I have soft wood dresser that I would like to refinish and paint. how do I do this??

i dont know the difference between restoring and refinishing. what i would like to do is get some of the scratch dents out of it(since it is a very soft wood) and then paint it and put new handles on it. can you please tell me how to this? thank you soo much MeganI have soft wood dresser that I would like to refinish and paint. how do I do this??
It's pretty simple - though a little time consuming. First of all, if the current finish on your dresser is glossy, you'd need to sand it down a little. By roughing up the finish slightly, the paint will adhere better. Once that is done, I'd fill in all the gouges and scrapes with wood fill, let dry and sand the filled places so they're smooth. Then I'd prime the dresser (Killz is a good primer, you will need to get it tinted slightly if the color you want to paint the dresser will be dark). On large flat surfaces, use a mini roller - it will look smoother and not show brush strokes like a regular brush. A lot of people would be inclined to skip this step, but believe me the paint will cover better and overall the final product will look so much better if you prime it. The prime coat doesn't have to be completely opaque or look perfect (you will be painting over this prime coat, remember) just make sure the prime coat is smooth, that's the main thing.


When you finally paint it (I'd choose a semi-gloss or a satin finish because it has better cleanibility than a flat finish) also do the large flat areas with a mini roller, if there are molding details you can do those with a brush. The trick is do do two nice coats - it looks so much better than one thick heavy coat. This whole process can take some time, but if you just do a little bit each day (Day 1- prep, fill and sand. Day 2- prime. Day 3 - first coat of paint. Day 4 - 2nd coat of paint) It will be easier and less overwhelming. Think how proud you will feel when people comment on it and you can say ';I did this all myself!'; I know you can do it - Good luck!