I've been really dragging my feet on the re-vamp of my second antique chair. The feedback on the first chair was good in theory, but I also experienced my first round of really very negative comments. You win some, you lose some - I guess.
But we've had a couple of cold, rainy days around here so I finally had time to turn my attentions to this second chair. As I mentioned previously, these chairs were purchased together and in quite a state of disrepair. Once they were repaired, I opted to paint them with milk paint in light cream.
Here's where it gets interesting. Now, I've used milk paint in the past {check it out here}, but this project really drove it home for me. This is some seriously finicky stuff. Look at the differences between the right chair and the left. Both in the same starting condition, both painted with the same paint.
Milk Paint comes in a powder form that you mix with water when you're ready to use it. It has a fairly short shelf life, recommended to be used within 24 hours. Since I knew I wouldn't be painting both chairs at the same time, I split the powder in equal parts and mixed up half the paint, saving the other half for the other chair. Makes sense, right? I thought so too.
The first chair received two coats of paint. The paint, literally, distressed itself. Sticking in some places and not in others - but it did cover nicely with two light coats.
The second chair took 4 coats to cover. And it didn't distress itself to the same extent as the first chair. Why? I'm not sure. Both were painted with the same paint, same conditions, etc.
So, what's the moral of this story? If you're a control freak and want the exact same finish from project to project - this is not the product for you. But if you're interested in achieving an authentic, antiqued, distressed look this product will certainly help you get there.
Fortunately for me, although these chairs will be in the same room, they won't be side-be-side so the differences won't be quite so obvious. Either way, I'm still loving the look of this pair. And I'm really happy to mark another project off the on-going list for the master bedroom.
Have a great weekend.
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until next time,
