A few months ago we scored this china cabinet from the TROSA store. Buying it was cheaper than building shelves and I really liked all the curly cues and flowery details. However, it's very 70's-y. "What are we going to do about the yellow thing?" was a pretty common phrase when we talked about the kitchen.
My mom pointed out that it might be nicotine stained and not yellow at all! I tackled it with some Murphy's Oil Soap to see. I figured it would either look so good I wouldn't need to paint OR it would be gross and need to be washed before I painted anyway.
The left door is clean. The right door is original.
Turns out the "yellow thing" is more of a "cream thing."
Gross!
Look how happy that drawer is to get scrubbed up!
Now that it was nice and clean I decided that it would look better with a coat of paint. There was no way I was going to sand this thing with all of the nooks and crannies so I decided to prime and paint.
I used some primer we had laying around. When you prime don't forget that it's not going to look nice. You just need a layer of primer for the paint to stick to. It'll still be sheer in some parts and thicker in others. You don't have to hit every teeny spot.
Since I still had some Benjamin Moore Advance in high gloss white from doing the cabinets (the best stuff ever) I used that to paint the thing. I had to use a teeny tiny paint brush to get into all the curlicues and flowery bits. It took fooorrrreeeevvveeeer. But it was worth it because now it looks like this!
Obviously I still need to replace the drawer pulls.
Before and After:
OOOOOOOOHHHH!!!!! So so so pretty! I love how that turned out!
ReplyDeleteThe only time I've tried to repaint furniture, I bought the paint that the paint guy suggested for repainting furniture, but then it never ever ever fully dried. Stayed tacky for weeks. Eventually I had to take the stupid thing to a professional to have it stripped. This is the horror story that has kept me from repainting furniture ever again. Sad. Because I like painted furniture.
I really recommend the Benjamin Moore Advance. It dries fast and cures hard. I haven't had any chips on the cabinets either. Plus it's shinnnnnny. It's a bit pricey for one project but I've done a lot with this can and still have plenty left.
ReplyDeleteI could live with a shiny finish on things. Good tip, thanks!
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