Yikes! We’ve got a bleeder! Hand over the sealer, stat!
I have to say, I have had my fair share of bleeders. What I’m talking about, for those of you who don’t do furniture, is when the stain on a piece of furniture bleeds through the paint giving it a pink or orange tint. It doesn’t matter how many coats of paint you put over it, it will continue to just bleed through. When you have a bleeder, there are a couple of solutions. One is to just use a really dark color of paint. I have successfully painted bleeders with black and dark navy blue without sealing them. Another solution is to go with spray paint. I know, spray painted furniture is tacky, but spray paint will generally ‘seal’ a bleeder. But if you are determined to go light, you have to seal the piece first somehow.
Usually I can pick out a bleeder from a mile away, and I tend to avoid them. I just don’t want to mess with it. But this one totally snuck up on me. Seriously, does it look like it’s gonna be a bleeder to you?
OK, in hindsight, maybe it was a bit orange. But I really just saw “blonde” when I looked at it.
The plan for this dresser was to go black and white. I wanted a geometric, bold, black and white look. I painted the black sections first. No problem.
Then I painted the white. I totally did not see this coming.
What started out as just a few little spots that were slightly peach turned into large areas of rusty orange overnight. The next day I pulled out the MMS Tough Coat Sealer. Miss Mustard has used it to seal such pieces successfully, so I thought I’d give it a try. I went with two coats and 24 hours of drying in between each one just to be on the safe side.
Then I added back my white paint. I tiptoed around the situation with more care than usual. I let the first new coat of white dry a full 24 hours before adding another. Just to be sure.
Ahhhhh, so much better. It worked so well that I don’t think I’ll worry as much about avoiding bleeders in the future.
And here you have the finished piece.
I painted this one in chalk paint. I happened to have an almost full can of CeCe Caldwell’s Beckley Coal and some Vintage White already on hand. Plus, I knew I didn’t want the chippy-ness of milk paint on this piece. So chalk paint it was. Before I painted, I stripped off the very bottom middle piece of veneer that was chipped up (you can see the chunk missing in my ‘before’ photo). I then sanded the entire piece lightly. The black went on super easy in two coats, and you’ve already read what happened with the white!
The handles got touched up with some gold rub n’ buff. They were in fairly gnarly condition. The rub n’ buff worked really well to just perk them up. I wiped it on with my finger, then let them dry/cure for about 4 days (while I dealt with the bleeder situation). Then I just buffed them with a shop towel.
And yes, I kept them! That seemed to be the general consensus among those who weighed in.
Good call people!
I have to say, I am really loving the black and the gold. Egads! I can hardly even believe I’m saying that! I’m finding it so appealing that I’m thinking about ordering these light fixtures from Schoolhouse Electric for an upcoming master bedroom makeover.
What is happening to me? In January 2014 I posted about the trend towards gold and how I really didn’t much care for it. Now I want some in my own house! Fickle, thy name is Quandie!
I staged the dresser with my new petite black vintage suitcase, some clock faces and a brass desk lamp.
Initially I was going to use strictly black and white pieces for staging, but as I played around with various props, I realized that the warmth of the suitcase handle, the brass and even the aged book page on the wall really played well with the gold handles.
I don’t know about you, but I definitely do not see the world in black and white, however, I think I can see putting a little black and white into my world. Especially when it’s paired with some gold. How about you?
So many cool cameras! Some for Mary’s collection, and some for mine.
They looked prettier in this picture than there were in person. Of course, I painted them and then they looked like this.
q is for quandie 