When we bought it I was in love with the red...times have changed. I've decided I'll never buy a large piece of furniture in anything but black, cream or natural wood. Too much work to change :) However, I am very pleased with the finished product and very glad it's what I want for the space.
To get started, take every piece apart...knobs, hooks, screws...everything. It's much easier to paint and can easily be put back together in the end. Put your furniture in a space that can get dusty...sanding creates a nice layer of colored dust (in my case red) over everything in the room.
Any refinishing project is SO much easier with an electric sander. In my case the armoire would have been impossible to sand by hand. Electric sanders really aren't too expensive (the one pictured is $20 at Home Depot) and they are so worth the money! I went through about 10 sheets of 150 grit sandpaper for my project.
Unless you plan to antique the furniture after painting, you really only have to sand the top layer of paint. Once the shine is gone from the paint it usually means you're good. You can always paint a test strip to make sure the paint will adhere to the wood. If you do want to antique, you can also plan out the spots around the edges and make sure you sand down to the wood in those areas...you wouldn't necessarily need to strip the whole piece down to the natural wood.
After sanding, use a damp cloth to wipe the entire piece down to remove all the dust. Let dry and wipe with a dry cloth to get rid of any excess dust. It took me about 6-8 hours to sand my armoire to give you an idea on time. I will admit sanding is a royal pain and feels never ending at times. There were multiple nights I came into the house looking like a tomato. However, it can be done and as I said before, the results are all worth it!
Tomorrow I'll show you how I painted and finished the armoire!
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