Shades of Gray Dresser

Well it's not fifty shades of grey but it's two shades and I love them both. Trophy is the darker grey and Grain Sack is the lighter grey by Miss Mustard Seed's Milk Paint. This serpentine dresser was in excellent condition but I could see it painted in these two colors of grey. I cleaned it with Simple Green and then sanded the top and drawers with my orbital sander. The sides I scuffed up with a sanding block. This gives the surface a nice "bite" so the milk paint will stick to the wood. I mixed the Trophy first and covered the top of the dresser and the sides and front. I decided to put a second coat of Trophy on the top but opted for Grain Sack as my second coat for the sides and front.
The drawers have two coats of Grain Sack because I wanted them to look a shade lighter than the rest of the dresser. I also wanted the drawers to have a little crackle on them so when I applied the second coat of Grain Sack I used my new heat gun to get the perfect crackle. I have wanted a heat gun for quite a while and this one came from Lowe's for around twenty bucks. While the paint was wet I turned the heat gun up to high and pointed it where I wanted crackle. I am really pleased with the result of the heat gun. I used Miss Mustard Seed's Furniture Wax mixed with Antiquing Wax. This makes a gray wax that was perfect for this dresser. After the wax was dry I buffed everything with a soft t-shirt. Here are some pictures of the finished dresser.

BEFORE

CRACKLE

Grain Sack and Trophy