Painter’s Touch | Mommy Ramblings

Tag Archives: Painter’s Touch

May 6, 2013 · 11:37 pm

Vintage School Desk Make Over, Before & After!!!

Well, I finished another project today. I finished what I showed you the before of last week, the big school desk. It was one that I had as a child, but had been sitting in a basement for years and years and needed love and vision. I really wish I had all of the school desks we had but lucky that I have a small one that I refinished and if you missed it you can check that out HERE, and this one. I also bought another that I should have done before the week is over and that desk is a different style entirely. Cannot wait to share it with you.

For this desk, I started by sanding everything, starting with the metal which I did with a special wire brush tool that goes on the end of a drill and makes easy work of microderm abrasion as I like to call it. After that, I sanded all the wood and then needed to do some filling, gluing and clamping. After that it was time to prime the metal and I used Rustoleum Painter’s Touch Gray Primer and then I used a Rustoleum Green Gloss Protective Enamel Spray Paint for the final coats. I did the detail painting and the accent strip on the seat and pencil holder on the desk with the same green protective enamel by Rustoleum in the can so I could brush it on. I stained the wood with Minwax Special Walnut, sanding between coats and then used Minwax Satin Polyurethane, sanding between coats. I really like it and so do my kids. What do you think?

So sad before picture

The Before

Priming the metal, don’t mind the huge mess I work in with all my stuff. I also recycle old tablecloths as drop cloths.

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Tagged as After, Before, Make Over, Minwax, Mommy Ramblings, Paint, Painter's Touch, Polyurethane, Primer, Refinished, Rustoleum, school desk, Spray Paint, Stain, Vintage

April 26, 2013 · 1:35 am

Painting Vintage and Antique Furniture 101

One of the presents I wanted and received for Christmas this year was a computerized sewing machine. So, do I sew? If you call the owl pillow I made in 6th grade sewing, then yes, I do sew. Of course, with a new sewing machine and new supplies, I needed a sewing table, I knew I did not want a cheap table made of particle board. I started searching online and I found a sewing table I really liked (pictured below).

What I didn’t like about it, was the nearly $600 price tag. I started a search for something else, and in my search, I found an antique vanity for $35 on Craigslist. They also had a $50 antique desk I bought as well, but that’s another post.

Anyway, with the vanity in hand, I needed to learn how to paint, distress and antique it to make it amazing. In my search, I discovered an awesome blog called, Oopsredone. Browsing the site, I saw a few things she did in a turquoise paint called Holiday Cozumel Aqua that she later distressed and antiqued with Minwax stain. I bought a gallon of the paint and started doing some ladder back chairs which will be featured in a future post. However, after painting the chairs, and noticing all the details on the vanity, I wanted to make things easier.

Armed with my paint chip, I found a very close match in a Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch 2X satin spray paint in a color called Lagoon. I bought the Rust-Oleum Painter Touch Ultra Cover 2X Gray spray primer as well and drove home to get to work sanding. I fixed one flaw in the top with Elmer’s Carpenters Max wood fill and then sanded, but since I wanted a distressed look, I decided to keep the edges the way they were.

I primed, sanded with a fine sandpaper and spray painted the vanity. After that dried, I sanded lightly with a fine sandpaper and sprayed on another coat of paint. Next, I used Rust-Oleum Transformations, Decorative Glaze in Java Brown. I had tried the Minwax stain method on the ladder back chairs, but it was harder to work with, and had a tendency to keep the piece sticky for some time.

I am so glad I tried the glaze, I absolutely love the results and the ease of use. You just apply it and then wipe it off using varying pressure. It is specially formulated to give you more time to work, so you can get the results you desire. After that, I applied 2 coats of Minwax Polyurethane Satin to protect the finish. Finally, I added some new hardware, and decoupaged some fun paper in the drawers and on the inside of the cabinet and door back.

The pictures do not do the piece justice. and I will take some more once I get it set up inside, I have some little things I am going to show you in another post about how I am organizing everything. Anyway, If you have any questions on how I did anything. just ask in the comments.