One of the best ways to get a deal on a beautiful piece of furniture is if it has had a terrible or hideous color paint job. Today I’m going to show you how you can refinish a painted antique wardrobe or any other piece with a bit of time and a bit of elbow grease.

Antique Wardrobe After back highlight paint front photo — As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure here.

I was walking into the thrift store when I happened to look at this ugly old brown wardrobe. I peeked at the price which said $45 and squealed inside. Then I looked inside and I immediately knew it was coming home with me.

I went straight into the store and got in line to pay for it before someone else recognized the potential.

The Outside brown painted antique wardrobe with two large red knobs

Typically I shy away from painted furniture. If a piece is in otherwise great condition and at the right price I’ll occasionally make an exception. Sometimes stripping a piece can be a lot more work than I’m willing to invest.

It can also be messy and when you’re working out of your dining room, like me, it doubles and triples the inconvenience factor. But if it’s nice outside you can do it there, which would be a definite bonus.

Inside the Antique Wardrobe is perfect conditioned wood and a built in shelving — As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post contains Affiliate Links.

Things to Consider Before Purchasing a Vintage Piece

The overall condition of the piece. Inspect it carefully.

Sturdiness

I check that it isn’t wobbly or loose. Do a good once or twice over to ensure it doesn’t have veneer damage. Veneer damage is probably not worth stripping because you might have to paint over it at that point anyway.

Damage

Sometimes damage will hide under the paint. So keep in mind there may be surprises.

The price and value of the piece itself.

Is it worth the time and added expense of stripping the paint? This piece was only $35 after a coupon and therefore was worth taking a chance on.

Brown Painted Antique Wardrobe with first coat of chemical stripper — This was while the first and only layer of Citristrip was drying. You can see it changing colors from pink to almost a powdery white. This is how you know a piece is ready to begin scraping.

How do you refinish painted wood?

To refinish a painted piece you first have to get the old paint off. You can use a variety of products to help you do this, but my absolute favorite is *Citristrip. It is low VOC (low fumes) so much better to use indoors with proper ventilation and works tremendously.

Step 1

Clean the piece thoroughly. I use a damp rag and a touch of dawn dish soap. Then vacuum.

Step 2

Gather all your supplies, including protective gear.

*Goggles, *Rubber Gloves, *Apron, *Chip Brush, *Scraper, *Citristrip, *Waterlox (*Wipe-On Poly, *Polycrylic, or *Furniture Wax)

Step 3

Apply liberally all over the piece. Allow to sit for 20-30 minutes (Max. of 24 hours, but I wouldn’t wait that long it starts to dry then it’s a real mess).

Step 4

Start scraping the paint off. When the paint comes off effortlessly you know it’s ready to come off, this shouldn’t be a struggle. If it has multiple coats of paint you won’t see the wood underneath just yet, typically.

Step 5

Repeat the process if needed.

For more detailed instructions I have created a printable DIY list for you at the bottom of this page.

After one layer of chemical stripper the paint was completely off the wardrobe

Thankfully it only took one full layer of paint stripper to get the brown paint off. I had one small stubborn spot and the bottom panel I couldn’t reach easily I left for later. The worst part of the whole piece was the top center of the door where it allows for airflow into the wardrobe. I had to faithfully sit there with my scraper and chip away at it little by little. But I was willing to put in the work to refinish this painted antique wardrobe.

After stripping the Wardrobe I discovered the missing keyhole that was painted over

Sometimes you find surprises! I had no idea this keyhole existed until I scraped the paint off. In one fell scrape, it appeared.

After I had all the paint stripper scraped off it was time for the next step.

Step 6

You have 2 options.

1. Use *mineral spirits to clean the piece off, or the one I usually use,

2. Sand the piece thoroughly. Using *220 grit sandpaper I used my *orbital sander for the majority of flat surfaces and sanded by hand in the other tighter spots around the door.

The Original Door Pull before and after being cleaned thoroughly

Another amazing surprise was the original door pull that was hiding inside of the wardrobe on the floor.

Antique wardrobe refinished and complete

After I had completed the stripping and sanding it was simply beautiful. But a bit one-note, it needed something to break up all the wood. Even though the wood was lovely, it needed dimension. So I got out my *painter‘s tape and started mapping out a few clean simple lines. Just enough to break it up and hope to stay true to the original feel of the piece itself.

Antique Wardrobe with painters tape on the front

It really didn’t take long. I wanted to keep it very simple. Really just a highlight, if you will. And then I went in with black paint.

It looked simply gorgeous when it was all painted. Just enough black to highlight the shape of the piece and accentuate the few curves on it. A lovely Mid Century Modern piece. I felt like I’d done it justice and given it a new life.

To finish the piece off I used three solid coats of *Waterlox. What I love about Waterlox is how easy it is to use and how beautiful the finished product is. You don’t have to sand in between coats, you simply apply it and let it dry. I did three coats as recommended, 24 hours in between each coat. For the last coat, I wiped off any excess after about 10 minutes and buffed it.

As you can see the finish was just about perfect. It was so smooth. It’s hard to believe how it started and why anyone would have covered it with bland brown paint in the first place.

Antique Wardrobe After black highlight paint side

Thank you so much for reading this far. Please keep in mind that each piece of furniture requires different techniques, some are easier than others. In this case, it was really a straightforward process that caused minor work. I couldn’t be happier with the results. Maybe you need to refinish a painted antique wardrobe or another piece? I hope with the help of this tutorial you feel less intimidated by the process.

If you love a good refinishing project be sure to check out this post How to Refinish A Vintage Dining Room Set and make sure to check out my brand new YouTube Channel where I’ll be sharing all about the DIY Lifestyle.

How do you strip paint without chemicals?

There are a few methods you can use to get paint off without using any chemicals. Depending on the piece you could simply use a heat gun, or simply use a sander starting at 80 grit and then ending at 120.

My preferred way of stripping typically is sanding, but unless you can work outside this is not ideal. Though you will have to sand the piece eventually anyway.

A heat gun is an option, but probably the last one I would choose. It’s tricky heating the paint up just enough to peel off without burning the piece or yourself.

There are a few other methods you could try like vinegar. I have never tried this for paint on furniture or wood, but I did use it for cleaning off the paint on the original door pull and it works beautifully.