Paint Stripper - Product Review & Ideas

I've been feeling very productive lately. Yesterday was a painting day with two projects completed. 

Here's one of them. 

I experimented with a new (to me) product to get several layers of paint off the pulls and knobs so I could spray paint them and have a smooth finish.

This paint stripper is in spray form. There are pour-able types too, this was the cheapest one on the shelf so it won.

Here is a pull and three knobs before being stripped of years of being painted.

My husband did the deed of spraying everything since I am pregnant and didn't want the fumes. 

A few minutes after being sprayed. 

I also tested it out on the drawer front that was in the worst shape. 

The first attempt wasn't as successful as we had hoped for two reasons:

1) The stripper instructions specify that it works best in temperatures from 75 to 85 degrees F. Even though we did this in the evening, the temperatures here were well exceeding that, possibly close to 100 degrees. So, although the can says to wait 15 minutes for the spray to work, we shouldn't have waited that long because it dried during that time, leaving the remaining paint very goopy and stuck. The one knob that I had rushed and didn't wait the full 15 minutes is the one shown in my hand (below) that has most of the paint off.

2) We did not have a wire brush or steel wool to assist in scraping the paint off.

The drawer front cleaned up well even in the hot weather and without a wire brush. Here it is the next day after I sanded it again. 

The next day, I purchased a large metal brush and we tried again with the spray with success.

We didn't wait as long (only 8-10 minutes after spraying), scrubbed hard with the brush and wiped them clean with a damp cloth.

Then, I rinsed them with water to be sure no chemicals were remaining and then spray painted them black.

I am enjoying the new little dresser as an addition to my girls' room and it coordinates very well with the large dresser that we painted a few years back.

~ Chelsea ~

Cabinet Painting is DONE!

A week of intense work on my kitchen has finally qualified this project to be labeled as "done"! I am so grateful for all the people that helped me complete this project. 

If you missed the before story of my kitchen cabinets, check it out HERE.

I've heard before that the best way to get a home project done is to plan a party to be at your house. I used my daughter's 4th birthday party as my deadline and there were moments when I didn't think I could pull that off. My dad hung the last cabinet doors just minutes before the first guests arrived!

My FAVORITE part:

Just a few small additional touches left like:

- knobs on top doors, handles on lower doors and drawers

- paint above cabinets and sink area light yellow

- spray paint stove hood black

- caulk and touch up a few doors

- painting/covering underside of upper cabinets that can be seen from our family room

- new dark granite-looking laminate counter tops in the future

- Maybe someday I'll get new matching appliances (wish)

My advice for anyone starting a similar kitchen painting project:

- Expect it to take longer than you expect. :)

- Take time to prepare before painting (deep cleaning, caulking cracks, Spackle holes, light sanding for a smooth surface).

- Don't get discouraged during the priming stage. It always looks worse before it looks better.

- Accept help with painting and/or child care.

So here's BEFORE:

And AFTER:

~ Chelsea ~

Some B-4 & Afters!

~*~ Lynda~*~

A Beautiful Heap of Mahogany!

Chelsea's neighbor wanted to restore this old china cabinet, but then changed her mind. So, Chelsea asked me if we would like to have it and I said "sure", of course! I love all wood funiture! Even old, damaged & dirty pieces.

 We have many pieces of furniture come our way and feel that it is such a blessing in our life. Many times I sell the pieces after a good refurbishing and it has definitely helped our income.

 We brought all the pieces home and first glued parts together & fixed hinges. Then a good cleaning with this wood cleaner happened. After deciding to keep the mahogany wood color and not painting it, I applied a lot of dark "Old English". It really absorbed the oil since it had been sitting on the neighbors back porch for many months and the wood was very dried out. Then I took the darkest furniture touch-up marker and filled the stain color in where some of the scratches were deeper and the veneer was missing.

 I'm so excited to keep this beautiful piece of furniture. It's still old and worn looking, but also gorgeous!

 I think the white milk glass and touches of blue decor look very lovely in contrast with the mahogany.

 The only thing that I don't have yet are pulls for the bottom two drawers. I keep looking around for some old ones on a different old piece of furniture, but more than likely, someday, I will just need to buy all new ones.

 I'm so grateful to have this addition to our family room!

~*~Lynda~*~

2 Fun Furniture Refurbs!

 I really had fun painting this old night stand. White with charcoal glaze!

 I also painted the gorgeous pulls with a thin coat of black.

 Sorry, no before pics of these awesome dressers. I decided to try my damask stencil on them. It's super fun!

 I also shabbied them up to give that wonderful old look.

Needless to say, they all sold very quickly!

Love the look! ~*~Lynda~*~

My Dining Room!

The much anticipated change in my dining room furniture is COMPLETED! I am very grateful for the hours of help and the skill and knowledge added by my parents to make this project a possibility. 

I spent $80 (Craigslist) on this oak dining room table with 6 chairs:

These 3 barstool chairs came from a neighbor's yard sale, I think it was $10 for all of them. They have been waiting for their makeover for about 2 years.

This little random chair was free... the best price, from our neighbors who we were sad moved far away.

So it is a good memory and a perfect place for our Space Saver baby high chair.

The goal - To make all these pieces of dining furniture match this lovely hutch I purchased (Craigslist) about a year and a half ago. I did not paint this, it was already done.

The process began with many hours of deep cleaning, sanding, replacing spindles (using an extra chair purchased at Goodwill for $1 that matched but was in terrible condition), gluing and overall preparations.

Then, my father used his paint sprayer to spray on a primer coat of white free paint, then a final coat of Clark+Kensington Paint, Southern Plantation color. (Total cost for 2 gallons, $55)

After a few days of drying, my mom and I bravely glazed the table and chairs with a tintable glaze mixed with black acrylic paint. It was messy and slightly stressful because of the speed required to get the right look.

How'd we do?

I'm so glad I took on this project and I'm so grateful for all the support in accomplishing it!

~ Chelsea ~