This is our first post and lesson learned, take a full picture of piece before you begin. I can’t describe to you how ugly this dresser was before. This piece was purchased at an auction for $25 a few years ago. While it matched one of our children’s “Italian” themed rooms years ago, it now needed a new purpose and look.
We decided to create a beautiful buffet table for the diningroom using Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint. Now where to purchase this paint? There was no stockist in Northern Nevada. The closest store was a wonderful salvage-vintage-design store, Bloom, in Las Vegas. Before purchasing we watched videos online on how to use this special paint. We found some terrific blogs that demonstrated each step. Our favorites were: Annie Sloan Blog, Pretty Distressed, Organized Clutterbug, and Simply Reinvented.
With paint in hand, we were ready. First we took off the hardware. They were covered with the same yellow/green paint. We found a great way to remove the paint from hardware without using stripper – episode of Rehab Addict using an old crockpot, dish soap and water. Then spray painted them black. We also painted the screws by pushing them into Styrofoam, then painting. They turned out terrific!
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 Repainted hardware |
 Screws |
Annie Sloan site and the other videos all mentioned you do not have to sand the paint off the piece. They suggest you wipe down the piece to clean it. We did this and ran into trouble. We could find no solutions to our issue online, hence the creation of this blog. After the second coat of paint, there were places that were lifting (chipping). The only thing we could think of was grease or a stain that was 
not visible. We purchased TSP-PF and cleaned the lifting areas. Then repainted those same areas. This worked for most of the area, but not the very outside edge of the area that still had the issue underneath. We then sanded them down to the wood. Cleaned them again with TSP-PF and then reapplied two coats of Annie Sloan paint. Worked like a charm! Note to self…clean all pieces with TSP-PF before beginning any painting project.
With two coats of chalk paint on the dresser, it was now time to put on a clear coat of Annie Sloan’s Clear Wax. At Bloom they suggested we purchase a wax brush, but they were pretty expensive. Some of the blogs mentioned using a white weathered t-shirt so we opted to apply that way. Purchase the bru
sh! We ended up purchasing the brush (can purchase online at Amazon for about $20) and it worked as promised. After the clear wax dried, it was time to distress. You really need to consider where you want to distress and how much. Pretty Distressed videos really helped with this concept. We did along the edges and sides where wear would occur naturally. Then applied one more coat of clear wax.
Next step, dark wax. Now this part was the scariest especially after it was looking so great already. We re-watched videos a few times to make sure we did it right.
Using a paper plate, we mixed 2/3rds dark wax (small amount) with 1/3 clear wax to give the dark wax more flexibility. Dark wax can be applied in areas that would get more wear and tear naturally or can be applied all over the piece as dark as you’d like. We opted for a more natural look with a light amount of dark wax.
The final step, was to now add dark stain to the top. Organized Clutterbug offered the best video and solutions for how to apply General Finishes Java Gel Stain. Using a sock with a glove underneath, we applied four coats of stain right over the top without sanding the original paint off. Of course, we cleaned it well with TSP-PF. Each coat takes a good 8 hours to dry so this part took a few days.
It looks amazing! The final step will be to add a few coats of Minwax Wipe-on Poly once it warms up in garage. Too cold in Nevada right now!
This has been an amazing experience using Annie Sloan’s Chalk paint. We have many more projects on the books. We used the internet to learn how to do the whole project and wanted to share with you our bumps in the road and final success! Happy Painting!
Over The Fence Creations 