That week I tried to refinish a dresser with just a sander and hope

Last spring I spent six whole evenings sanding a solid oak dresser I found for $40 at a garage sale near me, only to realize I'd skipped stripping the old varnish first. The finish came out patchy and rough, and I ended up having to redo the whole thing with chemical stripper anyway. Has anyone else learned a basic step the hard way on a project?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_derek22d ago

Did you check if the sander pads were meant for wood or more for drywall? I learned that one after burning through three packs on a single table leg.

charliestone22d ago

Three garage sales and two ruined dressers later, I finally figured out that stripping old finish is like reading a recipe before cooking. You just assume you know the steps and then end up with something that barely works. It's the same reason people throw out instructions for assembling furniture and then have extra screws left over. We all think shortcuts save time, but they usually just make the job take twice as long. That sanding mistake you made is basically the home improvement version of not measuring before you cut.

sanchez.pat4d ago

Six evenings and a lot of swearing later, I finally admit you're right. I used to think I could just power through any project, but that dresser beat the shortcut out of me.