Getting a Pewter Look on Hardware

Just a couple of materials and a few simple steps is all it takes. 

I have done this look on a couple of different dressers now. It all began with the beautiful dresser below. 

 I had previously refinished this dresser in turquoise (HERE) and was over-the-moon to find the exact same gorgeous dresser in excellent vintage condition. It has wonderful raised detailing and I added the legs to give it extra height.

There was nothing wrong with the hardware in its original state, but it was so dark that it was difficult to appreciate all the ornate carved detailing.  Lightening it up and glazing it really highlights all of that beautiful craftsmanship.

I drew inspiration from a technique I have used on some old candlesticks to get a 'pewter' looking finish. This candlestick used to be glossy red and it really suited the Japanese inspired furnishings of the house I shared in Sydney (yep, I brought these guys all the way home to Canada), but I gave them new life to fit in with the decor of my new digs.

I washed the hardware well using baking soda and vinegar to get the gunk off.  I noticed this did leave a film on the hardware after it dried (probably a chemical reaction) and so I gave all the pieces of hardware a good sanding. Just to give you an idea of the finish. The middle is the original finish, the left is after I sanded/buffed it to a soft gold, and the right shows the residue post soaking. 

I sanded all the hardware really well in order to promote good adhesion for the spray paint.  This was the most time consuming and unpleasant step.  I wore a mask to prevent any of those nasty particles tainting my pristine nostrils. I want to be able to taste my Honeycombs after all.

Next up was silver spray paint.  I used Krylon in a gloss finish.  I did about three coats with 20-30 minutes of dry time between coats. Although the hardware looked great after this step, it really lacked the depth that the glaze provided.

I let the paint dry for a couple of days and kept myself busy doing other things before glazing.  For the glaze I mixed together Martha Stewart glazing medium with some black paint. That's actually an old herbs bottle I mixed it up in. A little of the glaze goes a-l-o-n-g way.

I wiped on the glaze with a dry paper towel and then used a damp cloth to hastily wipe it back off.  I didn't over wipe as I wanted the glaze to gather into the grooves of the detailing and create a darker shadow.  If there were any areas I felt were too dark I just worked the damp cloth a little more.

The picture above shows the difference in steps.  Starting on the right you can see the plate with spray paint, the middle is what it looked like when I covered with glaze, and the left is the end result after the glaze was wiped off.

I allowed the glaze to dry overnight before I sealed everything with a few spray coats of polyacrylic.  I used a satin finish, but I did find that it dulled the finish down to more of a matte finish.  I would definitely consider using a gloss polyacrylic spray for the next time to encourage a bit more luster.

The end result makes a stunning contrast with the white paint of the dresser. You can see another example of where I used this technique below.

It really is amazing how much of a transformation you can make with a little paint, a little imagination, and a little effort. Magic!

If you have any tips for hardware transformations please leave a comment or a link!

Ornate White Dresser

Believe it or not, I have done this exact same dresser before (here)!  About a year ago I found and fell in love with this dresser and painted it a turquoise/blue

So when I saw the same dresser again, I snapped it up super fast!

I decided to paint this one out white, which was very similar to a similar style of dresser I painted (here) which also had beautiful hardware.  I used a pure white and did many coats. I absolutely adore the vertical hardware, and the ornate raised detailing.

Getting the paint into all of that raised detailing took ALOT of work!  I think each drawer took about 8 minutes to paint per coat!  Very time consuming, but the end result looks great.

I custom added the legs, which is something I didn't do to the other version of this dresser I did.  I love the extra height it gives.  The dresser now stands at over 35" tall.  I like the extra versatility it gives, as it no longer looks only like a dresser.  It could easily be used in another room.

I used a technique on the hardware to get a pewter type of look by spray painting with silver and than glazing with black.  It contrasts nicely with the white.

Lots of pictures, I know!

There are six drawers, all very large.  I love that when they are closed you almost think they are cupboards, than you open up and go 'wow, these are drawers not cupboards!'  Very exciting.  ;)

Here is a close up of the hardware, all the blackish bits are where the glaze really got into the grooves and divots.

And of course, the before! I remembered to snap a pic.

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