Part two: The Paint

The first part of this “series” can be found here, which tells about prepping the piece before you get to the messy-fun stuff.

I rescued this pretty little dressing table out of an alleyway near my house. This was over a month or so ago and I had been working on refinishing it for what felt like forever. It looked like the teenage girl that had it, was messier with makeup than a bull in a china shop. The table top surface was scratched and scarred and it looked to me like it needed a little loving attention. Or rather a lot by the time I was finished with it. I gave it a complete made for TV makeover.

There are a few important things you will need for this next part of the project. First is your stain, you could use anything, but for the purpose here I’m using Minwax Polyshades. It’s a one step process; no stripping, or priming or any funky extra stuff. You’ll also absolutely need a natural bristle brush. This is important because it won’t react with anything in the stain. I tried using a polyester brush at first and it made everything look streaky and not so fabulous. I paid three bucks for my brushes from Walmart.

You’ll also need steel wool, and any kind of paint thinner; also some gloves and a drop cloth if you are really being cautious. I just used a big old box that was laying around to catch any spills or stray drips.

The paint thinner is for cleaning brushes and fixing mistakes. It is the only thing that will remove oil based paint or stain and as long as you don’t let the brush dry out in between coats, you shouldn’t need more than one paintbrush if you use thinner every time you’re done for the day. Of course you could also buy 6 brushes and forgo the thinner by throwing each one out when you’re done a coat.

As I said, you can also use paint thinner to wipe away the stain if you notice it dribbles or drips anywhere. As long as you catch it while its still wet, or still tacky at the very least, you can take a rag with some paint thinner on it and wipe the mistakes away.

One key thing about working with this stuff is to lay the portion you’re working on perfectly flat so that it settles properly. It has a bit of a strange consistency, so when you first brush it on, it will look streaky and kind of bad but as it sits it smoothes out. If it is put on remotely too thick or you try to paint in any direction other than horizontally flat, it will drip. Trust me. Even if you think it’s cured, leave it laying flat until it completely dries. I left each area to dry over night as I was working. I found this the best way to do it because if I tried to do too much or If I got impatient or greedy, it would inevitably trickle down or do something equally annoying.

As with many projects like this, patience is the ultimate key.

The photo above shows the very first thing I painted. The drawers turned out really nicely here and I would have liked to just do one coat but as I moved along, it became apparent that that wasn’t going to fly. I ended up doing two if not three coats on almost everything.

In between each coat you want to let it dry overnight and scrub it down with the steel wool before the next layer. This will scratch it up just enough to give the next layer something to cling to.

This was coat number one on the cubbies, I ended up with two coats by the time I was done these. I also used the painters tape method on the edges.

Two things I will mention now. First, you can see in the lower center of the picture of the drawers above, that there are some of those darn drips I was talking about earlier. You have to be so careful to make every stroke lightly and evenly, so that there are no globs anywhere. Globs are bound to turn to drips. What I ended up doing with these edges (where it was impossible to lay them flat) was I used the painters tape and lightly stuck it along the upper edge on the front face of the drawer so that I could add a third coat to each edge. This prevented any scuffing with the paintbrush bristles on the nice clean drawer front. I also did this with the table top and in a few other areas. With the espresso shade I chose, these three coats turned the edges jet black (which I didn’t mind in the end) but it’s up to you. I’m not sure how any other Minwax shade would behave.

The second thing I will mention is that I’d recommend working as fast as you can without making too many mistakes. It tends to smooth out better if you work quickly. I don’t exactly know the science behind it but it helped me get a nicer finish when I was conscious to be fast.

The only areas that didn’t fit the horizontal-flat rule here, were the tables legs. I didn’t want to detach them from the bulk of the table because I figured it would be a hassle to work out how to paint all the way around them in any other position. I left them screwed on and worked really fast on each one individually working from bottom to top. This way I would avoid impatient smears and cursing. Again you have to have really big long strokes here, and keep the stain in thinner coats to avoid the dreaded drips.

 

I would also say that its easier to paint larger areas if you keep the edges of wherever you paint wet. That means work from bottom up, one side to the other, in horizontal strips, whatever works best, just make sure that you don’t paint in patches because you will end up with unevenness and streaky bits where it partially dries in between strokes.

Below you can see how I positioned the table as I painted her legs. This way any drips were going to go vertically anyways and as I said I worked really fast and by the time I was done I had two coats on each leg. The legs probably turned out the best out of the whole project even though I was most nervous to do them.

