Layering Color

Most of us have filled our homes with several shades of gray.  But over the past year, I have been getting bored with gray and looking for ways to introduce color.  I fell in love with tables a couple years ago at a garage sale and finally made time last fall to renew them.

Chalk paint comes in several different colors.

It acts as an oil based primer.  So when you paint over oil based surfaces, it doesn’t require all of the prep work that is required otherwise.  Normally, I would have to wash down the table with a soapy water, scuff the entire piece with 120 grit sandpaper, add coat of oil based primer, sand it again, and then add paint.  Then when I would sand the piece, the white primer would show through.

In this case, I decided to use chalk paint instead.  So i did the necessary prep work which included washing it, sanding the top, and removing the glass, door hardware, and door.

Glass in normally held in place with glass bead which can be very slowly pried back.  I pushed the nails into a piece of cardboard to be able to paint those easily.

Next, I painted the entire table, inside and out, with chalk paint — rustoleum blushing coral.

And then sanded it lightly, by hand with a 120 grit sanding block.  Then I wiped it down with a damp clean towel.

Next I added a cool color — green.  Well, I hired this part done…  I pay in icecream sandwhiches!

After the second layer was dry, I sanded the top with an orbital sander and 120 grit to create a smooth top and added one more coat of green.  Then I sanded the table, again by hand with a 120 grit sanding block.  Using a sanding block over the orbital sander allows me to have more control over the amount of paint i’m removing.

 

Chalk paint requires a sealer.  Even though I painted over it with regular paint, I still had areas of chalk paint showing that required sealing so it would be stained or ruined.  Rather than using the recommended wax, I chose a water based clear sealer to do the job.  Since it is waterbased, I can easily layer another color after I grow tired of the current pallet.