How To Paint An Old Lacquered Bedroom Dresser: Step By Step Process Of Painting Lacquered Bedroom Dresser

Step By Step Process Of Painting An Old Lacquered Bedroom Dresser

Painting is a standard & easy process when it comes to wooden furniture but gets more complicated when the furniture has its coating. In order to paint an old lacquered bedroom dresser, you need to go through the below-mentioned steps carefully & achieve the desired result of your work:

Step 1: Primer

Primer is designed in a way that it allows the regular paint to stick to the surface perfectly, which otherwise would have been very difficult to work with. Simply take out the drawer, detach any hardware like drawer pulls & then perform a bit of sanding process on the lacquer in order to make the surface smooth for primer. Then, cleanse the dresser to get rid of all the dust. Spread a coat of primer, then wait until it gets died off completely. Paint the dresser with the shaded paint. Primer is regarded as one of the quick and easy methods, but may not be a good option if the lacquer below is striping, broken or otherwise flawed, as the primer will only partly cover this.

Step 2: Removing Lacquer

If in case the already existing lacquer on the dresser is damaged or you want to start painting on the new surface, then, first of all, you need to eliminate the old lacquer from the dresser. Put lacquer thinner all over the dresser, then wait for some time in order for it to soften or dissolve. Then cleanse the lacquer with the help of a rag or smoothly brush using fine steel wool. You can also use an inflexible plastic brush in order to get rid of the lacquer from any curved or decorative portions. But make sure to perform this process outside or in a well-ventilated area. The thinner dries out swiftly, so work on a small portion at a time, like two drawers at one time, instead of using thinner to the entire dresser. After that, you can paint the dresser.

Step 3: Protective Coating

Paint is not as long-lasting as lacquer. Bare paint on any piece of furniture can get damaged, and if you put some items on painted furniture, it's possible for the items to become fixed into the paint over time or for the paint to transfer. Cover your working area with a clear topcoat of a substance like polyurethane. This is usually important for the top of the dresser, where you might attach embellishing or useful items, or for the interior of the drawers if you plan to paint them. Make sure to preserve the sides of drawers if in case you paint them, as well as, to prevent stuck drawers.

Step 4: Painting With Lacquer

Instead of using paint, you can also get a similar kind of appearance using colored lacquer. Painting with lacquer is a complicated process when compared to using regular paint. However, it sticks perfectly to itself, so you don't need to make ready anything other than some basic cleaning items, and lacquer can be spread in very thin layers to good effect, and so any chisels or details in the wood will appear better with a lacquer coating instead with paint. You can still get rid of the fundamental layers of lacquer for a new surface, just like paint. Lacquer can be sprinkled or scrape onto the dresser.