Those strange little wobbly shapes are the mirror supports, I think they got three coats in the end and I did them similarly to the mirror which I mention a little further on.

I think I’m making this stuff out to be really complicated and unforgiving but honestly it could be worse, with many other products out there it gets complicated pretty quick. Refinishing furniture with stain or lacquer isn’t easy. It takes work and I wouldn’t call it a “one afternoon” kind of job. If you want that kind of a project I would look at spray-paint or regular brush/roller paint. It’s much more forgiving, yet the flat-horizontal rule would still apply there as well.

The next step was the mirror, this was tricky. Because it is round, I couldn’t tape off any of the edges other than to cover the glass. To work around that, I did it in three stages. The inside edge got two coats first, then the front of the frame got one coat. Next I balanced it on some water glasses to give the outside edges their two coats. Lastly, I painted the front of the frame with it’s second coat and did some touch ups. I left the second coat on the front for the end so that any mess ups or smudges from the other two parts would be covered up. I wanted that area to look flawless because it is what everybody looks at.

The biggest task of all was the table top. It is the largest area and it is where I learned the paint-systematically-tip the hard way. I began it’s first coat by painting in patches, kind of from the center outward. This was a mistake because as you can see from the image on the right, it came out super patchy. It looked really bad and streaky.

It doesn’t look so bad from far away (below) but if you were to look any closer you would definitely have noticed it, even with two coats. That picture was taken just before I left everything for three weeks while I got mad at myself for being impatient.

Another little tip is don’t paint outside unless there is absolutely no wind. Little particles of dust and crud will get in this stuff and it will also look really bad. You almost need perfectly optimum conditions to make it look any good at all haha.

At this point I was so frustrated because it was streaky and speckled with all kinds of wind crud and nothing was working properly. To be honest, at one point I was so mad at myself that I was scared I’d have to pull out the power sander and start from scratch. Eventually I had a brilliant idea as I was scrubbing away some annoying little drips (Or at least I think it was a good idea, some refinisher out there will be rolling their eyes and pulling their hair).

So, what I noticed was that I actually liked how the scrubbed stain looked. It seemed like it would be better for the table top anyways, I wouldn’t have to worry so much about scratching my paint job because it would already be scratched up. This way it would hide a little bit of the daily wear and tear without slapping a big piece of glass on top to protect everything. So I got to work and scrubbed my butt off. I left the legs and the edges of everything as it was and scrubbed the table top, the front of the mirror frame, the drawer fronts, and the top surfaces of the cubbies so that everything kind of matched.

I was pretty proud of my ingenuity to make a bad problem workable. Scrubbing really did the trick to even everything out and make it look intentional. It kind of just looks like a really matte finish now.

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Below you can see the completely finished product. I shined up the original brass pulls and put her all back together and she looked like a brand new piece of furniture! The only thing I am still pondering over is what to do with the insides of the cubbies. I didn’t want to paint them with the stain because I thought it would be a nightmare and a half, so I’ve just left it for now. I’ve been thinking about covering them with contact paper in a nice pattern or maybe painting them a solid bright colour. Who knows but for now I tucked these two pretty little silver dishes in them jazz it up a bit.

All in all it was a heap of work but I certainly think it was worth it. I love how it turned out and I’m pretty proud of my determination. I intend to eventually use it as an entryway table in my home so we can tuck our keys away in the drawers and I can primp my hair before I run out the door.

This was certainly a long one, but as far as I’m concerned the information is valuable for the amateur furniture refinisher.

Happy refinishing! I’d love to see anyone else’s projects!

Part one: The Prep

I rescued this pretty little dressing table out of an alleyway near my house. This was over a month or so ago and I had been working on refinishing it for what felt like forever. It looked like the teenage girl that had it was messier with makeup than a bull in a china shop. The table top surface was scratched and scarred and it looked to me like it needed a little loving attention. Or rather a lot by the time I was finished with it. I gave it a complete made for TV makeover.

The little picture to the left is the only one I have of how it looked originally. I had already begun to sand the top surface by that point, which was the main damage area. I was intending to just paint that part at first, but I ended up going a whole lot further.

This thing evolved a few times since that point.

As you can see, it was a rich reddish cherry colour and…while it was nice, It really wasn’t my style at all. I would have struggled and fought to match it with anything I own.

