Today, I am going to share how I gave a large piece of furniture a new look, without stripping or sanding.  Well just a little bit of light sanding.

This project, I need to share with y’all due to how easy it was to change a large piece of furniture.

When we purchased the piece in the 1990s, dark furniture was the thing.  As I grow in decorating, I have been wanting this same piece in a lighter stain.  What’s keeping me from the project is all the hard work.  Stripping and sanding.

Did I mention, it’s a LARGE piece?  When I watched an Instagramer updated her kitchen cabinets without stripping and sanding, I was like HOW??  I quickly read up on the product she used and added it to my Amazon cart.

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How I used Retique It Liquid Wood

I took all the drawers out of the piece and removed the hardware.

Cleaned all the surfaces with 70% isopropyl alcohol and a clean cloth.

The direction states to mix the liquid wood thoroughly for 2 minutes.

I shook the container for 2 minutes afterwards I used a paint stick and gave it a mixing for 2 minutes. My liquid wood was ready!

With a regular paint brush, I applied the liquid wood onto the furniture.

Once the surface was painted, I did one even stroke with my brush creating one long brush mark.

I’m going to be honest with you, I was upset at how it looks after the first coat was applied.

I let the first coat dry for 2 hours.

Before the second coat I lightly sanded the surface with 220 grit sandpaper and then cleaned with a damp cloth.

Even the second coat looked rough.

 

After I applied the third coat, I was relieved.  I let the third coat sit for 4 hours before moving on to the next step.

After applying the third coat, I called it a day and let it dry until the next morning.

Retique It states to use a non-penetrating stain, they have their own stain, but I decided to get a gel stain.  I went with Minwax gel stain in the color Walnut.

I sanded it lightly with 220 grit sandpaper, wiped it down with a clean cloth and started staining the pieces with a dish sponge.

The gel stain dries rather quickly, I applied it on a section in even strokes.  I let it sit on the piece for 90 seconds and wiped it off with a soft cloth.

After staining the entire piece, I let it sit for 48 hours.  That was the hardest part of the project.  It was very humid, even in the house and the stain took 48 hours to dry completely.

I took 220 grit sandpaper and sanded the entire piece and drawers then wiping it with a damp cloth.

To finish the piece, I added two coats of Varathane Polyurethane Matte finish.

Applied two coats to the entire piece, sanding lightly in between coats.

Once dried I added the hardware on the drawers and placed the drawers back into the dresser.

My opinion on the Retique It, it is a simpler way to give your furniture a new look, but it doesn’t give you the same look as stripping and sanding a piece before staining.

The look of the dresser before.

And now after I used Retique It Liquid Wood.

And here’s the finished product!  I want to spray paint the knobs black, but I am called to go be with my mom, she was taken back to the hospital.  Unfortunately, she had a stroke.  Once we get her back on the recovery track, I’ll change the knobs then, but for now they look fine as is.

Again, before.

And now.

Thanks for stopping by and reading about my dresser project.

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