DIYer 'Rescues' a Facebook Marketplace Flip From a Hideous Paint Job

I don't mean to talk bad about DIY furniture flippers who sell on Facebook Marketplace, because a lot of them are genuinely tasteful and creative, and know how to accentuate the beauty of their furniture rather than overwhelm it. But come on: we've all seen those Marketplace furniture flips where someone takes a perfectly nice piece of furniture and ruins it with the thickest, gummiest, gaudiest coat of paint possible.

Jessica May Smith, a DIYer from Nashville, was scrolling through Facebook Marketplace when she was stopped short by a dresser with the ugliest DIY paint job she'd ever seen. Aghast, she swooped in and saved the piece, embarking on an impressive restoral process to turn that trash back into treasure!

Wow. I have to credit Jessica (aka @theteddyjamesco ) for not judging a book by its cover, because... oof. As far as bad DIY paint jobs go, this one was a chunky lilac atrocity, and the dresser's heavy surface wear wasn't doing it any favors, either. Jessica didn't hold back, calling it "the worst paint job [she'd] ever seen, but also the ugliest." Still, Jessica saw potential beneath the lurid purple finish, and against the odds, she brought it back out.

Related: DIY Renovator Paints Kitchen Cabinets Green and It Completely Transforms the Space

First, Jessica had to strip away the thick coats of paint covering the wood, which was no easy feat. In the comments, she estimated that it took her five full hours just to fully strip and sand the dresser. Her efforts were worth it, though, because she had struck DIY furniture flipper gold. Underneath the ugly purple paint, the dresser was built from beautiful, solid birch - and not only that, but Jessica strongly suspected it was handmade, too!

Birch wood's light color and attractive grain pattern are effortlessly appealing, and while you can paint over birch or darken it with stains, it's beautiful enough to exist on its own with minimal cosmetic enhancement. Birch is also known for being durable, and even after its hideous former paint job and Jessica's arduous restoral process, the wood was still as pretty as ever.

Rather than hide the dresser's natural beauty again, Jessica wanted to enhance it. After fully stripping the surface, she used wood bleach to lighten its color a bit before applying a light beige tan wash and a water-based top coat. After Jessica's restoration, the wood had a smooth finish with some added color that still let the birch's beautiful natural wood grain shine through. After that, she replaced all the drawer knobs, and voila! Jessica had taken what looked like a $5-$10 Facebook Marketplace find, and restored it into a piece that could easily sell for over $100 in a furniture store. It's a DIY miracle!

Stripping a Bad DIY Paint Job

Not every DIY furniture flip has a hidden hardwood gem beneath its surface. Sometimes people really do just paint over cheap furniture with even cheaper paint. Still, it just goes to show that a bad paint job doesn't have to permanently ruin an otherwise great piece of furniture if you take the time to peel back the layers.

The exact process you need to follow for stripping paint from wood can vary based on a number of variables like the age and condition of the piece, but The Spruce has a guide to stripping paint from wooden furniture that's easy-to-follow and novice-friendly. I will echo one of their warnings and advise that you test for lead first if you're restoring furniture that dates back to around the late 1970s or earlier. Be safe, be methodical, be patient, and who knows - you may uncover a natural wooden masterpiece.

Follow us on Google News , subscribe to get Home & Garden news to your inbox and share your latest project for a chance to be featured!