After completing the trays all that was left were the finishing touches, paint and hardware. I’ve become a fan of the super flat finish of milk paint after working on the storage bench but the mixing and straining requires patience and time, resources I didn’t want to spend on painting shop furniture. That and I didn’t want to add a dark red color to the dim lighting in my grey, concrete basement.
So I channeled my feminine side and chose a brighter color from the General Finishes palate and then asked my wife which she preferred. Not surprisingly we picked the same color, Buttermilk Yellow. This isn’t true milk paint but it is premixed, has a longer shelf life and has the same flat finish I was after.
For a couple of extra points I took the boys with me to Woodcraft to get a quart and left my wife with an empty house for an hour or so. That may not sound like a long time, but an hour of mid day silence doesn’t come around here very often. The next day the boys and I painted the dresser together, which was a big hit for all of us. I wish there were more ways to get them involved, but at almost seven and five years old they are just not quite ready. I promised them we’d build a bird house soon.
I had bought some vintage looking hardware a while back but the tarnished bronze color didn’t look good with the bright yellow so I spray painted them black. And with that, the tool chest is complete.
Time will tell how working out of a dresser will be in terms of shop efficiency. I can already tell I will be annoyed by having to completely remove the top drawer to get the trays out, though I think I left enough space between them to get to anything below.
I think the next project will be a screen door (and a bird house). The one on the back of our house is a couple of slams away from falling apart and it gets used a ton in good weather. And after the winter we’ve had I anticipate spending as much time outside as possible for the next nine months. Just have to melt that last foot of snow.
Thanks for reading.
Jim
Woodworking After Hours 
It turned out great. Good on you for getting the boys in the shop. My daughter loves to paint and it’s easy to let her have at it. She actually loves to go to woodcraft too. Ours has a nice kids area. Last time I went she asked me if we could stay a little bit longer.
How was the paint adhesion from the old finish? Did you just sand or did you strip the old finish before painting.
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Thanks Shawn. The original surfaces that remained, the top and drawer fronts, were sanded enough to take off whatever was left of the very the thin layer of finish. Then the entire piece was primed with latex primer. From there a single coat of the milk pain was all that was needed. I haven’t beat on it but I don’t see any reason for it not to be durable. I’m not going to top coat so I suspect it will wear some with use.
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