~Preparation & Technique~
Basic Prepping:
We make sure chairs, drawers, table legs, and the body of dresser are working smoothly. Minor holes will be filled with wood putty or major wood chew or stripped veneer can be fixed with bondo. We use industrial strength wood glue for those loose wood joints too. Also, for Dressers or anything with drawers I like to use a blower to blow out all the dust you don't see where the drawers go and clean it out with Murphy"s soap and water. You might not think nothings there but its there. Imagine all the dust build up over the years and it makes your clothes smell.
For a simple tip, if you have a stubborn drawers, rub a little candle wax or white bar soap on rails/gliders of drawers, it would make it slide a lot easier.
We use Trisodium phosphate(TSP) for removing dirt and gunk build-up and it makes the paint adhere better. We light sand to take off light gloss and minimize dents and nicks. We take off previous sealants and heavy gloss by using a liquid heavy duty deglosser, so paint and primer can seal better. For tough lacquer and paint stain we use a heavy duty paint stripper if necessary.
Once all prepping is done it's ready for the next step, to prime or not to prime. For a solid color look, the piece are primed with two top coats to adhere to the final top coat better. Primer applies to solid color pieces very well, white furniture and dark colored furniture with grey primer with light distress. Will have two different colors (top coat & primer coat) to minimize this issue I like to prime the face not the edging because of two different colors in white top coat and the white primer. Primer only comes in grey and white. So, it won't look right if I want the wood showing(distressed) because you see primer mixed in with top color along with wood showing for the distressed look instead. Due to wood "bleeding" some pieces require heavy priming if painted white.
Once furniture is completely painted or painted distressed, we use a poly-acrylic matte finish sealer and we apply wax after to give it an extra protection and luster. We don't use oil polyurethane due to yellowing through light colors and drying time.
Stained wood tops - we use a 4-step process as far as sanding to get a nicely stained color top finish. We use a coarse, medium, fine and very fine sand paper. When ready to stain, right before, we use a wood conditioner to open up the wood pores so the stain can apply better to the wood for a even stained look. Once stained has dried for a good amount of time, we put 3 coats of poly-acrylic sealer and use 320 grit sand paper between coats for a complete smoother finish. Once all is done for the natural wood top we put Howard's Beeswax for a protective luster shine.
Stain Suppliers: Old Masters Stain, General finishes and if Requested Minwax wood stain.
Sealers: Oil base sealers, sometimes does not give a completely smooth look if not sanded between coats or the right drying temperature's. There can be small imperfections like- dust, bubbles, bugs from drying slowly and it takes a lot longer to cure. With a poly-acrylic sealer we get a better smoother finish with the same protection, faster curing time and its still durable for items to be set on top. Poly-acrylic sealer has a crystal clear finish with no yellowing of color. The sealer adds a more rich depth wet look to your color when done and adds a natural beauty to wood finishes. Poly-acrylic sealer has a maximum scratch and stain resistance to protect the surface from damage to preserve the color and quality over time.
Do Not Use: for household furniture polish cleaners and multi-surface cleaners will have chemicals in it - they will leave a residue build-up and it will eat up the sealant. Use only natural furniture cleaners for clean-up only. Use soap and water for easy clean-up too.
Sealer Sheen- I use eggshell or satin sealer finish (Higher gloss on request only), it will last at least the life of the furniture. I hear people like using wax. Wax is great only after I apply a sealer to it. Not using a sealer and just using a wax for sealer only causes you to re-apply the wax every 6 months to keep it intact or it will start chipping. My clients are not going to go for that...lol
Paint Suppliers: We use PPG Paints and Sherwin Williams and if Requested Benjamin Moore.
Sorry, we don't use chalk paint. Why you ask? Well I get this question a lot. For me, it's the look, it looks better when I spray the paint onto the piece of furniture. No brush marks just a nice even sprayed look. Price! That is another issue, it's way too much. I need to look at my overhead cost so in turn that savings is passed down to my client by less expensive good quality paint. Also, this whole concept of "no prep needed" before painting, well where's the fun in that? Prepping for me is much more than getting it ready to paint. I want to see for myself that all of those nicks, gouges, dirt build-up, rough spots and edges have been smoothed out to an even surface. I want to be able to look you in the eye and say that I removed all of that built up grime, any unknown chemicals or cleaners that had been lurking on the surfaces. The last thing I could ever imagine saying to a client is that I just painted over all of that because chalk paint is the rage! Lastly, you still have to use a primer or shellac to protect against water stains or the red tannins will bleed through your finish. Anyways, that's my two cents about why I don't use chalk paint.
