The first step in my process was of course finding the right table that I wanted to redo. I bought this table a year ago, and have just had it sitting in my storage building, waiting on me to bring it to life. I seem to never be able to find the time to start a new hobby, and when I do, the time usually doesn't last long. I get distracted, discouraged, and have a half finish project. Raising 3 kids, and 2 grandsons keeps me pretty busy as well. So I finally made the time. It makes it a lot easier to work on stuff too when you have a dedicated place at home to work on it. I can't stand to start a project, and have to relocate it to another room, only to have to move it again to work on it. So with that came the Craft Cave. Husband wanted a Man Cave, so we compromised and we share.
Ok ok ok, back to the topic. Find a table. The one that I purchased had seen better days, but is also a very strong, solid wood, wonderfully constructed piece. It had some places on it where a child learning how to write their name and alphabet decided to practice on the bench of the table with black permanent marker, but it was nothing the Waverly Chalk Paint couldn't handle.
Here is my before pic:
So, not in the best shape, but nothing that some sanding and painting couldn't fix. The first thing I had to do was get the top of the table completely sanded down. I despise sanding. Sanding and Carpel Tunnel in both wrists are not a good combination. But, thankfully my best friend loves to sand, and volunteered to do it for me. She used an orbital sander to get the top completely sanded down, then we had to use sheets of sand paper for the edges.
I apologize for not having a better picture. When I first started this, I wasn't even thinking of before and after or in between pics.
So as you can see, the table top is bare. Next I decided to do the legs and under part of the table. I wanted to paint that, and get it waxed and completed before doing the top. One reason is because I knew the top was something I wanted absolutely perfect, and I didn't want to risk touching it or getting paint on it while doing the legs of the table.
For the legs and bottom of the table I went with the Waverly Chalk Paint in Agave. Hearing the words "Chalk Paint" can scare you at first, but it is the easiest stuff ever to work with. I chose to use Waverly over other brands, because of the cost (this stuff is soooo affordable. I get it at Walmart for less than $6 a jar, and it covers 20 sq ft). I also have a friend that had painted her dining table with it, so I had seen the results and loved them.
The only prep work that I did for the legs of the table was wiping them down with a rag that had dishsoap and water on it. I wanted to make sure that they were clean, especially after being in storage for so long. But that was it! No sanding!!!! So then, I got to painting. I painted my first coat of chalk paint. It covers very well, but you may see some lines or spots that don't look completely covered. Chalk paint is pretty thick, but don't keep applying in same spot. Just do your one coat, and let it dry. By the time I was finished painting the fourth leg of the table, the leg that I had started on was already dry, so I went on and painted the second coat. You will see that this completely covers it.
The top pic is of the bench, but I wanted you to be able to see the color of the legs before waxing it. The turquoise is a lot brighter before the wax. So after the chalk paint has dried, you can apply the Clear Wax. ( I waited 24 hours). If you try waxing before it is completely dry, the paint will just wipe right off. Waxing was a topic that I read a whole bunch on. I was so scared of messing it up.
So this is what I have learned about it. You always want to wax any projects that you use chalk paint on. The wax works as a sealant. However, for tabletops or other pieces that will get more use, and have drinks etc on them, you will also want to seal with polycrylic. I chose Minwax, but we will get into that more in a bit.
For the waxing. I used the Waverly Clear Wax. I had read about wax brushes, but being the penny pincher that I tend to be, I DID NOT want to dish out $26 for one paint brush. But, I did LOL. Ok, not the whole $26 because I used the 40% off coupon at my favorite store. I bought the Americana Decor Wax Brush. So pour some wax in a paint tray, also known in my Craft Cave as any paperplate you can find. Hence the football plates on the floors. Then you dip your wax brush in, and I dabbed around on the plate some so I wouldn't have too much wax. When applying the wax, only wax a small portion at a time. And, as the saying goes, "Wax On, Wax Off." Yep, you apply the wax, then wipe it off. I would wax 1/2 of a table leg, then wipe it off. I have found that cheesecloth works the best to wipe it off. You do not want any excess wax on it, or it to feel tacky. Continue this process over the entire chalk painted area.
