A New Topcoat Technique and a Lottery win!

I won the lottery today!  It is great timing because Mr. Chuckles and I are about to take off for sunny Cuba in a week's time.  Sure, I only won $26, but hey, that will pay for the cost of the spray tan I will get before we go.  Yes, I get spray tans...not that often, as I find my life isn't exciting enough to need 'tan' skin on a regular basis.  But, I do like to get them before I head off on a vacation to a sunny destination when I have been covered up in layers of clothes for the past five months. I find with the spray tan I am not in such a hurry to play catch-up on my tan in the first two days of being on vacation (which inevitably results in a really bad burn).  By the time the spray tan wears off I am usually starting to get a bit of a natural glow.

 
Speaking of top coats, I used a new technique on this piece, which I must say, is an absolutely stunning piece of furniture!  It is so grand, and was surprisingly manufactured right here in my very own city.  It stands at 36" tall and is 20" deep.  Most of my 9 drawers stand at 36" - but only after I custom add legs to them!  Prior to that they are a dwarfy 31".  I like a short stature on MCM pieces, but on the chunky 70s dressers I find they look way better with extra height.  Personal preference I suppose.
 

 
But obviously this amazon didn't need extra height because she was already so tall! I went to pick her up and realized there was a very good chance she wouldn't fit in the Mazda 3, the gentleman enquired where I live, and by sheer good fortune he was heading to my very street later that same afternoon for a birthday party!  Pretty coincidental in a city of 500,000 people!  So he actually brought her to me. Very kind.

 
The least fun part was the sanding.  Sanding French provincial furniture is the most labor intensive out of all furniture.  So many god darn curves and bevels and lips and ledges.  Urgh.  It took about two hours to sand her down, vacuum and wipe her clean.
 

 
Next step was to prime her up with some tinted primer.  Two coats and a bunch of dry time later I was ready to paint.= (aka the fun part). Oh, and the hardware was giving a dose of Rub-n-Buff in antique gold.
 

 
I used a cobalt colour I love, but I also mixed in some navy blue and black tint to achieve a more navy colour. I painted on about three or four coats in a satin finish.  It turned out really nice, but it was missing that 'pow' sheen that I get when I use wipe on poly.  The problem is, the last time I used WOP I had such a hard time getting an even finish on the top that I ended up doing WAY too many coats.  I just wasn't mentally or physically ready to go through that again so soon.  Still licking the wounds and all...
 

 
I remembered reading in a wood working forum that someone found that tung oil finish gave a less streaky result than  WOP.  I just happened to have a can on the shelf in the basement so I thought Id give it a whirl.  I used an old rag to wipe it on, and then I used a second rag to virtually wipe it all back off, just leaving a tiny hint of the product, but enough to give me the subtle sheen that I wanted.  It took quite a long time to fully dry (despite me wiping almost all of the product back off), but in the end it produced a more high-end result than if I had just left the paint un-topcoated.
 
Anyways, I am really happy and I think I will try this technique on another piece in the future. But for now I would recommend it, particularly on a darkly painted piece of furniture as tung oil finish will amber over time (so DON"T use it on a light coloured piece).

 

The before!

Regal Navy Blue with Custom Legs

I love this piece!  I think her colour is so regal, rich and inviting - you just want to pull up a throne, finger snap to the butler and feast on your roast pork and cognac. Add  the stunning gold hardware (all hail thee rub-n-buff) and Queen Elizabeth may as well pop round for some tea and scones.  Im hearing trumpets in the distance and I think I just saw a unicorn trot by saddled by an armoured knight.

 
This piece started out life in pretty good condition but was bland and boring. No one would pick her out of a lineup, that's for sure.  She needed love.  L-O-V-E I say!
 

 
I have had this tint 'blueberry twist' sitting on the shelf for a while now, and I finally blew the dust off the lid and decided to give it a go.  I mixed the tint into my dulux diamond and turned into a chalk paint. 
 

 
It got pretty decent coverage which sometimes dark or bright colours can be temperamental about.  Ive had some bad luck with reds that take about 7 coats to convince you that they are in fact paint and not stain.  Three would have been enough, but I decided to go for four as I wanted it to be perfect, plus I accidently mixed up too much chalkpaint and figure I might as well use it up as I find the DIY stuff doesn't have the longest shelf life.

 
Mr. Chuckle's was called in to lend some expertise and help me add the custom legs which I painted out gold prior to attaching.  The difference is amazing.  Those legs are little tools in a magician's kit.  I always marvel at how remarkable a transformation is when you add legs to a stumpy piece.  It stops looking like a 'dresser' and starts looking like a piece of furniture; fit for any living area in the house.  
 

 
These new stilettos take the piece to 37" tall now.    Whistle whistle.

I didn't use wax, instead I finished with satin polyurethane which makes for a wonderful finish.  It has a great sheen without being cheap looking or showing every little blemish.

 
I used some chevron paper in navy and turquoise and modpodged it to the inside drawers for a bit of whimsy.

 
Rub n buff was conscripted into action and used on all of the original hadware.  I love gold at the moment, I know it isn't for everyone (or every piece) but I think it is catching and making a comeback.

 

Moving this piece was backbreaking even with my backbrace on (yep, I wear a backbrace - safety first boys and girls).  I do my refinishing in the workshop (garage) and we bring pieces in to the house to photograph, but Im in the process of creating a staging wall in the garage because the constant shifing of furniture is starting to take its toll.  The garage won't be quite as flashy as the walls are not in perfect condition, but Im hoping that I can swing it somehow.

 

And to end on a bright note, I saw a flower today while out on my run.  A real live one!  I had to do a double take because for a second I thought someone stuck a fake one into the ground.  Spring has finally sprung!

 

And the Before!