Techniques-
We make sure chairs, drawers, table legs, and the body of dresser are working smoothly. Minor holes will be filled with wood putty or major wood chew or stripped veneer can be fixed with bondo. We use industrial strength wood glue for those loose wood joints too. Also, for Dressers or anything with drawers I like to use a blower to blow out all the dust you don't see where the drawers go and clean it out with Murphy"s soap and water. You might not think nothings there but its there. Imagine all the dust build up over the years and it makes your clothes smell.
For a simple tip, if you have a stubborn drawers, rub a little candle wax or white bar soap on rails/gliders of drawers, it would make it slide a lot easier.
We use Trisodium phosphate(TSP) for removing dirt and gunk build-up and it makes the paint adhere better. We light sand to take off light gloss and minimize dents and nicks. We take off previous sealants and heavy gloss by using a liquid heavy duty deglosser, so paint and primer can seal better. For tough lacquer and paint stain we use a heavy duty paint stripper if necessary.
Once all prepping is done it's ready for the next step, to prime or not to prime. For a solid color look, the piece are primed with two top coats to adhere to the final top coat better. Primer applies to solid color pieces very well, white furniture and dark colored furniture with grey primer with light distress. Will have two different colors (top coat & primer coat) to minimize this issue I like to prime the face not the edging because of two different colors in white top coat and the white primer. Primer only comes in grey and white. So, it won't look right if I want the wood showing(distressed) because you see primer mixed in with top color along with wood showing for the distressed look instead. Due to wood "bleeding" some pieces require heavy priming if painted white.
Once furniture is completely painted or painted distressed, we use a poly-acrylic matte finish sealer and we apply wax after to give it an extra protection and luster. We don't use oil polyurethane due to yellowing through light colors and drying time.
Stained wood tops - we use a 4-step process as far as sanding to get a nicely stained color top finish. We use a coarse, medium, fine and very fine sand paper. When ready to stain, right before, we use a wood conditioner to open up the wood pores so the stain can apply better to the wood for a even stained look. Once stained has dried for a good amount of time, we put 3 coats of poly-acrylic sealer and use 320 grit sand paper between coats for a complete smoother finish. Once all is done for the natural wood top we put Howard's Beeswax for a protective luster shine.
Stain Suppliers: Old Masters Stain, General finishes and if Requested Minwax wood stain.
Sealers: Oil base sealers, sometimes does not give a completely smooth look if not sanded between coats or the right drying temperature's. There can be small imperfections like- dust, bubbles, bugs from drying slowly and it takes a lot longer to cure. With a poly-acrylic sealer we get a better smoother finish with the same protection, faster curing time and its still durable for items to be set on top. Poly-acrylic sealer has a crystal clear finish with no yellowing of color. The sealer adds a more rich depth wet look to your color when done and adds a natural beauty to wood finishes. Poly-acrylic sealer has a maximum scratch and stain resistance to protect the surface from damage to preserve the color and quality over time.
Do Not Use: for household furniture polish cleaners and multi-surface cleaners will have chemicals in it - they will leave a residue build-up and it will eat up the sealant. Use only natural furniture cleaners for clean-up only. Use soap and water for easy clean-up too.
Sealer Sheen- I use eggshell or satin sealer finish (Higher gloss on request only), it will last at least the life of the furniture. I hear people like using wax. Wax is great only after I apply a sealer to it. Not using a sealer and just using a wax for sealer only causes you to re-apply the wax every 6 months to keep it intact or it will start chipping. My clients are not going to go for that...lol
Paint Suppliers: We use PPG Paints and Sherwin Williams and if Requested Benjamin Moore.
Sorry, we don't use chalk paint. Why you ask? Well I get this question a lot. For me, it's the look, it looks better when I spray the paint onto the piece of furniture. No brush marks just a nice even sprayed look. Price! That is another issue, it's way too much. I need to look at my overhead cost so in turn that savings is passed down to my client by less expensive good quality paint. Also, this whole concept of "no prep needed" before painting, well where's the fun in that? Prepping for me is much more than getting it ready to paint. I want to see for myself that all of those nicks, gouges, dirt build-up, rough spots and edges have been smoothed out to an even surface. I want to be able to look you in the eye and say that I removed all of that built up grime, any unknown chemicals or cleaners that had been lurking on the surfaces. The last thing I could ever imagine saying to a client is that I just painted over all of that because chalk paint is the rage! Lastly, you still have to use a primer or shellac to protect against water stains or the red tannins will bleed through your finish. Anyways, that's my two cents about why I don't use chalk paint.
Techniques-
- Solid Color
- distress, medium or heavy
- dry brush
- white wash/grey wash
- patinas
- aged/glaze
- wood stain, from golden oak, dark walnut to jacobean or weathered stain look
