Learn a little trick with dark wax that will make your life easier, when using it.
I fell in love with chalk paint about 3 years ago. The colours, the texture, the look of the finish. There is something quite beautiful about the matt effect that the chalk paint and wax gives that is stunning. I also feel it is easy to create some wonderful looks with little experience. It is fun to play with the paints and different finishes. I almost always feel the outcome is great.
I bought these nightstands from fb marketplace and had no idea what i was going to do with them. They were a little boring and square for my liking.
The nightstands are solid and heavy. They did have a few lovely details to them however, and i think sometimes its these details that need to be exaggerated.
Step 1.
I washed the inside and outside of the nightstands with our version of TSP (Jotun, Spesialvask før maling), which is a heavy duty cleaning product that cuts through any dirt, dust or grimey build up. I like to wash one more time with clean water to wash away the cleaning product, this process went quickly as the nightstands were not very dirty. I lightly sanded over all the surfaces with 220 grit sand paper. I did this so that the paint would stick to the surface better.
I taped up what i didnt want to paint, this ended up being mainly the inside. The insides looked perfect, no scratches or marks, so i left these as is. I then painted 2 layers with Napoleon blue, i let the paint dry inbetween coats. For this project i used a 120ml can of Annie Sloans Napoleon blue. This was a little scary as i did not know if there was enough but i did thin layers and used water to stretch the paint further. I also felt a little safer as i was going to distress them.
How bright is this?!!! I got a little scared at this point… erm is this colour a little much….maybe…
Step 2.
After the last coat had dried i decided to finish the top. I wanted it to match the matt finish of the body. As i wanted to use a polyurethene (topcoat i knew it needed to be darkened a little. So i decided to use a little graphite which is a very dark grey colour that becomes black almost when a finishing product is layed over the top. This is what it looked like right after i put the graphite on.
I used a rag to dab the graphite up and down over the napoleon blue. When i felt i needed more water, i sprayed water from a spray bottle onto the graphite. I played around until i thought it looked right. I then wet the rag and wet distressed the edges to reveal the wood underneath. This was to tie the piece together.
Step 3.
I then used a matt polyurethene to protect the top of the nightstands. This is because we use water glasses on nightstands and the wax doesnt protect well enough against water.
This is the finished result. What do you think?
Step 4.
Now we come to my favorite trick in the world! I love to apply dark wax with steel wool. It gives a great effect and is easy to apply. You take the steel wool 0000 and dip it into the wax. I usually cut a very small amount of the steel wool (about 5cm by 5cm) and put some dark wax in a paper bowl. Then i can dip the steel wool when i need more. You work in sections and rub the wax in wiping away any excess wax as you work. It is EXTREMELY important to wipe the wax properly away otherwise you are left with a tacky surface which is hard to fix. I use lint free material, in the form of an old tshirt (for example) there are many types of clothes that work. They MUST be lint free.
I ususally wipe my hand over the area to check that it slides across the surface easily after i am finished. This technique is best for furniture that will be distressed. The steel wool can scratch paint of the edges of furniture.
Step 5.
When i am using the steel wool to wax, i press a little harder and wipe over the edges and corner details. This removes the paint and the natural wood shines through. This part is a little indiviual to what you like. I see many people distress alot and others like to only distress a little. This part is up to you and what you prefer.
Well that is about it. This is the finished product. Its actually quite dark in reality but all the pictures seem to pick up on the blue.
Hope you enjoyed this step by step guide.
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Have a great day!
From Anna x
