Six Cans of White Spray Paint Later...

If you live in my area and are trying to buy some Rustoleum White Gloss spray paint, beware. I may have purchased every available can. I don't claim to be a DIY expert. NOT EVEN CLOSE. I'm just a girl with the drive to try and who isn't afraid of learning as I go. When it comes to painting wood furniture, I thought I knew a thing or two. Turns out, I may only be one step above clueless.

I started this project about three weeks ago when we had a very short-lived burst of warm weather here in Ohio and I decided it would be a good day to spray paint our kitchen table. Here's a before pic for ya. It's a nice solid piece. This table was in Aaron's home growing up and we have had it for years so I loved the idea of keeping it but making it new again.

I was nervous about painting it because the top is this crazy laminate stuff. I didn't even try to sand it. I just primed it with some Zinsser, let it dry, and began applying several thin coats of white Rustoleum spray paint. I began with just the top thinking that I might go for a two-tone look like you see here.

The white just looked so clean and fresh, though, and the legs were just begging to get the same treatment.

Then...we had a snowstorm and it turned freezing cold for several days. Even in the garage of the new place I was afraid it was too cold to paint but I'm impatient and I did it anyways. I sprayed the legs and did another coat on the top in below 30 degree weather. I thought it would be fine. After a couple days drying, I brought it into the house and all I could see were streaks! Now, I don't know exactly what caused this but I have a feeling it had something to do with the cold weather and my impatience with the drying process. Ugh!

 

 

So, over Spring Break I carried this bad boy back out to the garage, sanded it down and started from the beginning (just the top, the legs were fine). I also decided to add a topcoat of polyurethane to protect the finish. I knew this was a must when one dropped toy chipped the white paint down to the brown wood. Really?

I was able to paint again and it went much better. I can be a perfectionist so I can't say it's perfect but it is a huge improvement. But then, I ran into some issues with the poly. I tried both the spray kind and the brush on kind. It went a little like this...spray poly, lightly sand (like the directions say), hate it, sand, reprime, repaint, go to store, buy brush-on poly, apply, hate it, sand, try again, etc. The brush on kind is better in my eyes because it left a glossier finish, however, no matter what I did I still see brush marks. It might just be that I'm looking too hard, though.

Without further boring you with my trials and tribulations, here is our new table in our new kitchen nook. It suddenly looks so small! It is expandable so I may add one of the inserts.

 

I will be on the lookout for the perfect chairs to go with it. The chairs you saw in the above picture may be way too far gone to do anything about them. Plus, I'm thinking I want something with an industrial vibe. We'll see. It's all about the baby steps, baby!

 

The next time a take on a big job like this, I may consider using a foam roller. Considering how much time, effort, and cans it took to spray paint this I wonder if going the roller route might make more sense especially when doing a flat surface like a table top.

As for the house, we are not officially moving in but since the inside is done I will be slowly putting together some of the rooms. I can't wait to share all of it with you step-by-step. Have a great Tuesday!