Makeover Project using Sweet Pickins Galvanised

Hi everyone!

After a bit of a hiatus, I finally got round to doing some more painting! This particular project is an exciting one, as the finished product is going on display at the new Edge Eco Design Showroom, opening in July! This is a fantastic endeavour with the aim of showcasing "innovative eco, green, renewable materials and products that build and design a healthier and more sustainable environment to live in". We are so proud to be among them, with both our Old Fashioned Milk Paint and AFM Naturals brands!

I found this wonderful chest of drawers which I thought was perfect for the project, having a more contemporary shape that our usual pieces, and also featuring some beautiful inlay in the top drawer which I could leave unpainted, thereby also showcasing our AFM Naturals Oil-Wax. 

Here is the before....

Curves again (seems to be a theme of mine!). 

I decided on Galvanized from our Sweet Pickins Milk Paint colour range, which is a lovely mid grey with a slightly metallic tone, adding the more contemporary feel I was after.

I wanted a solid finish, at least on the front, so I started by sanding everything back as much as possible using the rotary sander, then hoovered it and cleaned it with a sugar soap solution. 

I mixed up the paint (you can see our mixing milk paint video here), but for added insurance I added some Extra Bond to the first coat. 

I left it about three hours before applying the second coat. Although milk paint dries really fast (touch dry in 30 minutes!), if you are painting a non porous surface, I always think it is best to leave it as long as possible between coats, and certainly for a good 24 to 48 hours after the final coat before applying any finish, just to know for sure if and where it is going to chip.

So, I came back to it the next day, and sure enough, despite the addition of Extra Bond, there was some crackling just on the side panels, which looked like they were going to chip. (Ah, the unpredictability of milk paint!). So, I had to embrace it, and sanded over the crackled areas on the sides with a fine grade sanding sponge to force the 'chipping'. And because of that, I decided, rather than leaving it completely solid on the front and top (which hadn't chipped at all!), to manually distress all the edges (just the edges and corners) to match it with the sides. To do this, I used the rougher side of the sanding sponge (or you could use a medium grade sanding paper), along the edges and corners to reveal the wood beneath.

And actually, I was really delighted with the overall effect (as usual, the milk paint gods know best!).

So, having applied two coats and finished the distressing (as well as sanding all over very lightly with that fine sanding sponge to give it a really smooth finish), it was time to add the seal. 

I wanted to use our new AFM Naturals Oil-Wax. This is a fantastic plant based, sustainable and eco friendly wood finish that needs only one application for a permanent and very resilient low sheen finish. On that top drawer with the beautiful marquetry, I just sanded it back very lightly and gave it a good clean before application. To apply the oil-wax, I just brushed on a generous amount in the direction of the grain (or just in one direction on the painted surfaces). I then left it for about 20 minutes, then applied a second coat. After another 20 minutes, I wiped off all the the excess oil that hadn't yet been absorbed, with a lint free cloth. (When using oil-wax, do be sure to wipe off all excess oil - you don't want it to dry on the surface, you want it to be absorbed and cure within the pores of the wood to form a water repellent seal). Once touch dry, I then buffed it up with a clean lint free cloth (the more you buff, the shinier it gets!), but it will take several days to fully cure. 

So here is the finished project! I hope you like it. And if you, don't forget do you will be able to it in the flesh at the Edge Showroom from July!