YIKES! That’s a mouthful!
This was the dresser! It was a BEAST! I DID NOT want to paint it. So, I sprayed it.
It’s my first time using my paint sprayer with Annie Sloan paint and I was eager to see the results. I chose Aubusson Blue for this piece for no other reason than it was the only can of Annie Sloan I had at home.
I watered down the paint quite a bit so that I would feed through the sprayer nicely.
BUT…before I sprayed it, I was itching to try a technique that I’ve read about.
Distressing with Vaseline.
I slapped Vaseline all over where I wanted it to look distressed. There was really no rhyme or reason to where I put the Vaseline. I just dabbed it all over.
12 minutes later, I had a fully painted dresser and Vaseline all over my camera lens. Seriously, it only took 12 minutes to paint the BEAST!
Now the fun part. Let’s see how it looks when I wipe off the Vaseline!
WARNING!!!!!!
IT LOOKED TERRIBLE! I MEAN….LAUGHABLE!
That’s all I could do when I was wiping off the Vaseline…laugh at myself.
(Insert psycho music here)
It has the chicken pox!
There are really no rules about distressing…EXCEPT TO NEVER MAKE YOUR DISTRESSING LOOK LIKE THIS!
The error in my technique was dabbing the Vaseline rather than using a pattern that looked more natural. I’ll be trying this again…with a smaller piece of furniture.
After some serious sanding, spray poly and dark walnut stain, the finished product was…errr…acceptable.
I dropped off this dresser Wednesday night after we closed, set it up on Thursday and it sold on Friday!
If you’re wondering how the paint sprayer worked with ASCP…like a dream! I sprayed a table and two chairs the same day I did this dresser and was able to get all four pieces painted in less than an hour. When time is money, that is a good investment!
Michele- I am laughing at the chicken pox on the dresser- NOT good- Thank you for your trial and error report!
Can you tell me what kind of paint sprayer you have? Is it a mess to keep it working properly? My son had one and it seemed he had a terrible time getting the nozzle cleaned properly. Thanks for any info. xo Diana
Too funny about the chicken pox, but that is what it looked like. You did a fine job of “healing” it though. Obviously! Since it sold the next day!! Kudos to you! I am interested in what sprayer you use. Can you share? Thanks!
Michele, I laughed out loud here, at the dresser with chicken pox! I am sorry to say it does bring me some comfort that even seasoned DIYers like you can make mistakes at times!
I made some chalkboard silver trays signs the other day… pitiful. Tomorrow I will try to make some wooden signs… God help me, lol! Anyway, I have a question: which paint sprayer did you use? I bout a small sprayer from Martha Stewart, it is just a bottle attached to what appears to be an aerosol spray can. I really want to try spraying some furniture, I have a rocking chair in the waiting list! Thanks for sharing your projects! And congratulations on the sale!!!
Thanks Michelle. I was wondering how the sprayer would work. I haven’t used my yet. Amazing that it took you only 12 mins!!! My hand that would have taken forever!!
I do like the final result. The color and distressing turned out great on the beast! I just had my hubby stop in your shop for a can of pure white. I will be trying it in the sprayer soon!!
Hi Michele
Your site has encouraged me today. Everything I have wanted in starting my own business with furniture you have done and I had just talked with my husband about my passion and desires and then I find your site from Pinterest. I also wanted to find out what paint sprayer you are using. I like you…use the Annie Sloan Paint and been wanting to invest in a sprayer. Second question…I noticed you did not use wax on this furniture piece but used spray poly and dark walnut stain. What kind of spray poly? Did you wipe on the dark walnut stain first and then sprayed the poly? Third question: Do you like using the wax…I am kinda getting tired of it myself and if poly does just as well I would rather do that. Like you said time is money and the waxing to me takes time. I can’t thank you enough for your encouragement today through your writings. Ann in Holly Springs, NC
Hi Ann! What a great compliment!!! Thank-you for visiting. My paint sprayer for this project was a A Graco 2900. I recently upgraded to a high end Wagner but, it has too much power (something I never thought I would say). I would recommend a mid-line paint sprayer and keep in mind, spraying a piece uses 2 to 3 times as much paint as brush painting it. As far as they poly, I don’t remember what I used. Something left over in the garage for sure. I used the spray poly prior to wiping on the stain, but am preferrential to wax. I like the look of the wax better than polyurethane, and to be honest I think the wax is what differentiates an ordinary piece of painted furniture to an extraordinary, professionally painted piece!!! Don’t hesitate toc all or email if you have any other questions! Thanks! Michele