China Cabinet Reveal!

Are you ready to see the china cabinet? I’m sure you are all tired of me dragging this on and on.

I am so very thankful for everyone’s wonderful suggestions.

I thinned the paint just a bit like Emily suggested.

I kept the vacuum by my side when sanding like Debbie suggested.

I wish I had known about Kristy’s suggestion to use a wet scrubby sponge for sanding. 

Great idea to cut down on the dust.

Oh and just a warning, this is a long post so get comfy. :)

Here she is!

And for a refresher of what she used to look like.

She’s quite a bit lighter and brighter now don’t you think?

 

I had a few panicky moments along the way.

I ran out of paint. I had some knob issues.

It took me a lot longer then I had thought. 

Mostly because that shelf doesn’t come out so I had to have my head in the cabinet and cut in all those edges.

I showed you the other day how we beefed up the molding on the top of the cabinet. 

It’s really very easy to do and can make a huge difference on lots of cabinets or shelving.

The knob problem was solved but cutting down the bolts and finding a thinner nut for the back. 

Then the little magnet assemble was moved forward just a bit.

Hubby discovered that late at night when we kept trying to get them to latch.

The idea to counter sink the nut was a great idea but I had forgotten that there was a metal plate behind the door and it was what was actually sticking to the magnet.

Not the screw head that I originally had said.

I still have not found anymore, there were only 6 in the box. So for now the rest stay wood.

I know I worried a lot of you that I did not cover up my floors.

No need. It all cleaned up very easily. I just wipe as I go. 

Even if some spots dried, it just scraped right off.  

Let me show you some of the tools that made things easier for me.

1. Sanding Blocks: top is 320 grit for between coats and the bottom one is heavier grit for distressing the edges if needed. 

2. An old sock slipped over your hand make it easy to buff out the wax.

3. Bolt cutter. I knew we had some tool in the garage for this!

4. My Pampered Chef scraper got those dried bits of stray paint right off the floor. I swear!

5. An emery board is great for getting the chalk paint off the hinges. I left them on thinking I would paint them and then changed my mind. So this got off where I wasn’t so careful.

6. A razor blade. I taped off only one side of the glass doors. It was much much easier to just scrape the paint off the other side then it was to carefully place the tape, then score it to get it to come away from the door.

Are you still with me?

Just checking.

I just want to mention a few things about my experience using Annie Sloan’s chalk paint.

The first can I ordered through Robyn Story Design. They are super fast with their orders. 

The second can I found locally.

I had a hard time deciding on getting the paint because of the higher cost. I had rationalized this in my head with not having to prime, dries fast and easy to sand back. Not priming being my biggest draw.

But using Pure White on top of a stained piece caused some coverage problems. I had some odd spots that bled through. You can see where I tried to cover them with multiple coats but it wasn’t until I spot primed it that they went away. I also had to use 3 coats in most places to get good coverage. Now, if you’re laying one color on top of another this won’t be needed. So keep that in mind if you are using any of the whites.

I loved the way it sanded. Smooth as a babies bottom. Smooth but yet you can still see my brush strokes. Odd? A bit. The brush strokes bothered me at first but then I got used to it.

Would I use it again?

Yes!

I might stick with pieces that aren’t so hard to paint. 

I would have to consider the cost factor. I used almost 2 cans of it on this one piece. 

Yes, I could have primed it then did another coat but for me that defeated the purpose of buying it in the first place.

I’m anxious to see how a color goes on. I haven’t used my French Linen sample yet.

Thanks  much for sticking with me to the end.

I know I bombarded you with a ton of pictures.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Linking up to:

Miss Mustard Seed: Furniture Feature Friday
Funky Junk Interiors: SNS 105
Savvy Southern Style: WUW
Primitive and Proper: Piece of  Work Wednesday
French Country Cottage: Feathered Nest Friday