Sunday 2 June 2013

Chesapeake Blue Cabinet

Some of you may or may not know that I do custom painting for people. I'm not just a one trick pony you know! This week I painted a piece for a customer at Spruce Collective. She requested the new Ce Ce Caldwell color, Chesapeake Blue, with minimal distressing. Typically I wet sand to remove the paint, smooth it out, and create a distressed look. However, this piece was a little different. I rarely find a piece of furniture that I need to prime first. Typically if I want a very crisp white over a very dark brown, I will apply one coat of primer, just so I don't use so much paint, and ensure a clean coverage. I never have to apply primer with a colored paint. Two coats usually does the job quite nicely. This time however, for the first time ever, I needed a full three coats. Now, this particular color is a brand new release, so I haven't actually worked with it before. I am unsure if the pigment isn't as strong in this particular color base, or if the furniture has had so many years of furniture polish and oil build up that the surface was just too smooth to adhere to the paint. Either way, it needed a bit more tlc than the average piece that I work with.

The coverage issue was a deciding factor in my choice to dry sand vs wet. In some cases I really like the result of dry sanding. It creates a flawless smooth finish, and removes a small amount of paint where you want to show distressing. At times with wet sanding, if you haven't had the paint adhere as well as you would like, it can wipe right off. I wasn't afraid of it all coming off, but I was afraid of achieving too much distressing. So dry sanding was a good choice in this case.
The downside of a dry sand, is that it make a giant mess. It is very similar to dry wall dust. It sands very easily, but creates a cloud of dust. I looked like a smurf.....
Three coats of paint was a great choice. It covered flawlessly, and had enough base to sand, that it turned out crisp and clean. I sealed it with satin finish instead of wax because dishes would be sliding around on the surface of the shelves, and I wanted it to be more durable for her.
When all was done, I encountered a small dilemma. Because of the three coats of paint and satin finish, the bottom door was dragging on the shelf.  Just when you think you're done....
To solve this problem, the only viable solution is to sand the underside of the door to prevent drag. 
When all was complete, and the glass was cleaned, I must say that the cabinet turned out beautiful. 

I like that this color has the perfect balance of gray and blue. I am looking forward to layering this color with either Vermont Slate or maybe Pittsburgh Gray. I want to capture a masculine feel on my next piece I think. Hubby said there isn't enough "boy furniture"....

Thanks for stopping by! Hope the tips and tricks help you on your next project.



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