How to Sand & Stain a Dresser

Sanding and staining are significant steps in achieving a professional finish on a hardwood dresser. Sanding smooths the wood grain during the prep stage and removes dust throughout the finishing stage. The correct application of stain provides rich tones that improve the dresser’s natural beauty. While none of these tasks requires specific skills, they are time-consuming and require attention to detail for the ideal outcome. Remove all the old finish about an present dresser before beginning.

Prep Sanding

Remove dresser drawers and put each one on end, on a drop cloth, together with the drawer front facing upwards. In case the drawers came with installed pulls, remove them using a screwdriver. Put on goggles and a respirator mask before sanding.

Start sanding using 80-grit sandpaper or a sanding block, using smooth and even strokes and sanding in the exact same way as the wood grain. Unfinished dressers include presanded, but this is nevertheless an important measure to eliminate scratches or blemishes and to smooth wood grain which may have enlarged due to moisture. Run your fingers over the wood as you mud to make certain all roughness is eliminated.

Switch to your finer, 160-grit sandpaper or sanding block to provide a very smooth surface before applying stain. While there certainly are finer-grit sandpapers, 160-grit is adequate. Should you use a very fine grit, you risk polishing the wood surface, which can hinder stain absorption.

Applying Stain

Brush off sanding dust using a brush, or vacuum it away and crack a window before rinsing. Solvent fumes in wood stain can leave you feeling a little dizzy if you apply the stain in a closed room. Wear rubber gloves.

Brush on a thin but also coat of wood stain using a new paintbrush or utilize a stain applicator pad. The caveat when applying stain would be to function from the surface of the dresser down and also to restrict staining to a part at a time. For instance, do the dresser top first, then 1 side, then another side, then the front. Stain every single drawer face entirely.

Allow the wood stain soak in a few minutes or till the wood reaches the desired shade and then wipe it off completely using soft, absorbent rags. Pay special attention to details and crevices in the wood. If any stain remains on the wood, it can impact the dresser’s finish coat.

Final Sanding and Finishing

Allow the wood dry completely before lightly sanding with 220-grit sandpaper. Staining causes the wood fibers to swell slightly. Use a light touch to keep from sanding off any of this color.

Wipe down the dresser and drawer fronts with tack cloth before apply a light coat of wood finish and let it dry.

Sand the dresser involving every finish coat to eliminate pieces of dust which may adhere to the finish before it’s completely dry. Use 400-grit silicon carbide sandpaper and a very light touch. This is more of a polishing measure than anything else.

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