Wagner Heat Gun Brings New Life To East Lake Dresser + A Promotion!!

I’m bringing this post back up to the front of the line.  Why?  Because this beloved dresser that got a new life with the help of the Wagner Studio Heat Gun has inspired so many people and Wagner is offering Be Fed Again readers a promotion on this heat gun!  

That’s right!

Be Fed Again readers will receive 30% off your purchase of the Studio Heat Gun by entering code BFA30.

And let me tell you, this heat gun is ideal for so many projects on top of removing paint.

It melts rubber, perfect for molding.

It helps soften old, cracked caulk around tubs and sinks, so new caulk can be applied.  Same goes for caulk and glazing around windows.

It softens industrial strength glue so linoleum ties can be removed.

And, for the icing on the cake, the Studio Heat Gun melts the cheese on your nachos and toasts the marshmallows for your s’mores!

It truly is a must have for your tool inventory!  You can buy the Wagner Studio Heat Gun here!  Don’t forget, use promo code BFA30!

To refresh your memory, here is how the Wagner Studio Heat Gun brought new life to my beloved dresser..

It is, without a doubt, my favorite kind of project to work on.  Those pieces that I need to refinish and bring new life to.  The lost and forgotten pieces of furniture that are begging for a renewed life.

I bought this East Lake dresser a few years ago.  I found it at one of my favorite salvage shops, sitting on the porch.  I fell in love with the handles alone, not really having a plan for it, not really sure of where the dresser would land in our home.  But why worry about that?  What was important was immediately fitting it in my car and bringing it home and dreaming up a plan of action.

For a temporary fix, I painted this dresser a charcoal grey, and spray painted those glorious knobs a vintage pewter.  Not being 100% sold, the look was passable, and the dresser became home to an overstock of towels and some random junk.   Honestly though, each time I would look at this dresser, I would think of new looks that I wanted to create for it.  Some day.  Some day.

So it’s no wonder when Wagner reached out to me and asked me to try out their Studio Dual Temperature Heat Gun, that I jumped at the chance, and this dresser was tops on my list to refinish.  I had big plans for this dresser and at the time, a kelly green paint color kept popping in my mind.

Setting up my work area and lugging that dresser to the spot, I tested an area for lead paint to cover my bases.  No sign of the lead, so I was good to go.  I turned on that heat gun and got to work.  Following the directions of moving in a slow, steady motion, I was in business.  The paint was bubbling up and was scrapping off with ease.  The under white paint color ended up being an oil based, and proved to be a bit of a challenge.  Challenge in that it required a higher patience level, but that heat gun kept me (and the dresser) in check.

Heat and scrape.  Heat and scrape.  On the finer areas, a dremel proved to be a handy companion to the heat gun.  But, as I was carefully stripping the paint off the dresser, dreaming of the new green life it was about to have, the dresser started talking to me.  True story.  The original color of the wood that was coming through was begging me to leave it alone and not be covered up by another paint color.

Carefully sanding after the paint was scrapped off, my decision to let the natural beauty shine was confirmed.  This dresser, that I had planned to paint green and then live in our bedroom, was telling me that the perfect spot for it would be in our kitchen, home to napkins, and placemats, and flatware,and platters.

I listened.  And I took what I heard to heart.  Those knobs received a refresh of the vintage pewter paint, and for fear of losing that beautiful natural patina, I decided to wax the surface rather than apply a stain and polyurethane.

Wax and buff.  Wax and buff.  Five coats and added elbow grease, this dresser has a new life.  Now living in the perfect spot in our kitchen, this dresser has made itself right at home.  Looks perfectly.  Houses all that I wanted it to, and that beautiful kelly green color will be saved for another piece.

Thanks to the ease of the Wagner Studio Dual Temperature Heat Gun, this beloved dresser is glowing in its original glory and fits right in to our 1820 farmhouse kitchen, as though it had been there from the beginning.  This heat gun is going to come in handy for many more projects that I have planned down the pike, and I can’t wait to share those with you.  But in the meantime, there’s no way this dresser project would have turned out so beautifully, if it weren’t for this Wager heat gun.

*This post is sponsored by Wagner.  All work and opinions are my own.  Please see my disclaimer page for details.