How a $40 curbside find became the best-looking piece in the bedroom with sandpaper and patience.
The dresser had good bones and terrible varnish — orange, chipped, and sticky in the sun. Rescuing it started with a full strip: chemical stripper for the flat panels, then 120 then 220 grit to knock the old finish back to raw wood.
We filled the deeper gouges with tinted wood filler, primed with a bonding primer so nothing would bleed through, and rolled on two thin coats of a soft eggshell enamel. Thin coats are the whole secret; anyone who rushes this ends up with drips and roller texture. New brass pulls cost more than the dresser itself and were worth every cent.
Set aside a weekend and work outside or in a ventilated garage. Total spend landed near $95 including hardware — replace the color and pulls with whatever suits your space.