I am winding down to the finish line and it has taken me forever to finish her, but as of right now she is finished unless ... you disagree! Here she is today...
Here is her before shot:
And here is her challenge spot:
The detailed grooves. I got this great idea that I would fill in the grooves, sand it down smooth and then just paint. An easy three step process right? Wrong!!! My first product was regular ol' wood filler. And it didn't work. The grooves were too deep, the filler wouldn't smooth. Next was an expensive wood filler, that too didn't work and took almost a week just to dry and then it wouldn't sand smooth. I needed a break, I worked on several other projects and finally got the courage to work on it again.
Next I got the recommendation from a Lowes paint person to try using regular old paintable caulk. Ahh!! That was a disaster.... caulk is not sandable, so any bumps I missed along the way just wouldn't go away without a razor blade, and caulk remover does not work! So finally I took some plain old sheet rock mud an smoothed it over the top of everything let it dry, sanded and my sanity finally returned.
Time to finish painting, and here she is again all gussied up and distressed ala razor blade.
Now for the final question. Does she need a glaze? I have been debating with myself whether or not to do it. I don't always love the dirty look of a glaze, but it might help her details a little and cover a few mistakes. What do you think? O blog-o-furniture-godesses, I need your wisdom!
Thanks in advance!
Linking to: Primitive & Proper
always the big question...I LOVE glaze, but it looks wonderful the way it is...live with it for a bit and then decide...we just painted our kitchen cabinets white and my plan was to glaze them all...after doing one section, I liked it, but decided to go with the cleaner look and repainted the ones I glazed...ugh...very happy with my decision...come see soon...xo, Mariaelena
ReplyDeleteI think you should leave it! its gorgeous!! there is so much detail and the distressing is perfect!! great job. show stopper for sure :)
ReplyDeletei think i would use a VERY light glaze just to warm it up a little so the contrast between the bottom and top is not so stark. it is beautiful- love those details and the beautiful top!
ReplyDeleteI like it the way it is. I often have this struggle. You don't have to go heavy on the glaze if you decide to do it.
ReplyDeleteIt looks wonderful either way. Nice job. It looks like a lot of work. I am visiting from HoH. Go with your gut! Can't wait to see what you decide to do. I am a new follower!
ReplyDeleteWow! How regal this piece looks in white! Well done!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this piece...filling in the grooves was a great improvement!! It looks WONDERFUL!!
ReplyDeleteFound you from Miss Mustard Seed's FFF!!
~*JEssica
I think I would add a little glaze or dark wax to the edges of all the detail just to draw attention to it and make it pop. Found you at MMS....good job!
ReplyDeleteI think it looks great as is! I have only one big regret piece so far, and it's glazed. Ugh, a mistake that is hard to undo. I just don't feel like painting it again.
ReplyDeleteLOVE IT! How about "shadowing" instead of glazing? I like it just the way it is!
ReplyDeletePlease feel free to share over at my Linky party!I love to see everyone's talent! You are so inspiring!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.dumpster-diva-mimi.blogspot.com/2011/11/cute-creative-linky-party-5.html
Hmm, I have never glaxed before so my opinion doesn't hold much weight! LOL, but I do think it looks absolutely fab the way it is. I think you did an amazing job!
ReplyDeleteI would just sand wherever you want more 'dark' to show through. It's beautiful and crisp like it is. I'd not hide the white but as i said if you do want more to show thru just sand alittle on an edge. :D
ReplyDeleteWhat matters?...Do you love it? If so, leave it!
ReplyDeleteI think it is awesome. I'm a new follower too.
I think she's divine just as she is, but do whatever floats your boat, right?
ReplyDeleteI can't see any mistakes at all. I love it! And I love the way you found out that sheet rock mud worked. Great idea! So far, my only experience with filling in wood is on the edges of some furniture that, like a fool, I left accessible to a 200# English Mastiff...Wood putty dried out a little to make it hold it's shape worked for that, but I can easily see that it wouldn't work in your case. Cindy
ReplyDeleteI can't see any mistakes at all. I love it! And I love the way you found out that sheet rock mud worked. Great idea! So far, my only experience with filling in wood is on the edges of some furniture that, like a fool, I left accessible to a 200# English Mastiff...Wood putty dried out a little to make it hold it's shape worked for that, but I can easily see that it wouldn't work in your case. Cindy
ReplyDeleteI have just bought a dresser with wooden drawers that have a lot of detail. How do you sad around the details and various levels of the wood enough? I'm worried I'll screw up something terrible!
ReplyDeleteDid you use Annie Sloan Chalkpaint? If not, I highly recommend it. It covers everything, no sanding needed. Don't buy any Chalkpaint, make sure it is Annie Sloan.
ReplyDelete