Smooth metallic drawers

Transform an old chest of drawers into a sleek piece of modern furniture with a little bit of help from Resene.

Fun with furniture with Mark Rayner - Project 13

Difficulty level: Moderate

You will need: old wooden chest of drawers, a clean damp cloth, paintbrush, paint stirrer, medium and fine grade sandpaper, screwdriver, small paint tray and roller. Resene Quick Dry, Resene Aquaclear satin, Resene Enamacryl Metallic tinted to Resene Sterling and Resene Lumbersider tinted to Resene Triple Ash.

To get the look: Mark painted the background wall with Resene SpaceCote Low Sheen tinted to Resene Half Alabaster and varnished the floorboards with Resene Aquaclear gloss.

Other ideas: Try a rich golden effect using Resene Bullion over a basecoat of Resene Porsche.

Step one
Carefully remove the metal drawer handles and put to one side.

Step two
Use a clean, damp cloth to remove any dust or dirt from the chest of drawers. Once dry, lightly sand with medium grade sandpaper.

Step three
Spot prime any areas of bare wood with Resene Quick Dry and, once dry, lightly sand the entire chest of drawers with fine grade sandpaper. Wipe any sanding dust off with a clean damp cloth and allow to dry.

Step four
Paint the chest of drawers with one coat of Resene Triple Ash, and allow two hours to dry.

Step five
Carefully stir the Resene Sterling with a paint stirrer, as shown.

Step six
Apply two coats of Resene Sterling to the chest of drawers, carefully laying off in one direction. Allow two hours for each coat to dry.

Step seven
Apply two coats of Resene Aquaclear to the chest of drawers, allowing two hours for each coat to dry.

Step eight
Reattach the metal drawer handles (cleaning first, if necessary, with a metal polish).

Other projects you might like to try

Checkerboard floor
Weekend DIY

Paint a feature wall with two contrasting colours

Two-colour feature wall
Weekend DIY

paint an wooden interior of a workshop or shed

Pale wood interior
Ways with wood

Modern mailbox
Ways with wood

Stackable herb planters
Weekend Gardener

Create tin can plant pots to hang on your fence

Fancy fencing
Weekend Gardener

View more projects

Resene Paints Ltd – www.resene.com

We would love to hear from you if you wish to use Resene's images, information and ideas for social medial, blogs, newsletters and other media use. Please email update@resene.co.nz and let us know what you need, what it is for and how Resene will be acknowledged as the source of the content. We are happy to assist with most requests.

Our vision is to be respected as a trusted, ethical and sustainable company and acknowledged as the leading provider of innovative paint and colour technology. View Resene’s profile, Quality Policy, Environmental Policy and Health & Safety Policy.

Any personal data, such as name, address, phone, email details, supplied to Resene for the purposes of receiving newsletters, orders etc will be retained by Resene Paints Ltd and used only by Resene Paints Ltd and its trusted agencies for the purposes of communication/promotion/providing service to you. We do not sell, trade or otherwise transfer your personal data to outside third parties. If you wish to opt out of communication from Resene please complete our contact us form. View our full Privacy Policy.

Colours shown on this website are a representation only. Please refer to the actual paint or product sample. Resene colour charts, testpots and samples are available for ordering online. See measurements/conversions for more details on how electronic colour values are achieved.