Recycling is in my genes..that feeling of making old things new again. I love adding that personal sense of style/touch which I wear in my dress style, arts, craft and decorating. Recycling has me hooked. I would rather be caught at a resale shop than a bar.
My house has a mixture of old and new which solidifies my love for vintage and mod podge. It’s hard for me to love one era over the next as I buy what I like and what appeals to me. Yes, I love modern things too but, I truly value old things especially those that were made with some character. In my opinion vintage furniture are well made…true wood that does not break in two years. Some pieces of furniture these days are expensive but they easily break, can’t hold the weight of the clothes and are difficult to assemble. So when I saw this piece I knew there were loads of potential. Sand, apply some color and I’ve got a new piece well kind of.
This Kindel of Grand Rapids…real wood I scored for $100 at a resale shop. She will definitely be around long enough for the grandkids..in the next twenty-five years or more. My children already think dating is for 19-year-olds, I hope they continue along that path.
Meet Blue Beauty
See she is begging for some TLC.
First I cleaned her up good. Then sanded her down. I used an electric sander for the flat areas and sand paper for the corners. Wipe her down after sanding – get rid of all the loose wood. FYI- the area you are working in should be open for proper ventilation. I opened the garage, sanded and had dust particles flying all over. Cover nose with mask and eyes with goggles prior to sanding.
After the sanding and cleaning, I gave her a good prime. I used a gray primer as this would grip the blue color better.
I dried it overnight. I work on projects when the children are sleeping or on weekends, so my time is very limited. You can dry and paint within 4 hours or within the time on your paint can.
After the primer is dried, I applied a thin coat of the blue paint. I use the purdy brush. I am grateful to Sherry and John at Young House Love they are my ultimate guide to painting anything. I have been their fan for years. Anyways – brush lightly and let it dry.
After it dries apply another thin coat.
I did four coats of Sherwin Williams Naval blue on this beauty. Remember light coats in between so you don’t see the brush strokes. I usually sand again lightly if, I see brush strokes I’ll sand and then apply thin coats of paint -repeating the process.
Here I used the original pulls to give it a little patina
I did not paint the bottom stand area blue. Instead, I applied some espresso stain.
I taped off the blue area that I didn’t want to get messed up. Ensure your paint is dried before applying paint as taping the wet paint can ruin the project. I left the stain on a for some time then rubbed off the excess stain I used Varathane Espresso. Let it dry then repeat the process. I did around 3 coats. After all the painting and staining, I finished the piece with some polyurethane which seals the paint. I was doing this piece for my growing three years old at the time. He is now five years old, has driven many trucks and train on blue beauty and she is still looking good. My advice is to apply around 2-3 coats of the water based Polycrylic (the blue can) if you are making a piece for young children or for traffic.
Here Blue Beauty stands all done.
For a $100 price tag and the cost of some paint. I was sure happy with the outcome.
Miss Sue
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