How to Restore Antique Laminate Dressers

Work in a well-ventilated area. Outdoors is ideal, weather permitting. Remove the drawers and unscrew any hardware and knobs. Place the drawers on a large tarp. Put on vinyl or latex gloves and a safety mask. with a clean paint brush.

Use 220-grit sandpaper and sand the front part of the dresser drawers. Make sure to sand the entire section where there is old laminate. Sand each dresser drawer front and wipe dust away. The drawers should have a dull finish. This means the laminate was properly removed.

Take a sander machine and sand the dresser on the top and sides, wherever there is remaining old laminate. Do not oversand; just do enough to remove the laminate and dull the surface of the antique dresser. Take the paintbrush and remove dust.

Reglue any surface chips back in place. Place a heavy weight over the glued section and allow to dry for six hours. Once the glue is dry on the repaired section, continue to sand.

Apply a bonding laminate primer with a paintbrush over the sanded surface on the dresser drawers and the remaining sanded areas of the dresser. Allow the primer to dry. Paint the drawers and dresser with a clear acrylic laminate or a color paint of your choice. For a satin finish, use semigloss latex enamel or satin paint.