Let's get to strippin!

Finally! Finally it was warm enough to get my strip on with the dresser in my garage*. If you forgot, I picked up a dresser on the curb a while ago. I wanted to strip it, but it has been too cold. Yesterday I washed the car in the driveway and figured that if it was warm enough to do that, it was warm enough to strip. 

*Double entendre intended. Let's actually just assume that for this entire post about stripping. 

Here's what it looked like before: 

First things first, I wiped the whole thing down with some soapy water. I let it dry while I worked on the drawers. They were all lined with super old brittle shelf paper. I ripped all of it out. It was extremely difficult, and I kept telling myself that this was probably the hardest part of the whole project. 

This picture makes me seriously cringe. Is it possible to get PTSD from shelf paper removal? 

I applied my safety gear.  

I was trying to smize, like Tyra Banks. I don't think I would be America's Next Top Model. The stripper I was using was a 'less toxic' formula. Less toxic, hmmmm. I'm a paranoid parrot, so I figured I would load up on the safety gear. Husband has the awesome mask anyway from spray painting projects. 

Then I applied my stripper to the dresser, using a brush. Simple. It has the consistency of pudding and smells like artificial oranges. Don't eat it. 

The directions say that you can leave it for up to 24 hours. When I was heading inside for the day I could already tell it was working, and it was very exciting. 

The next morning I headed out to scrape the paint off. It worked pretty well, especially on the top of the dresser and the flat part of the drawers.

 I was frustrated with the sides though.

 So I re-applied stripper to the top and drawer fronts, and I am about to go attack that now with a scrubby pad. Once the tops are done I will do the sides laying down flat, which I think will help the stripper stick better.

Thanks for reading! Best wishes and love from Portland.