So I went to Home Hardware to look at staining and painting options. Eventually I settled on the 1 Step Minwax PolyShades. Being somewhat of a novice “refinisher” I wanted to try and make it as painless as possible…which didn’t end up working very well but I think any other product would have been ten times worse. This thing is pretty cheap too, I think I paid 10 dollars for it and I got the smaller can because I figured it would be just enough to get me through. If you’re doing a bigger project you’ll need the big can though because I just skimmed by with this. The colour I chose is the Espresso Satin finish. I had to go darker so that it would cover all that cherry-ness and I liked this rich brownish black so I dived right in and decided to go all the way with this thing. I think it was definitely worth it because it would have looked hokey with some of the other options I was cooking up. So all in all a pretty little dressing table for a whopping 15 or 20$ all things considered.

First off I have to address something that was a huge struggle. The type of paintbrush. I don’t know why, maybe because this product is oil based, but you need to use a natural bristle brush. It can’t be made of anything synthetic because for some reason it reacts to the product and it will not produce the nice smooth texture we’re looking for. It just looks kinda bad.

Anything similar to the one on the left is perfect and you don’t even need an expensive one. I think I paid 3$ for the ones I was using from Wal-Mart and then threw them out after.

This is a picture of some parts sanded and the whole thing taken apart. I disconnected the mirror and the little cubicles and took out the drawers because I thought it would be easier to get everything painted nicely. That way none of the old colour would come peeking through at any point and I wouldn’t have to mess around taping stuff as much. I took off all of the hardware as well and put it in a ziplock bag so nothing got lost. (Expert tip).

I mostly just used regular sand paper to clean off the laquer type sealant that was originally on there. This is important because otherwise the Polyshades will just sit on top and it won’t be able to sink into the wood. You basically want to sand until the whole thing isn’t shiny any longer. Or at least in the areas you want to refinish.

 

Anything that I did have to tape, I used the green painter’s stuff, as you might expect. This extra step included around the mirror and some of the edges to get them crisp. I’ll go over that little bit later but I just used little pieces and worked my way around the frame so that any smudges wouldn’t wreck the mirror.

If you DO smudge it’s okay, there’s a way to fix it that I’ll talk about when we get there.

 

(Below) is a before and after of sanding and removing the knobs on the little drawers so that you can get a little bit of an idea of how far you need to take the sanding job. Again, just enough that it doesn’t shine any longer, you don’t have to sand your life away until you get rid of all of the previously stained colour. As long as you pick a darker shade, the Minwax will cover the rest.

Before

After

Here’s just another little before and after (Left) of the cubicles that sit on the tabletop and support the mirror.

 

(Below) shows almost all of the parts completely sanded, aside from the mirror and drawers.

 

You may not be able to tell very well from the photos below, but it’s also important to test the Minwax first (or really any product) in a spot that isn’t visible. This is to make sure it doesn’t react weirdly with anything that is already on there and is also handy to test what ballpark the colour will end up in. As soon as all of that prep work was done I got down to business.

This post is separated into two segments. The prep, and the painting, just so that it makes it a little easier to digest.

The link to part two is here.

Happy prepping!

 

The Dressing Table

That thing to the left is kind of a symbol for me. It’s ugly, I know and I don’t like pink in the very slightest. But I’m going to repaint it and I hope to keep it forever and maybe even pass it down to one of my children or grandchildren.

It has a story behind it too. We had been looking on a couple of those “sell your stuff” sites like craigslist for pieces of furniture to use in our apartment. Since my husband moved in it has been severely under-furnished. He was sleeping on a futon in the living room that doubled as the couch. The dining room table was being used for his desk as well as the eating spot. There was nothing in the bedroom other than his army gear so it has really been just a storage room. He was sick of sleeping on the futon because it was hurting his back so we started toying around with the idea of getting some furniture on the cheap. This means second hand which has a bad rap but bear with me. I have begun to hate ugly mismatching crap because I’ve had that for the majority of my life, I told my husband this and that I didn’t want our apartment to look dishevelled and horrible. So the whole plan will involve a little bit of work and running around, probably lot’s of painting too, which is fine, I like projects.

So first we got some couches that I’m going to fix up and paint a little bit, we sold the futon, and we bought an inexpensive mattress for him to sleep on. But with the plans of me finally coming to live with him on the horizon, we decided we would need some more storage. The bathroom is small, the closet is small…everything is kind of small except for the amount of stuff we have.

