTER a coat of Polyurethane
I used Minwax Polyurethane in the Satin sheen (just like my paint). I already had it on hand for other projects. It’s honestly the best I’ve ever used and easiest to find.
They say this can be recoated after 2 hours and needs at least 3 coats. I only managed to do one coat because it isn’t drying well on the dresser. It can take up to 30 days to fully cure, and it has a hard time curing in a humid environment.
Unfortunately, our humidity is 100% this time of year. I wish I were kidding.
I painted the entire thing with this small-but-mighty brush. Actually, I started with a foam roller, but the brush is so much handier and the paint dries so evenly that I didn’t worry about the brush strokes being left behind.
Review of Valspar Cabinet & Furniture Paint
I used this paint in the Satin Sheen and color matched SW Exuberant Pink, and so far I am blown away by the finish. It claims to dry level with no brush strokes and they are not even kidding about that.
PROs: The finish and ease
For reference, I am a lazy painter. I’m messy and generally just slap it on and fling the brush around. There isn’t a ton of free time in my day so I’m just happy to have the time to get it done so I’m not too worried about getting it done well.
I went with the satin sheen because it is typically more forgiving than semi gloss. Going into this project, I didn’t want to spend too much time. There are bigger fish to fry. The first coat took me under 2 hours with a ton of haphazard strokes. My energy was directed at getting enough paint on it instead of trying to make it pretty.
It was looking very rough and splotchy with that first, wet coat but an hour later I was blown away. It smoothed out incredibly. Even the drips managed to level themselves. I’m honestly still wondering where that paint went lol.
On top of that, NO PREP…!!!!????!!!!??!!!
I mean, it doesn’t get much better than that. I had previously removed one drawer front and gave it a rough sand. I planned on priming it and going the chalk paint route (I guess. Because that must be so flippin’ common for a reason?). But sanding that ONE drawer front had me thinking “screw it. I can live with orange wood!”
A little cleaning is necessary, of course, and the instructions mention it should go on “prepped lacquer” but I decided to just go for it. The lacquer on this piece is not very heavy, and I really want to test the no prep. You know, for you 😜
It’s incredible. Absolutely incredible.
CON: The price & dry time
Most DIY furniture painters suggest using your standard chalk paint, which is pretty cheap (like $6-10 a quart). This stuff is about $25 a quart, and $50 a gallon. I went for the gallon because I was worried the dresser is too big! I know there is absolutely no way I needed a full gallon for the dresser, but because of the math I had a hard time paying half the price for a quarter of the stuff.
Also, I love this color so I’m hoping to use it somewhere else (playhouse, anyone?).
I was afraid I would need to buy a second quart and ultimately pay the same price as the gallon but I was very, very, very wrong.
So far I’ve used much less than a quart. It’s fine, I’m fine, everything’s…. fine.
Considering the quality and the fact that I simply wiped it down with a soapy towel instead of sanding & priming, I have to say it’s pretty worth it! Now please cross your fingers that I paint every other piece of furniture this color or my frugal side will start pulling my hair out.
Dry time is a little extra
Part of the beautiful finish can be attributed to the fact that it is oil-enriched. That makes it take longer to dry (4 hours to touch and 8-12 hours to recoat).
Since I realllllly don’t want to spend too much time, that bothers me. But it’s not like there’s nothing else that needs to be done so it’s one of those “suck it up” moments. Patience comes with all paint projects, I guess.
For reference, your standard wall paint is 1 hour to touch and 4 to recoat.
Overall, I LOVE it and can’t wait to use it again
This paint is exactly what I was looking for. I was able to paint this old lacquered dresser WITHOUT sanding the whole thing down and everything else that comes after that. It’s a dream come true. Just pop it open and paint.
Maybe I’ll try to flip some furniture and sell it on FB marketplace to cover the cost 🥴
Now I have a little extra ORC update. Not to make excuses, but to decompress a bit. This round has been a struggle for me. I could blame it on the stars and cry “Mercury is in retrograde!” and I do blame it on the stars ha! But the added challenge of managing two very small children alongside my husband working full-time here at home, the beginning of summer vacation, my brother/hardware store partner leaving us for the military, visitors, and wasting 3+ weeks on some over ambitious closet plans has had me stuck in my feelings.
I’m tired. I feel unsupported at home. The constant political strife makes me uneasy. And I really need more help with the kids.
These projects and slow & steady home improvements fill my cup so I’ve been fighting like hell for more sips and still. falling. short.
But after the deadline next week, I am still planning a weekly update. These projects are my life, and I can’t wait to show up here more and show off my progress. In this room and everywhere else. Ok thanks bye!
Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 / Week 5 / Week 6 / Week 7 / Week 8
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