Now lets talk distressing. This is something I have not completely gotten down, but hope to soon. I had read to distress before waxing, and read in other spots to distress after waxing. Well, I distressed before wax, meaning I sanded some spots. But, you can kind of tell in the pics, that where I sanded, did not take the wax well. But anyways, it would be ok. I wanted the darker antique finish, so I used the Waverly Antique Wax. It is VERY important that you use the clear wax all over FIRST. When using the Antique Wax, it will stick to the clear wax and stain the clear wax. If you use the Antique Wax without using the clear wax, then you would be staining the chalk paint, and it isn't easy to fix or adjust the color. When using the Antique wax, if you apply too much, you can apply clear wax over it, kind of like an eraser. So for the Antique wax, I repeated the exact process of the Clear Wax. Wax On, Wax Off. And that was it for the legs.
Now to the bench. Same process as the table. Sand the top, paint and wax the bottom. Here is the pic of the bench with the lovely permanent marker.
Alright....Drum Roll. The part that I have gotten the most questions about. The Paisley All Over Stenciled Top. I had seen pics of it online and instantly fell in love with it. I pondered about a month over justifying spending $54.95 on a stencil, but I knew I had to have it. I ordered the stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils.
I used painters tape to tape the stencil to the table. I chose to start in the middle of the table, and on one end. I used a roller. The BIGGEST mistake I made was purchasing a cheap foam roller. I highly recommend buying a good 4" dense foam roller for this. I used Waverly Cashew Chalk Paint for this. I rolled on a coat, then rolled on another. I left the stencil in place for a couple of minutes, then removed it. The stencil is very easy to line up the pattern to continue. Just make sure where it overlaps that the paint is already dry enough to place the stencil on top of it. I continued doing this over the entire table.
Once all of the paint was dry, about an hour, I went on to stain the top.
I used Minwax Stain in Dark Walnut. I applied the stain using a 4" brush. I painted it on, making sure that I didn't use too much. Just a thin layer works great. After that, give it about 7-10 minutes to absorb into the wood, then use a cloth (i used a microfiber lint free one) to remove all of the excess stain. You do not want to leave any stain that didn't absorb, on top to dry. It will result in a gritty mess. For the table, I only needed one coat of stain. At this point, is when I fell in love with my project. I also loved how easy it was to do.
In this pic, the stain is still wet so the color looks uneven, but it dried beautifully. It is not all one uniform color, but that is just the way the wood works. The pics absolutely do not do this table the justice it deserves.
I let the table sit for 3 days. I wanted to make sure the stain was completely set. Now, I applied a coat of Minway Polycrylic to seal the table. Very thin layer. I followed the directions exactly as they were on the can. At this point, I have only applied on coat, and am allowing to dry for 24 hours, then will sand very lightly, and apply another coat, and repeat this process one more time, for a total of 3 coats. Since it is a table, and will have drinks and stuff on it, I want to make sure it is sealed very well. That's it! As simple as that. I'm also still working on the chairs and the bench to the table. I have stenciled parts on each. I did not want to stencil the entire bench top or chair tops because the table top is already so busy and has so much going on, and I didn't want to take from that. Here are some pics of the bench and chairs in process. Once they are completed, I will use the polycrylic on the tops of them as well.
Not much more to do to complete it, but still plenty to do. I am making sure to take my time, and let each process get the right amount of drying time that it needs. I don't want to rush any of it, and end up having to redo anything. Once it is completed, I will post the pics. I am so happy with how it is coming along, and can't wait to see the finished results. I was even able to find some Paisley plates to use to stage the pics.
My husband has asked if we can keep the table, and has even offered to buy it from me LOL. As much as I love this table, I just bought a new dining room table a year ago. Plus, with the size of our family, this 4 seater just wouldn't work for us. I'm hoping I can find someone to buy it, that loves it just as much as I do. I'm the type that usually gets emotionally attached to things (reason I have a storage building, and 2 other places with stuff in storage LOL) I'm not a hoarder HaHa. Since this is my first "real project" it kind of means something to me.......
Please keep your eyes out for my next blog of the completed project, and projects that I have planned to start next. Also, share my blog! It's kind of exciting to say that...... I will answer any questions that I can on technique or whatever way that I can help.
