Dresser Redo

I have a couple of pieces of furniture that I needed to redo and while searching for various ways of refinishing, I came across a tutorial on using chalk paint.  Since we live near the flea market, which is a DIYer's paradise, I was well acquainted with antique furniture painted with chalk paint and I love the look.  But, I didn't have any idea about how it was done.  I imagined that it was the same ol' process of stripping and sanding like anything else.

When I read the tutorial, I was very pleasantly surprised to see that just about any surface can be painted with chalk paint without having to be stripped.  That was the deciding factor for me.  I found a local "stockist" for Annie Sloan chalk paint and went to buy my supplies, which included the chalk paint in Pure White, wax, and a wax brush applicator, right away.

Here's the first piece of furniture I wanted to get done.

I decided to set up in the house since I wasn't going to have to use stripping chemicals and I preferred to do this in the comfort of my home instead of out in the barn.  I laid plastic down to protect the rug.  Then I washed the whole dresser down with TSP (trisodium phosphate).  Boy, was it dirty!  

I'm not going to do a tutorial because there are plenty of those on Pinterest, but I do have one important tip.  The Annie Sloan website says that some pieces of furniture from the 1930-40's era have a finish that may bleed through the chalk paint and if this happens, to just paint it with a coat of shellac, let it dry (it takes just a few minutes), then paint over it and that should stop the bleed through.  Well, being me with my attitude of "it won't happen to me" and "hurry up and get to the final reveal", I ignored that warning.  If you never listen to a word I say, at least listen to this...if you're going to paint a piece from that era, go ahead and paint on the shellac.  Just do it.

Here's a picture of the top with two coats of paint.  The original finish was still bleeding through.

 

So...thankfully, I had bought some shellac for another project I thought I might do.  I put a quick coat on over the paint.  When it dried, I put another coat of paint over it.  For the top, I did a light sanding and put yet another coat of paint just for good measure.

After painting, I applied two coats of the Annie Sloan wax and did a light buffing.

The wax gives it a nice glow.  I think if I used my electric buffer, I could have gotten it a little glossier.

I lined the drawers for a little pizazz. 

All done.  I finished this dresser in four days with lots of breaks in between.  If you have the uninterrupted time available, this could probably be done in one or two days.

This was a seriously easy project with instant gratification....right up  my alley.  I just might be chalk painting everything in sight.