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Saw a 'restored' dresser at a flea market in Asheville that made me cringe

The seller had slapped a thick coat of black paint over the original veneer without stripping it first, and you could see every single brush stroke. It's that kind of rushed work that gives our whole trade a bad name. Has anyone else seen a piece recently that was just butchered?
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4 Comments
the_cameron
That reptile shedding its skin line hit me hard because I used to be the guy slapping paint on everything. Got a free MCM side table a few years back, thought I was saving it with a fast paint job. Six months later I was peeling paint off in giant strips and realized I'd ruined the whole thing. Seeing that black dresser you described made me feel sick, because I've been that seller before and it's a hard lesson.
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uma659
uma6591mo ago
Ugh, that's the worst. I saw a gorgeous old oak table last week that someone had "updated" with gray chalk paint. They didn't even sand it, so the paint is already flaking off in sheets. It's such a shame.
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harper_burns59
Remember when we all thought painting everything gray was a good idea? I had this solid maple dresser I painted without sanding first. Two months later it looked like a reptile shedding its skin. Seeing that mess on a real wood piece made me get why prep matters. Now I just clean and oil old furniture, let the wood speak for itself.
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alex820
alex8201mo ago
Look, it's just paint on a table. Maybe they liked the gray and the flaky look is part of the style now. Not every old piece needs to be a museum piece.
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