Upcycling Pine Furniture...

[CuddyMum]

Now, because I am moving to a Victorian house and will be leaving my shiny gloss lifestyle (and fitted wardrobes) behind, I have a romantic notion that involves buying second hand pine or wooden furniture (wardrobes, dressing tables, desk etc) and transforming them with Annie Sloan type paint and new knobs. Am I mental? Will this be a good look? Has anyone done this? Tips and advice welcomed.

[ChippingInLovesSpring]

I have tried the autentico - but I didn't like it as much as the Annie Sloan and I certainly couldn't be bothered with the faff of making my own and definitely wouldn't use it on furniture I sell. I'm quite happy to pay for Annie Sloan paint, it goes a long way, it's top quality and as I said before, the colours are made from top quality stuff so the paint can be mixed to make pretty much any colour under the rainbow - so it's not at all limited. You can colour match it to furnishings etc.

[crazydrunkevilhamster]

Ooh I have loads to paint & the price is pretty good tbh

[skandi1]

Cuddy. Yes. I have tried their stuff as well. It's smoother than Annie Sloan and a similar price but with far more colour options.

I still prefer to make my own and use it as a primer and over coat with eggshell to save waxing and rubbing.

[CuddyMum]

Hmm, was just doing a bit of Googling and found this:-

www.autentico-chalk-paint.co.uk/

Comes in a very wide range of colours.

Anyone used this?

[CuddyMum]

and I believe that they will send you a hand painted sample card too. I think they sell the paint online too.

[lolalotta]

Nope, the girl, can be tricky to get hold of and P&P can be expensive...if you go to the AS website, it will list stockists in your area...

[TheGirlOnTheLanding]

Ooh, painting without having to remove varnish you say? I've an ugly varnished pine blanket box that I bought planning to strip and wax about ten years ago but never got around to it. AS paint might be the very thing. I take it you can't just pick it up at B&Q though?

[lolalotta]

I have used the DIY chalk paint method, I wasn't as happy with the results as real Annie Sloan paint. I find the AS paint goes along way anyway. You can thin it with water BTW, if you find it is going on a bit thick for your liking...it is really versatile stuff and fun to work with. Easy to distress too if you like that sort of look!

[skandi1]

No need for expensive Annie Sloan with limited colour options.

You can make your own chalk paint or even your own chalk primer which you can use on waxed or varnished furniture without sanding or stripping.

You need acrylic paint (either good old emulsion or eggshell or satin in your colour of choice). Then you need calcium carbonate. 1 kg of calcium carb will cost you a fiver.

You can also use plaster of Paris or even bicarbonate of soda.

You mix 1 part calcium carb (bicarbonate of soda or plaster of Paris) with two parts of acrylic paint.

I find mixing the powder with a little hot water first to make a smooth paste works best. Then add the paint.

I have recently painted two waxed oak bedside cabinets with farrow and ball eggshell without stripping or any sanding by using above method.

If you want to avoid the hassle of applying wax afterwards. Simply use the above recipe as a base coat (it sticks to almost anything even plastic and metal) and then apply two coats of F&B eggshell on top.

You get the lovely eggshell smooth
Finish and no waxing to be done.

If you prefer a more chalky shabby chic look then use emulsion mixture and apply wax and distress with sandpaper.

I have painted another set of waxed bedside cabinets not to long ago as above but I used bicarbonate of soda rather than chalk. It sticks even better than calcium carbonate but it need a bit of sanding after apply base coat of will not look smooth.

I have also painted a bed frame which was varnished using the calcium carb with F&B eggshell.

The finish is smooth and super durable.

I started using it after having paid a fortune for some dulux primer for
Difficult surfaces. It was utter rubbish. It cost more than the F&B paint and was supposed to adhere specifically well to varnished surfaces. Well it didn't. After two weeks it started chipping off.

Bedframe was done a couple of years ago and no chips at all despite the DC clambering around it

It's very easy and cheap and a much better finish than Annie Sloan. Not to mention less faff.

[CuddyMum]

Just been Googling the stockists :)

[ChippingInLovesSpring]

Cuddy - yes Annie Sloan is the best option (IMO of course). You are right, it's not cheap, but it does go quite a long way and often you only need one coat (that depends on the piece & the look you want though). Even the small pots go a long way!

If you are planning on doing a lot of furniture the 5l wax is a good buy, but the 500ml is good to buy to try it out.

Because it is such good quality paint the colours mix really well - so you can make any colour you want to.

... and don't forget the hairdryer trick :)

[CuddyMum]

I have a small electric sander but I hate the fuzzy feeling in my arm afterwards. I'm going to go with the wax method.

So, is Annie Sloan the best option? It's not cheap is it?

[ChippingInLovesSpring]

But it's not really 'rubbing' it's just lightly buffing, it doesn't take anywhere near the effort that (manual) sanding does... each to their own :)

[HeyYoniYoni]

I'm not sure why you found it a faff HeyYoniYoni?

All the rubbing

Whether you're rubbing with sandpaper or rubbing with a cloth, rubbing is rubbing. At least you can buy a machine that sands

[mrspaddy]

Hi there.. I sanded and sanded and sanded ... a pine dresser. Cleaned with white spirits and simply painted in a duck egg blue (eggshell) Farrow and Ball paint. Really happy with it.. two years on - easy to clean. Must try out the Annie stuff though.

[CuddyMum]

Hey, no problem Heavenly :)

I feel a new obsession coming on!

[awkwardsis]

I've done some great chests of drawers similarly, and a beautiful Art Deco dressing table. All were from junk shops and in far too dark a wood for my small home. You need to sand them really well, then a coat or two of primer, then whichever paint you choose. I didn't bother to wax or varnish as I liked the finish from just the paint. You can pick up certain things very very cheaply as darker, larger pieces have fallen out of fashion. Look at the shape though, rather than the finish. I adore my bedroom furniture and the whole lot cost far far less than even Ikea flatpacks and it looks lovely.

[ChippingInLovesSpring]

Cuddy you can use a varnish/laquer if you want but if you do 3 layers of wax (letting it really harden between coats) then you get a pretty good surface :)

[HeavenlyYoni]

Sorry OP, bit hi-jacky there!

[HeavenlyYoni]

Has anyone ever used wax on Farrow & Ball paint? And why is it good to put it on?

[ChippingInLovesSpring]

Mad you don't need to take the wax off, you just put a coat over it :)

[ChippingInLovesSpring]

Annie Sloan clear wax.

I'm not sure why you found it a faff HeyYoniYoni?

All you do is use a soft cloth to apply it (if it's cold when you are doing it and the wax is 'heavy' you can warm it (on the cloth) with a hairdryer and it goes on lovely). Then you wipe over it with a clean cloth to remove the excess then when it's dry, if you want to, you buff it to the level of shine you want? How could it be any easier?

[CuddyMum]

Just thinking of surfaces that teenagers could destroy like bedside cabinets (wet circles from drinks and sticky stains from chocolate yoghurt) and of course make up on dressing tables. Is the wax sufficient or would I need a varnish?

[MadBusLady]

Annie Sloan do their own wax. I just rub it on with a duster, then polish off the excess with the clean side. I am totally cackhanded and this seems to work fine. Table is getting a few marks now so I might try and strip the wax off and redo it - it's two years old.

[HeavenlyYoni]

Shamelessly joining to find out about the wax paint!