Refurbishing Mid-Century Dresser/Nightstand (Need Advice)

[ucmgrad]

I know we have a lot of talented Barfers and would like the collective wisdom of you to see where I should start:

I picked up this sweet looking Bassett Dresser and Nightstand and want to bring it back to its former glory. From what I can tell the "wood exterior" in a veneer because it's starting to flake off because I can pick it off with my fingernail.

My question is, how would you approach to bringing this back from the dead? I was thinking of hand sanding off the veneer and filling in any imperfections.Then either trying to source replacement veneer and either installing it myself or having someone do it for me. I wasn't going to touch the drawers themselves because they are in good condition.

Pics of said sweet furniture are below: :cool

 

[Johndicezx9]

*Paging Dubbs to the white courtesy phone*

That dresser's cool, post pics when completed please! :thumbup

 

[ucmgrad]

Thanks John, I just don't want to start sanding it down before I ruin it :laughing

Want some advice :cool

 

[mercurial]

It's a neat looking design, but replacing veneer seems like a lot of work given the overall quality of the piece. Unfortunately, many mid century pieces are basically IKEA precursors, and were not designed to have antique-like longevity.

I am def not an expert in restoration, but seems like you might be able to give the veneer a light sand, use some putty in the chipped areas, and revarnish. But the restored areas might look weird if it doesn't match the drawers. Sanding those the drawer fronts looks like a nightmare. If by some fluke the drawers are amazing quality, it seems like it would be better to just build a new cabinet for them.

 

[littlebeast]

LOVE them! i would clean up the cabinet and paint it black (leave the drawers as is). the contrast would look stunning.

 

[RS250 Chester]

Dubbs, is the guy for this stuff. I have refurbished on 3 dressers/tables in the last year and I am currently working on a table and a cabinet.

From what I can see in the pics, it looks like veneer on top of pressboard. I was going to work on a stereo cabinet that is similar to that, but decided against it. Hulbert Lumber in Newark sells veneer, but it is too expensive to justify the cost on the stereo cabinet, ended up gutting it, selling the stereo equipment and dumping the cabinet.

If I were in your shoes I would do the following:

1. clean up best you could, fill in gouged areas and use a stain pen to see if it can look decent.

2. If the above doesn't work, then I would lightly sand the veneer to strip off the old stuff. Fill in gouges and stain.

3. If that doesn't work, then paint the whole thing.

As you can see, I left off replacing the veneer, as it's expensive.