I asked my husband what other furniture he thought we were missing. The first thing he says is a desk or a vanity with a mirror for me to store some stuff in and get ready at. That’s so sweet of him, and it’s all his idea. So I begin to browse around, keeping watch for a sweet deal on a dressing table or a dresser mirror combo. I find a bunch at around the $150 mark and upwards, which is kind of a no go. I find three or four others for $70-ish so then I start contacting. The first one I’m in love with, a black and gold art deco style dresser vanity. $65. Amazing. But the catch is, that it’s an hours drive there, an hour back and it’s in a little bit of ‘tough-to-refinish’ condition.

Husband is reluctant, I’m disappointed, husband gets sad that I’m sad. So I attempt to move on and text a couple of these other people about their dressers. It seems like every one I contact either won’t respond or have sold already. So crap. We’re kind of feeling crummy and frustrated and might be taking it out on each other a little bit. Not good.

Back to the drawing board. I begin to think: why couldn’t I get a mirror and a dresser separately and combine them? So I start looking again, find a few options and my husband picks one out from my list that is a whopping $25. Then I look for mirrors to put on top and somehow, while I’m looking, I find the ugly pink vanity and I get an idea. Because the vanity and the 25 dresser have similar profiles (kind of rounded off rectangular) they could work together and even match. I see the potential. Now, my husband knows I hate pink (as he should) and I was like honey, hear me out, I know it’s pink and its listed as $150 but I could paint it and it fits the style of the dresser. It also said obo (‘or best offer’ in craigslist lingo) so I tell him we might be able to get it for less. He likes the idea.

All of this discussion happens and it’s kind of late in the evening by then. So we decide to cross our fingers and text these two people to see if what they’ve got is still available and….drum roll…

They both have them still! So he negotiates with the 25 dresser that he will pick it up tomorrow. The vanity, we effortlessly bargain them down to giving it to us for $100, even. All of that was too easy, cause then the guy says I work at 4pm every day so you’d have to pick it up before then. Problem is, my husband works TILL 4 just about every day. So then the guy offers we pick it up that night. Hubby is a little tired already, it’s late, and the vanity is half an hour away. I don’t think he was 100% excited for the adventure, but I think he wanted to make me happy, especially after not wanting to drive an hour out for the one I originally had my heart set on. So he goes, even though he has to wake up at 5am the next day, and it’s already 9:00.

While he’s gone, I start feeling a little guilty for making him do all of this stuff for me. The minutes start ticking by and it’s getting later and later and I feel worse and worse. But as I think, I begin to realize something and I start writing to him. I write:

Babe. I honestly love you so much. Sometimes I don’t feel like I deserve such a devoted guy like you. It is terrible of me to forget sometimes that you would do anything for me and that you love me with your whole heart. I can’t believe that I found such an amazing husband that would move the earth to make me happy. The things you have done in the last few weeks to organize furniture to set up our house is amazing. I just want to really properly thank you baby because I know sometimes I get sad and I don’t want you to start thinking that I’m not grateful for everything that you do for me. I just lose my calm with having to live so far away from my wonderful, handsome, supportive husband and I’m sad that I have to wait day in and day out to be with you. It puts a heavy weight on my heart and I don’t want you to feel like I’m disappointed, even though that might be what it looks like sometimes. It’s just the distance weighing me down. I love you sweetheart. I can’t wait to be with you. Things will be good then. I’m a lucky girl, not everyone finds a man even half as good as you.

I have come to think of the vanity as a symbol of my husbands love for me. He went entirely out of his way, determined to get this thing for me. He spent money and time and patience and sacrificed sleep, in order to make this girl he’s in love with feel happy. He is so dedicated. He really is a wonderful guy, even though sometimes I get frustrated so I start whining and complaining about him and everything else under the sun. I have a great husband who loves me and I have to remember to be conscious and grateful for that.

I think once the whole vanity painting project is over with, I’ll name it pinky. To remind me of what it was, and of the love put into it.

All of this taught me that you really know you have found a great life partner when you understand how to look past the superficial stupid stuff and see that they would do anything for you, with you, or to do with you.

I love my husband, and I love my new dressing table. Maybe when I’m old I will give it to someone and tell them about what it means. I will explain about the reminder that it gives me and hopefully it will teach them something too.