Narrator: Andy is a furniture refinisher
who runs the YouTube channel Modern Makeovers.
This dresser was made in the 1920s.
Over years of use, the veneer is starting to peel off.
There are marker drawings on it,
and the stain is starting to age.
Andy shows us how he restores this dresser
by removing the old veneer
and replacing it with new veneer strips,
removing the old stain and applying a new coat,
repairing the handles, and applying a topcoat
to seal in all his work.
The veneer on this dresser
is severely damaged and unsalvageable.
Andy is using a heat gun
and a putty knife to strip it off.
The heat softens the glue between the veneer
and the dresser, so that the wood underneath
won't get damaged as he strips it.
He sands the whole piece down to bare wood.
This makes it easier for the stain to absorb
when he applies it later on in the process.
Now he's applying a paint stripper
to the sides of the dresser to remove the old stain.
It sits for 15 minutes,
then he scrubs the area with steel wool.
Andy is replacing the old veneer
with veneer edge bandings.
He arranges the strips,
carefully considering the width,
grain pattern, and color of each.
Once he's happy with how they look,
he numbers them to make sure
he can put them back in the same order.
Andy is covering the surrounding areas with painter's tape
in order to protect them.
He applies a generous amount of contact cement
to the strips with a roller
as well as the section of the dresser
he'll be applying the strips to
in order to get a strong adhesion.
Andy waits 15 minutes and then does a touch test.
If the contact cement isn't tacky to the touch,
the strips are ready to go on.
He is applying one strip at a time
to make sure the application is perfect.
Then, using a wooden stick with a rounded edge,
he presses down hard across the entire surface
to make sure it is fully adhered.
He repeats this process one strip at a time,
until the entire top of the dresser is covered.
Andy is breaking off the excess length of the strips
and sanding the edges smooth.
To give the front edge of the veneer a cleaner finish,
he adds a thin strip of wood
to blanket the edges of the veneer strips.
Andy is doing this by cutting a piece
of scrap wood with a table saw
and applying it to the dresser with wood glue.
He is restaining the body of the piece with an oil stain.
Andy slathers the stain on with a brush
and then wipes it away with a towel.
He is removing the handles from the drawers
so he can work on them separately.
Andy sands the existing finish on the drawers
in order to apply a new finish.
He is applying paint stripper to the handles using a brush.
After 15 minutes, he can scrub away the stain and finish
on the handles using a scratch brush.
Andy is staining the handles
using a water-based stain in black.
He applies the stain using a pair of socks.
Cotton is lint-free and highly absorbent,
making it a perfect tool for staining.
He uses a water-based topcoat to seal the drawers
and the body of the dresser.
After years of use, this peeling dresser is now
a fully repaired piece that is ready to be used again.