How to Refinish an Antique Kitchen Dresser

I have been searching for a dresser for our living area for some time now. We are going to move our lounge to create a snug in the spare room and make the lounge into a dining area. So when I saw this Houn pine dresser up for auction I thought it would be perfect. All it needed was some TLC. This post details how to refinish a kitchen dresser.

This is not the first time we have revamped an unloved auction piece and given it a makeover.

This is how the little dresser looked when we bought it. It cost $450 which is a reasonable price for an old Huon pine piece, as furniture is no longer made and people who own antique pieces tend to hold on to them.

What is Huon Pine?

Huon pine is quite a unique tree. It grows in the wet, temperate rainforests of South West Tasmania and it is not technically a pine. It’s also the only tree in its family, making it even more special and very rare. In the early days of Tasmania’s European history, it was logged and floated up the Huon River near where we live.

Huon pine grows slowly, averaging just 1 millimetre in girth per year The timber has a very high oil content. This makes it smell wonderful. Because it can be bent, shaped, worked, and sculpted without splitting Huon pine became popular for furniture in colonial times.

If you are fortunate enough to own a piece made of Huon pine you certainly treasure it.

What I Used to Refinish the Dresser

• Belt sander (I can hear purists cringing at that but it does the job on the larger flat areas)
• Detail sander for the fiddly bits
• 80 grit sandpaper
• 120 grit sandpaper
• a dustpan and broom
• a damp cloth
• dust mask
• Gilly’s Cream Polish-Lavender
• a soft cloth and buffing rag

How to Refinish the Dresser

• Put on your dust mask. Old varnish up your nose and in your mouth can be a little toxic
• Using the belt sander and 80 grit sandpaper, carefully strip off the old varnish on the large flat surfaces such as the sides, top and bench top. Pine is very soft so you need to work slowly, taking care to keep the sander flat and remove only the varnish layer. Make sure to work with the grain of the wood.
• Brush the surfaces clean
• Use the detail sander to get into the little nooks and crannies. If the details are too fine. like the pointy parts on our dresser, use a piece of 120 sandpaper rolled over, and hand sand. I did this around the knobs as well. It did not take long to remove the varnish as the wood was soft.
• Once you have removed all the varnish give the entire piece of furniture a go over with 120 grit to smooth everything out.
• Sweep your dresser and vacuum any corners so it is dust free.
• Wipe your dresser clean with a damp cloth

The Fun Part

This is my favourite part of the transformation. The wood comes back to life.

Using a soft, lint-free cloth (I used an old tea towel and a T-shirt) slather the wood with the lavender cream wax and rub in the direction of the grain of the wood. Use your old t-shirt to buff the wax.

The smell is amazing and the wood suddenly has a depth of colour again. I left a few of the imperfections, like the white part where holes had been filled and the chips on the corner of my dresser as a mark its age and history. It adds to the character and charm.

Once you have finished rubbing wax into your dresser leave it for a few days to cure and then fill it with your treasures.

I decided our little beauty was to small for the high ceilings in the farmhouse, so we have given it a home in the dairy. It will be used to display wares from Our Vintage Farm Shop.