Adventures in Spray Painting

I managed to tackle one of the projects I had on my to-do list for the summer, which was redoing my coffee table. I am learning that I'm a true novice when it comes to DIY projects; however, I'm enjoying the trial and error and learning as I go.

Here she is just begging for a new look. I have done enough research and read enough blogposts to give me the general idea of what to do.

I started by sanding her down until most of the existing varnish was gone and she was nice and smooth. I then cleaned the table with a damp cloth. The table had a few gashes and cracked wood from years of wear and tear that I wanted to fix. I began with this product...

When it wasn't really doing what I expected, I read the back of the container (I know, I know, I should have done that first). Turns out that wood putty is mainly for filling cracks and holes. It won't get hard so that you can sand it down.

So, back to the store I went and I found this product. I read the back before I purchased and it was just the thing I needed. It went on great and dried quickly. I sanded it down a little and I was ready for the next step -- priming.

I used a Valspar spray primer. I had never primed before and was expecting it to turn the table completely white. It never did so I just went with it. It did leave the table feeling a little rough and gritty so once it dried I went back over it very lightly with sandpaper to smooth her out. I may try a different primer next time.

Since I had to sand again, I wiped the table down and let it dry once more. Now, for the fun part! I chose a Rustoleum spray paint in winter grey. Th grey look was inspired by this table that Meg did on last season's Design Star on HGTV.

                                                       

I did several thin coats and then...I ran out. Another newbie mistake--I only bought one can. Back to the store, again!

Here she is looking pretty once more. The grey turned out to have a little blue tint to it but that was a nice surprise since I love just about every shade of blue. I think it will look beautiful next to our dark wood floors. I'm considering going over the grooves at the top with white paint to mirror Meg's look. My plan is to style it with a bright yellow tray where I will stack some books and an aluminum can to hold crayons, pencils, etc. Be sure to check back to see it at home in our new house!