Helping out a friend with an Upcycle Dresser

So my best friends recently got their own place and they have been having a lot of fun with DIY (do it yourself) projects so whenever I go shopping for my next potential project I try to take at least one of them with me. I found a table on craigslist to go check out and picked my friend Bianca up on the way, the table didn't end up working out for me but the seller did have a lot more to look at and Bianca fell in Love with this dresser that she bought for a steal of 50$ and with a little bit of help from homemakin' secrets we transformed it together!

Once we got started we made sure to wear a face mask and gloves. Citristrip's stripping gel worked very well for removing the varnishing for the most part. It's a bit more expensive but the chemical call smell was hardly present.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Citristrip-1-Qt-Safer-Paint-and-Varnish-Stripping-Gel-QCG73801T/100208204

We used an old t-shirt to apply the gel and then let it sit for an hour (or however long it says on the bottle)

Once the gel finished drying we got our scrapper out and started scrapping off the old varnishing. Do  not worry if you scratch your dresser during this step because you can buff it out with sand paper later. 
I'm sure most scrappers will work but you don't want to buy a flimsy one. The one we used is linked below.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-Allway-3-in-Bent-Extendable-Scraper-BS3HD/202251540

The gel did not remove all of the varnishing, especially on the front and sides, I will probably let the stripping gel sit longer next time. Before you begin your sanding make sure t wipe down your furniture with a damp cloth to remove any other stripping gel and to prevent build up on your sand paper whether you plan on using sand paper or an actual sander.

Our Next attempt was to try out the black and decker mouse sander, don't waste your money on this sucker. I ended up returning it and buying sand paper with my refund. If you are going to use a sander invest in a good one, but if you're like me and do not think you will be doing another project like this one anytime soon then sand paper will suffice just fine.
(drawers were the hardest part)
Once your dresser is entirely sanded down to the underlying wood you can wipe it down again to remove all the saw dust.
Saw dust + wood stain/ paint = no good
so make sure you remove as much as you can.

We ended up taking a break and picked back up on it when we both had another free day. When we returned to the project we examined it to make sure it was ready for stain and then we suited up in our gloves and face masks again and grabbed some old socks. We stirred up the stain (never shake) and dipped the socks in and started rubbing it directly onto the dresser. We waited an hour for it to dry and then added a second coat.  

My friends chose a red mahogany color stain made by minwax which came out beautifully (dark wood with red tint). Once the second coat was dry we applied the top coat with clear satin polyurethane. Like me, they did not want too much of a shine with their furniture so that is why they went with clear satin and we let the top coat dry all day outside. (can said 4 hours, but it was a bit colder than usual). Once it was dry..the fun began! I helped her carry it in and get it all pretty so she could surprise her girl friend before she got home from work.

And voila! There it is! Went from an old dresser in a backyard to a beautiful entertainment center. 

Thanks for reading guys, feel free to leave any questions in the comments.