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I have just finished upcycling this chest of drawers, that I got from a neighbor in my area.
Here is a before photo. It looked in good condition, however, all the drawer bottoms were all out of shape, so it wasn't just a matter of sand and paint, I had to replace all the drawer bottoms with new 3mm mdf board, all screwed in place instead of staples, the larger bottom drawer was made of chipboard, I replaced it with new 12mm pine board and mdf base.
I painted the unit with a satin finish, the top was finished in the same colour that was watered down and wiped on with a sponge, then 3 coats of satin waterbased varnish.
I also patched up the original holes that had timber knobs
Remove deformed drawer bottom boards
Remove chipboard from large drawer
Remove all old drawer bottoms
Remove chipboard drawers, these were glued on, I had to chisel off the old chipboard , then sand flat
Bowed drawer bottoms, replaced with 3mm mdf board
Used heat gun to remove old drawer knobs, later I found that it was easier to tap the knob with a hammer, by hitting it side to side, these came off a lot easier than I expected.
Plug knob holes with glue and 12mm timber dowel cut and sanded flat ( sorry I had no photo of finished dowel)
Make up drawers for bottom drawers, 12mm dar pine
Sand all over
Paint 3 coats of satin paint
Top was fully sanded back, I was just going to finish in clear coat, but decided to water down some paint and coated the top with a sponge, then 3 coats of waterbased satin varnish to give a washed effect allowing the grain to show through
Grain showing through paintwork
New knobs installed.
Another job finished,now what to do with this unit.
Materials
Tools used
- Various Sandpaper, 80, 120, 240 grit
- Orbital sanders, 150mm and 125mm
- 4mm nap roller
- Small paint brush
- Table saw
- Mitre Saw
- Philips head screwdriver
- Various clamps
- Heat gun
- Hammer and chisel
Tools
Materials
- 3mm mdf board
- 12mm x 120mm DAR pine
- 6g countersunk screws, 12mm and 25 mm
- 1 ltr Satin paint. Dulux - Beige Calm
- Clear varnish satin
- Drawer knobs
- 12mm dowel to plug up knob hole
- Drill to suit knob screws
Lovely work @JoeAzza! You've added many years' worth of useful life to this unit and no doubt saved it from heading to landfill. I trust you are pleased with the results, as the unit now looks fantastic.
Many thanks for sharing.
Mitchell
