A dresser reborn

About 4 months ago we bought a dresser from a lady for Eve's room. The lady had 'refinished' the dresser herself and it was AWFUL. We were paying for the style of the dresser not her horrible work. She didn't sand the dresser initially or ever. She didn't paint with the grain, she used a matt finish (looks awful) and then she didn't lacquer, but used a silver gloss to finish it (which she didn't paint with the grain either). If you are reading this and are not aware: when painting wood furniture sanding, painting with the grain and cleaning between each coat is crucial for a nice finish.






Here you can see her shotty work on the side, thick uneven horrible paint.



The handles she covered with some type of silver paint that isn't for metal. It rubbed off!


So, this is what we did.


Now, I will tell you it doesn't look as good as I had planned. I learned that I should have removed all of her horrible work instead of just sanding it smooth. This dresser should have been stripped of all paint and then I could have started fresh. Next time... Also, I should have used automobile spray paint for the handles (as was recommended to me) it would have adhered better.
Oh well, a lesson learned. At least the color is better and you can't see the bad paint brush marks as much. I don't think the dresser will be quite the keeper we were hoping for, but I do like it soooo much more than before.