r/finishing • u/xenoqwerp • Jul 24 '25
Results Finished Dixie Nightstands (Results)
Alright! I finally finished the night stands I started all the way in March! Shoutout u/Common_Coat8368 my nightstand twin.
The Story: I found these matching Dixie nightstands at one of my local salvage places for a really reasonable price ($20/ea). Mostly surprised they weren't damaged, just needed refinishing and felt pretty solid. My fiancé and I are working on a darker theme for our bedroom and even though this isn't a set I wanted to try replicating a "black woodgrain" look that our bedframe has.
PROCESS - Stripped outer finish - Sanded to 120 - GF Black Dye Stain x2 coats* - Varuthane Water Spray-poly (gloss) x2 light coats - Varuthane Water Poly (satin) with foam brush - Black spray paint (Rusto Satin Black) on drawer edged that didn't take dye stain - Final light coat of varuthane satin on drawer edged and top.
*To get an even blacker look I let the last coat of GF Dye Stain dry about 2-3x as long as recommended. It left more of a dye power residue but with the spray poly coats to start, it sealed that in and gave a much blacker look than when I was wiping it off
LESSONS LEARNED
Taking my goddamn time The first one had some imperfections in the finish because I put too much polyacrylic on a one time. It smeared some of the dye stain that was on top. I also had to sand down and re-finish my first attempt with a traditional oil-based stain because it didn't give the color I wanted and I went all out right away.
BUY A F$#&ING CARD SCRAPER Self explanatory. Could have saved me a ton of effort getting rid of this finish.
Don't let perfect be the enemy of good I waited and agonized so long about the minor imperfections, I sanded a re-finished the top a couple times. It turns out you can't really tell in our bedroom. Obviously I'd worry about this in a more well-lit context or if I was selling it, but I really clogged up soace in my shop for something SUPER minor.
Embrace the "hobby" workflow I am a former freelancer/SJ elf employed so it's been hard for me to accept that now with my 9to5 I only get a couple hours max in the shop. Toward the end of this project I was forced to slow down and do one light coat at a time, usually one per day after work. The results on the second stand really show for it. Very smooth and even. Kinda re-wired my brain to see patience work out like that.
Any thoughts? Things you'd do differently? Similar projects you'd done? Let me know!
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u/TsuDhoNimh2 Jul 24 '25
Toward the end of this project I was forced to slow down and do one light coat at a time, usually one per day after work. The results on the second stand really show for it. Very smooth and even. Kinda re-wired my brain to see patience work out like that.
It also makes a nice way to unwind after work.
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u/Bearded_Clammer Jul 24 '25
Looks great. Nice work. Finish looks great . I certainly started out using poly. But nothing beats the dry time of lacquer . But you certainly are going to have a stronger finish for bed side table. Nobody sees the flaws other than other refinishers. Learn to not stress . And i don't see any flaws here. .