My own worst enemy

Sometimes, I swear, I’m my own worst enemy.  For instance, I rarely, if ever check messages on the landline answering machine.  I hate doing it.  If you leave me a message and think I might get it, you should probably call me back another time.  Or email me.  This bad habit of mine means that I’ve missed the occasional appointment, and other such fiddle faddle.  Like I said.  My own worst enemy sometimes.

This tendency to self-limit also pertains to my artistic process as well.  Let me explain.  And let me also say that I take my furniture fixing quite seriously.  A self-proclaimed perfectionist, I value quality, both in the initial finish application and the longevity and durability of said finish.  And sometimes, sometimes that gets me into trouble.

 

I found this piece on the side of the road on my way to play a summer volleyball game.  I drove past it, and then because I was running ahead of schedule (a minor miracle!), pulled a quick U-turn and tracked down the owner.  As I’d hoped, it was there for the taking, complete with a My Little Pony sticker and some minor water damage.

Initially, I’d planned to spray the piece in BM Advance Semi-gloss though I nearly rethought my original plans given Christina and Ben’s Break-up; nevertheless, I prepped the piece for spraying.  I followed Sucheta’s directives in this post–that she wrote because I asked her to–thank you, Sucheta! Note, however, that she’s updated her prepping methods and details them here.  Sanding, Bondo, more sanding, taping off drawers, priming, tack-clothing, and of course, more sanding.

As I prepped I found this etched into the side; pretty sure I loved a Matt once too, in second grade. However, the spraying had to wait, given that as yet, my workshop space–which will house the booth–is unfinished. In the interim, I stumbled upon this piece from Martha of Martha Leone Design.  IT. IS. STUNNING.

In an email, she kindly shared her process, the products that she used, and mentioned a newish, metallic paint produced by Benjamin Moore, though not a product she used on the aforementioned piece.

At this point, I decided that I’d re-evaluate my initial plans and create something inspired by Martha’s piece. I tracked down the paint, studied the application instructions, and got to work, hopeful that my careful preparations would pay off in the end.

I applied the paint with a foam roller.  And just about started to cry.  Rather than self-leveling as I expected it to, the paint seemed to seed. Read Sucheta’s wry post on paint application errors. No, no, no, no, NO! I had sanded. I had primed. I had removed every speck of dust. I had even tried warming the paint, as suggested by Sucheta, but to no avail.  This was NOT supposed to happen.  I called my man, Thad, not quite in tears, but close.  He managed to talk me off furniture ledge I was about to fling myself off of–(can I just say he’s good at that?!) Instead of throwing it on the burn pile, I took a deep breath and decided to search the ever helpful interweb for some information on the paint and its application. Guess what I found out? It is supposed to do that.  The paint creates a glossy, hard, hammered metal-like finish–complete with metallic glints added to the paint.  The “seeding” that so freaked me out had nothing to do with my preparations, but rather reflected the paint’s inherent qualities.  As I said before: I’m my own worst enemy sometimes.

 

Given the nature of the paint, I again reevaluated my plans and set to work, again inspired by Martha and these lovelies. The paint itself, if you’re interested in using it, can be rolled, sprayed or brushed.  In the end, I decided that I had the most control with a brush, and liked the way the paint behaved better from a brush than a roller. It’s an oil-based paint, and a sticky one at that, so follow oil-based paint clean-up protocols.  It dries fairly quickly to a lovely, high-gloss enamel finish, and because any brush “drag” messes with the hammered element in the paint, you’ll need to work quickly.  Also, be aware that you’ll need to apply several coats to ensure adequate coverage–I applied three coats.  The first coat caused me to question my furniture habit.  The second coat still left me questioning myself–though post internet search I felt better.  And on the third coat, I fell in love. I painted the hardware with the BM paint, and then, because the original finish included gold detailing on the drawers, re-added a gold detail with a brush. I appreciate subtlety and hence applied a barely there gold that one can only see in the right light.

As I consider the before and after photos, it strikes me that some folks might prefer the original version. To be honest, it looked fairly good as is–less the My Little Pony sticker and water damage. But now, to my eye, there’s a glamour and a panache that the original lacked.

That’s all for now!  Time to knuckle down and write that last gardening post…

Talk soon,

Queen P