Curbly

Totally agree with Keter on this one.  Clean that piece pristine before attempting to paint if you don't want to sand.  Sanding would probably be best, but I've managed to cover stained wood well enough with latex and a roller.  It's chipping now 7 years later, but it's kind of fun.  A new game.  Peel the purple off of the dresser! Yay.

The one thing that I would say is make sure to sand between every coat if you want a nice glossy look. I just did some bookshelves and the more patience I had and the more time I took to sand, the better they looked. Keter's post on making it look more antique sounds lovely but I still think the first key is to sand the bejeezes out of it so it doesn't look like cheap painted pine. As my bookshelves still sadly do (but only if you look really close).

I would have to go by Lowes to see what they have but think you can figure this out for yourself...

1. Degrease and sand the whole piece to encourage good paint adhesion.

2. Paint the whole thing with a great rust colored spray primer like Rustoleum.

3. Overpaint with your choice of black enamels.

4.Lightly scuff the paint with fine sandpaper or steel wool to reveal hints of the  color beneath.

5.Use a mixture of Rub-n-Buff antique gold or copper and boiled linseed oil on a rag and rub over the whole

piece, depositing more color in any recessed area and in the scratches left by the sandpaper.

6.Let dry several days and clearcoat with high gloss acrylic spray.

You'll wind up with classic 1950's "Japanese antique."