The Paint Fail And What Went Wrong: Black Dresser Makeover Fix

If you’ve ever dealt with the nightmare of paint drag or ugly brush streaks on a dark piece of furniture, this post is for you. At one point in the makeover, this black dresser was a total disaster—but a few simple changes turned it into one of my best DIY wins yet. 

Before I begin the tutorial, I wanted to let you know that today is the Furniture Fixer Upper Tour.

The makeovers are wild and wonderful, and the pieces for this tour are really special. Links are at the bottom of the post.

Painted Furniture Tutorial With a Paint Fail and A Paint Fix

This black dresser makeover started as a frustrating paint fail, with drag marks, streaks, and a slick finish that refused to cooperate. In this tutorial, I walk you through what went wrong, how I fixed it using different products and techniques, and the key lessons to help you avoid the same mistakes on your own painted furniture projects.

The Project Piece – Vintage Chest of Drawers (or Dresser)

I purchased the chest of drawers from a local online auction for $60. It was in good shape except for one small area.

The top was in good condition, with no staining or water rings. There were a few scratches, and the finish was shiny and slick. 

The insides of all the drawers looked great, they just needed a little clean up.

At first, I thought the dovetailing on the drawers was pulling away, and I tapped on them with a hammer for a while with no luck. After looking more closely, I could see where most of the dovetails fit tightly, so no wonder I couldn’t make those other dovetail pieces close up. 

The drawer fronts didn’t feel loose at all, and they were still nice and straight, so I quit worrying about the dovetail.

Prep Furniture Before Painting

 

Clean

Start by removing the drawers from the furniture and vacuuming the drawers inside and out. Next, vacuum the inside of the furniture casing – dustboards, top and bottom, and the back side. 

Also, turn the furniture over to clean the bottom. You might be surprised how many spider eggs you find on the bottom of your furniture…..no matter how clean your house is. 

After you have vacuumed up the worst of the lint and dust, wipe over all the surfaces you just vacuumed with Simple Green or your favorite household cleaner. You will need to rinse your rag several times.

 

Make Repairs

While cleaning the furniture, look for any areas that may need repair, such as drawer joints, drawer runners, missing or damaged veneer, chipped wood details, etc. 

On this chest, the only thing that really needed attention was the right-side “leg” on the back. The veneer was chipped, and a small piece of wood was chipped away. The leg damage did not affect the stability.

There was a gap between the chipped veneer and the underlying wood, which might cause more of the veneer to peel away or chip off. I used wood glue to adhere the veneer. 

A small paintbrush worked well to push the glue under the veneer. Then I used a clamp to pull everything together until the glue dried.

Looking at the clamp, I realized I might be able to set the chest upright while leaving the clamp in place. It worked, so I could get started painting. 

I’m not good at waiting for glue or paint to dry. But in this case, it was worth giving it enough time to set properly.

Paint the Furniture: First Attempt (And the Problems)

The chest of drawers was a sleek, simple piece with few details, and as I painted it, I ran through various ideas for adding a little flair.

I decided this piece would look great painted black. Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral Paint color Caviar is a deep rich black and I had a partial jar of it on my paint shelf. Perfect.

I very seldom prime furniture because most of the newer paint products include a primer, and when I use chalk mineral paint, it adheres well without priming. 

But the first coat was really streaky, and I should have regrouped then to figure out the problem, but I didn’t. I applied a second coat of paint and noticed some streaking after it dried, so I thinned the paint with water and applied a third coat.

Seal the Paint (And Why It Didn’t Fix the Streaks)

At this point, the paint still had some streaks and “drag” marks, but I was hoping the sealer would help level it out. Not.

Assess The Makeover: When to Step Back and Reevaluate

I wasn’t happy with the paint finish, so I walked away and took a couple of days before looking at the chest again.

I could see drag marks on the drawers and light and dark streaks all over the chest. The top looked really bad.

Switching Paint Brands: The Simple Fix That Worked

To take care of the mess, I should have sanded with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth the paint, then brush on another coat of paint, but I didn’t do that. 

My plan was to buy a fresh jar of Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral Paint, but there is not a Dixie Belle retailer in my immediate area, and I needed to finish the project.

So I went to a local hardware store and bought Beyond Paint in Licorice. I’ve used this paint many times and love it. As far as furniture paints go, Dixie Belle and Beyond Paint are my favorites. 

Beyond Paint is an all-in-one primer, paint, and sealer. The paint is thick and almost gel-like.

Since I had 3 coats of Dixie Belle paint on the chest, it only needed one coat of Beyond Paint in a very similar black. And I stopped there with the painting.

How To Select Furniture Knobs For Your Project

1. Goal: add some “pizazz” with knobs instead of keeping everything solid black.

2. Try #1: small knobs on top + large knobs on bottom (too much contrast).

3. Try #2: try various positions, adding spray-painted black knobs (still too much contrast).

After several mix-and-match attempts with different knob sizes and colors, I ended up ditching the larger knobs and using the smaller decorative knobs on the top drawers, paired with spray-painted original wood knobs on the lower drawers.

The small knobs on the top drawers are so pretty. A chest-on-chest is one of my favorite furniture designs.

The original wood knobs are spray-painted with Rustoleum Satin Canyon Black.

Paint Fail Recap

Reason One: The paint was too thick. It had been opened and used before and had thickened over time.
Fix: Thin it with a small amount of water, stirring and adding more as needed until it reaches a smooth, brushable consistency.

Reason Two: I overworked the paint. I kept brushing over areas as they were starting to dry, which caused even more drag and streaks.
Fix: Apply 2–3 thin coats. Brush it on and leave it alone; cover missed spots with the next coat.

Reason Three: The stained finish was too slick. The surface was sleek and shiny, which kept the paint from flowing smoothly.
Fix: When in doubt, sand, prime, or do both before painting.

So if your black dresser (or any piece of furniture) looks streaky or like a total paint fail, don’t panic—step back, figure out what went wrong, and try one of these fixes. You might end up loving it even more.

As always, thanks for being here, Kathy