Project: Hall Tree – Overall Restorations

Objective

Repaint foyer halltree in a dark (black or dark navy) paint. Original goal was to use Dixie Belle Midnight Sky as I am in love with this color and have been wanting to use it but I could not find it the day I decided I was going to start this project so…..Plan B was to try the Magnolia line of chalk paint in Blackboard. I love Joanna Gaines so I have wanted to try her line of paint.

Magnolia chalk paint is different from other lines of chalk, mineral or milk paint as it comes in a quart size can and it is not pre-pigmented so you choose you tint (light or dark) and then have the color mixed like you would a gallon of paint. Just a word of caution, if your painting a small project and are not a frequent DIY project painter then a quart of chalk paint is going to be a lot of paint as a little goes a long way. I barely used a quarter of the paint.

Steps:

This halltree was one of my first chalk paint projects many years ago and over time my skills have improved quite a bit making me long to repaint this not to mention the white distressed paint was yellowing quite a bit (newbie mistake I did not prime, shellac or scuff sand…..Heck I doubt I even cleaned it well). I had top coated this with some clear acrylic from Michaels (again I was new to this chalk paint thing so I was clueless). I cleaned the entire piece with simple green and then used a wet rag to get any residue.

Remove antique hardware. I love these hanger style hooks and want to reuse them. When I originally painted this piece I think I dusted the hardware but that was all so they are pretty rusty looking but none the less beautiful so I will be working on them along the way to reuse them.

The acrylic I had used was a super shiny gloss and was pretty heavily coated so I used an 80 grit sandpaper to remove the top coat and expose the raw wood. I didn’t necessarily care to remove the paint but did want to remove any sheen for paint adherence. Following 80 grit sandpaper I used a 220 grit sandpaper to smooth the entire piece. 80 is rough and is great for removal but doesn’t leave the piece smooth so 220 is always your “no fail go to” favorite grit to use. Vaccum all dust from the furniture and floor and if needed take drop cloth outside and shake any remaining dust. Take several damp rags to get all remaining dust and debris. Dry completely before moving on.

Let the painting begin. NO need to prime since I will be using a dark paint (gotta love that) so here we go. Upon opening the can of Magnolia paint and pouring into a small container I was surprised how thin it appeared initially but once I started painting I realized it isn’t necesaarily thin and has amazing coverage even in the first coat. I used my Wooster short brush as this halltree was going to be tight in a lot of areas so a long handle would be annoying. This paint dries very quickly so you have to move at a good pace but self levels and is very smooth to the touch, not chalky at all.

Again I was painting at night so it wasn’t until the next day that I was able to apply the second coat. ** I did learn that Magnolia paint settles pretty quickly and upon pouring it in my container realized I needed to stir it so I poured it back in, gave it a quick stir and all was good! After going back and reading some reviews about this paint I did see where others also commented about the need to stir as it settles quickly.

Since this was a dark paint and this halltree has all kinds of intricate details I went back with an artist paint brush getting any places I missed.

I had originally planned to finely sand this piece with 1000 grit sandpaper before waxing BUT wow this paint levels and dries so smooth you hardly know its chalk paint so I skipped the sanding.

The halltree goes in our foyer which is a very bright lite room so I decided to move the halltree back to its place to see if the sunlight revealed any areas that may need attention. I am glad I did because as I looked at it I decided I really wanted another coat of paint as I could see some areas where the paint was thinner and I just wanted it to be as perfect as it could be. But I did not need a heavy 3^rd coat so I decided to use a different technique. I got my trusty 4” roller and short brush and worked from one section to another using my brush to quickly apply paint and then go over it with the roller very lightly. I continued this routine over the entire piece and let it dry overnight.

I was so pleased the next morning to find the halltree had dried beautifully and was ready to wax. So I applied with my wax brush Annie Sloan clear wax (I had this already and just couldn’t justify spending money on more clear wax). I applied in sections with brush working the wax into the piece then went over it with a rag not buffing it but just spreading any loose wax out as your don’t want chunks of wax drying on your pieces.

By that same evening I used a clean lent free rag and from top to bottom began buffing the wax as I wanted a satin smooth finish. Not too glossy but not matte either. It buffed beautifully to a gorgeous satin luster of a finish and felt smooth to the touch.

I decided to use Rub and Buff in gold for the hangers. This stuff is awesome if you’ve never used it and it comes in four different finishes (pick it up at any hobby shop). Sometimes spray painting hardware works amazing but it all depends on the piece and the look you are wanting to attain. When doing anything with antiques it is amazing to keep the antiqued look that spray paint just doesn’t really allow for. With Rub and Buff you just apply a pea size amount to the piece your working on and rub it with a tshirt rag and instantly you see how you are restoring life to the hardware. After doing all four hangers I went back over them with a clean tshirt rag just to buff out any residue or excess. This was a pretty quick process and what a transformation. With the black paint I really wanted these gorgeous hangers to SHINE.

Replace hardware

Supply List:

Drop Cloth

Blocks of wood or cardboard squares to go under legs of halltree

Screw driver for hardware removal

Simple Green (or TSP, white lightning, mineral spirits)

Sand paper in 80 and 220

Tshirt rags and blue shop clothes

Wooster short handle brush

4” roller and trey

Artist brush for details

Paint can opener or flat head screw driver

Magolia Chalk Paint in Blackboard

Annie Sloan Clear Wax

Wax Brush

Rub and Buff in Gold

Take away:

If you’ve got a piece you painted in your early stages of chalk painting and keep looking at it and critiquing your terrible techniques at that time or maybe the furniture has yellowed over time. Maybe your like me and your style is constantly shifting and your tired of the trend you saturated everything in 5 years ago and are wanting to change GO ahead and don’t’ be afraid to switch it up and change it. There are so many exciting paint, product and color options today that they didn’t have years ago. Be bold and don’t be afraid to try a dark color…..I am absolutely in love with this dark rich color and am scratching my head trying to figure out what is going to be the next piece I paint or redo in this fabulous color. The wonderful thing about painting something is it can reversed if you hate it. There is so much room to learn and make mistakes and improve your technique. Every piece you paint or restore not only is the piece improved but your techniques are better than they were when you started. How about that for a take away??? Happy Painting!!

Objective

Steps:

Supply List:

Take away:

Pam