Remember these guys? The table and chairs I found on Craigslist for $50.00. My thought was I can give 'em a quick shot of white paint, a little distressing and maybe sell them and make a little profit.
Well, that's not how it went down. If you've found yourself envious of bloggers who find furniture dirt cheap and with a little spray paint turn end up with a show piece, not to worry. This story doesn't go down like that. Nope, there will be nothing to envy here, unless you wish you could spend countless hours in the stifling, sticky North Carolina heat sanding and scraping, stripping, and painting, then doing it all again.
The first coat of paint didn't stick. At all. I blame it on the south. Beware of any older item you wish to paint that has lived its life in a southern kitchen. There will be layers of grease. Layers and layers. You can clean it and sand it. It may look clean, but don't be fooled.
This was after the first round of failed painting- in the process of stripping off the paint.
Two $20 cans of paint stripper were purchased plus sand paper and paint. My $50 table has now cost me closer to $100. See all those little spindles? Not easy to sand, so I decided to buy a little mouse detail sander. $40.00. Boy this cheap table and chairs really isn't so cheap anymore.
Finally all the paint and stain have been stripped. Now onto primer. I don't remember how much that was, I think $13.00 for a quart. Anyone keeping count? I stopped. It was too painful.
Here's everything primed (by hand) ready to be sprayed. I mixed some paint I had and came up with a pale blue-y gray. Looked gray wet but more blue as it dried. The paint went on nicely and stuck. And, I hated it. The color just didn't work with the style of the chair. I distressed the chairs and they distressed me. After all that work, I wanted to love them and I didn't. In a moment of desperation, I grabbed a can of spray paint I had in the cabinet. And the angels began to sing a hallelujah chorus. Chairs officially done. For now.
Still working on the table top, but the legs are done.
The end is in sight.
I'm working on the top today. I had it finished, or so I thought, but on a whim decided I just didn't like the color, so what the heck, I stripped off three layers of poly and started over. Cause that's how I roll ~like a big ol' flat tire.
Tomorrow I'll tell you why my hands smell like vinegar and rusty metal.
