Old Furniture Gets a Facelift

The weather is getting colder in Chicago so it's about time I wrapped up some of my spray painting projects. Pretty soon it will be too cold to spray paint and since that is how I choose to redo my furniture most of the time I had better get a move on. I bought these nightstands at the Habitat Restore a few months ago. I liked them because they were solid wood, had a good size top and since they had three drawers each they would provide plenty of storage. 

One of them had a lot of cigarette burns on the top. I knew it was repairable so I bought them anyway.

I began by using wood filler to fill in the cigarette marks and the holes from where I removed the hardware. 

Once dried I gave the nightstands and drawers a good sanding. I then wiped down all the surfaces with a damp cloth to remove all the dust.

I then sprayed all of the drawers and nightstands with Rustoleum's spray paint primer. 

I let it dry for a couple of hours and followed with two coats of spray paint in Rustoleum's Heirloom White. Quick tip: If you are painting furniture that is down on the ground you have to get down there with it. There will be spots which you may not see if you are standing above but you will if you are sitting on the floor. 

After they dried I took a step back and decided to add another coat. I generally spray two coats but it looked a little splotchy so another coat was needed. Another tip when spray painting is to move the can back and forth across the surface in an even steady pace. If you rest too long in one spot the paint will drip and puddle. After allowing it to dry thoroughly I finished with a top coat of clear glossy paint. It took two days and here is how they look now.

It's important to allow paint to cure or harden so after painting I do not touch them for several days. It may feel dry to the touch but it you pick it up, you will leave behind fingerprints. My next step is to add the hardware. When I repaired the top I also filled in the holes on the drawers because I thought about replacing the handles with something more contemporary. I'm starting to second guess this decision because there are six handles per nightstand so if I keep the same holes I would need 12 new handles.That would cost as much as the nightstands. I also thought about using one handle per drawer but that might take away from some of the character. I've haven't decided what to do yet but stay tuned to find out.