My first try at painting was a disaster. Even thought I cleaned the dresser with denatured alcohol, the paint bubbled and looked awful. I wiped it off and sanded. One day I reading my favorite design and DIY blog, Little Green Notebook. Jenny wrote about the primer she uses when painting furniture (Zinsser primer). I used the water based primer since I was planning to use spray paint for the buffet. I primed the entire buffet (with the exception of the inside and the inside of the drawers. I used a roller on the flat surfaces and a brush on the spindles.
Once the primer was completely dry, I began painting. I should have taken Jenny's advice and gotten the primer tinted. That would have helped to cut down on the number of coats I needed.
I searched for hardware that I thought would look good but in the end I just decided to paint the hardware I already had. Once again I turned to Jenny for advice. She paints hardware often and I used her tips. Instead of the gold spray paint she uses, I used, Rust-Oleum Britght Coat Metallic Finish in Gold. It gives a great color, not too yellow and a shiny finish. I primed with Rust-Oleum Clean Metal Primer first. Once it was dry, I followed with several coats of the Rust-Oleum gold, until I got the finish I wanted. Then I finished with a two clear coats for protection.
I love spray paint because as long as you shake well and use even strokes, it is pretty much fool proof. I decided on a deep red and chose Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch Ultra Cover 2x in Colonial Red. I wanted a glossy finish and it delivered.
I decided to add a clear gloss coat to the top of the buffet and the lower shelf. Those areas will get the most wear and I thought they needed extra protection. Once the hardware was dry I reattached it and I'm thrilled with the results.
A little paint and a boring buffet has new life. My total cost was about $65 with plenty of paint leftover for other projects.
Happy Friday Real Girls!
