Somewhere I have pics of this dresser in its original finish which was very dark mahogany (i think). It was gorgeous, but I'm doing away with dark and dreary and it just didn't flow in our bedroom any longer.
I chose the color Seattle Mist and opted to only purchase the clear wax. I already had a dark glaze on hand which I had mixed at Lowe's when I redid my kitchen cabinets last summer.
Now let me tell you-the only thing I can find to complain about in using chalk paint so far is the price. Ouch. You have to really want to avoid some steps-stripping, sanding, etc. to pay $35 for a quart of paint. Yes, you read correctly. Not cheap. I've compared the two methods and believe me, they come within $5 of each other and I'm taking the easier way out. I didn't buy the dark wax because of the glaze I had at home. I may purchase some with my next project. Still got pieces to paint. Sigh....
So here's a peek at my finished dresser. My hubby actually told me it came out good. That spoke volumes to me. :)
I painted the first coat. It dries quickly, lightening to a chalky finish. 4 hours later I applied the second coat. I kinda freaked because it looked like it was messing up the first coat, but trust the process.
Coat #2 dried quickly, returning to an even better covered chalky finish. I waited until the next morning to begin waxing. I used a 2" Purdy paintbrush and brushed the wax on,wiping off excess as I went. Let me tell you again-I began to panic because it looked like the wax was messing up my chalky finish and the streaks began to show through. Not the case. The wax quickly dries also. Then my chalky paint finish came back. Whew!
Glazing came next. I brushed on my glaze and then wiped off with remnants of old t-shirts I had cut up. I worked in areas a foot or two wide or tall. In other words, don't glaze the entire piece then wipe off. The glaze will become sticky by then and start to dry.
I took my sanding block (purchased at Lowes) and gave the whole piece a good sanding. Removing paint along edges and letting some of the original wood show through. Note: If I thought too much wood showed through, I applied paint, let it dry, applied wax and was done with that.
Finally I brushed another coat of wax over the whole piece and wiped off excess. Buffing with the dry, lint-free cloth as I went. It's been 4 days and the instructions say I can buff the piece again but I kinda like it as is. It has a somewhat satin-y finish but it's not glossy. *The more you buff it with rags, the shinier it becomes.
Hope you like. Post to follow soon on the next piece. See you then!
J.
