DIY Whitewash Dresser

Learn how to turn your old dresser into a raw wood / whitewashed beauty with this step by step tutorial. Here’s our DIY Whitewash Dresser Makeover!

Get more DIY dresser ideas here!

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Here’s what the dresser looked like when we bought it on facebook marketplace.

The previous owner removed most of the damaged veneer before she sold it to me.

She was probably completely worn out by the time she got it to this point.

I can’t blame her though, if you don’t know the trick, removing veneer can be a huge pain!

Since she already did so much work, I decided to roll with all of the raw wood.

Thankfully I recently learned the easiest way to remove veneer from furniture, so I was able to easily finish removing the veneer on the top.

I wanted a raw wood look for this dresser, basically exactly how it looked when I was done sanding.

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DIY Whitewash Dresser

Supplies Used:

3×4 Vacuum Compatible SurfPrep Sander Use code RAY10 to get 10% off your order
My favorite regular Sandpaper
Shop Vac
Tack Cloth
Water-Based Polyurethane
Foam Sponge
Disposable Gloves
White Paint for Whitewash
My Favorite Paint Brush
Lint Free Rags
New Knobs

How to Whitewash Raw Wood

Remove the Old Finish
Seal the Raw Wood
Whitewash
Topcoat

Step One: Remove the Old Finish

First, I got to work sanding off the old finish that was left on the dresser.

sanding in progress, half of the dresser sanded on one side.

This old antique dresser sanded down pretty fast since the old finish was dry and pretty thin.

I started by sanding it with 100 grit sandpaper to get most of the finish off as fast as possible.

I used my favorite little SurfPrep sander, but you could sand with any ole sander for the most part.

using the surfprep sander to remove the old finish

using the surfprep sander to sand the turned wood legs

I love this surfprep sander because of the foam sandpaper I can use with it, and because it’s a rectangle, so I can get right up to the edges and in the corners with it.

IF you use an orbital sander, you’ll need to hand sand the corners and edges.

After everything was sanded with 100 grit, I sanded everything down with 150 grit sandpaper and then with 220 grit sandpaper.

I used 150 instead of jumping straight to 220 to help avoid any sanding marks that come from using a power sander.

I also tried to sand slower, without applying very much pressure to the sander to help avoid those sanding swirls.

For the details at the bottom, I just folded a piece of sandpaper in half. Then I removed some of the dark stain, but left most of it to show off the pretty details.

sanding the details at the bottom of the dresser with a folded up piece of sandpaper

closeup of dresser after sanded. Some stain left in the details.

I ended up sanding the entire thing, even the drawers and top, with 220 grit sandpaper before moving on.

And then I removed the dust that was left behind with a vacuum and then with a tack cloth. (Tack cloths are amazing at picking up all the little specks of dust left!)

using a hose shop vacuum attachment to remove dust from the dresser

using a tack cloth to get the dust off of the dresser

Optional: Chemical Stripper

You don’t have to be limited to only sanding to remove the old finish though!

Sometimes the old finish is hard to remove by sanding.

In that case, a chemical stripper is the best option.

Click on over to this post to learn about our favorite way to use a (not harsh) chemical stripper.

Step Two: Seal The Raw Wood

Then I wiped a coat of poly all over the raw wood to keep the whitewash from soaking into the wood too much.

using a sponge to apply waterbased polyurethane

varathane waterbased polyurethane in satin

Notice how much darker the wood gets from just one coat of poly on it!

I wiped the poly on with a foam sponge.

I love the painting sponge from Country Chic Paint to apply poly by hand, but the ones I have right now have been used and abused.

So I tried this sponge out and I was super happy with the results!

Since the 1 coat of poly is so thin, it only acts as a barrier to keep the whitewash from soaking in too much (and making it so you can’t wipe it back off).

And since the whitewash is such a thin coat, it has no problem adhering to the 1 coat of poly.

So the poly gives you more control over the whitewash, and the whitewash lightens up the sealed wood.

Optional: Staining

For some reason, the wood on the top drawer and the wood on the top were different than the rest of the dresser.

wiping brown waterbased stain onto the top drawer

Everything else was a lot more orange.

So I tried to stain the wood to a closer shade of what everything else was before I moved onto whitewashing.

First I used a little mix of brown latex paint and water to see if that helped, but it was definitely not even close.

fresh mustard and paint the town paint colors from country chic paint to make orange stain

I didn’t have any orange paint to try to stain the wood to match the orangey tones, so I grabbed the red and yellow paint that I have on hand, and mixed up an orange.

I mixed it with more water to create basically a whitewash, but orange instead of white.

Then I wiped it onto the top of the dresser and top drawer.