DIY Monday: Antique Desk Makeover, the end!

All the details on this piece gave me fits!

The end is near!

When last we saw the desk

As you may recall, my husband managed to salvage this old desk from the trash heep at a building where he was working.   

I spent a lot of time just working on the prep part of the desk.   The poor thing had 4 layers of paint and stain (at least) that I removed from all those little details and the legs, oh the legs gave me fits!

The drawers

My kiddo was very specific.   She wanted white, she didn't want it distressed but she wanted it antiqued.  The top had to be stained and I better do it right.    Normally, I don't use a gloss poly on pieces but her father requested it and I figured, what the heck.  It is pretty and I sanded the top down well so the gloss will highlight the beauty of the natural wood and stain.  

The shiny top

For this piece I used General Fiinishes Antique white Milk Paint and Java Gel stain.   Now, let me say I was shocked at how deep and dark the Java came out.  I left it on only a few minutes but the stain just penetrated the wood like water.   I told my husband I have never seen a piece of furniture that wanted to be stained more.  

For the antiquing I decided to use a silver glaze sole by Maison Blanche paint company.   When I buy paint I tend to use either General Finishes or Maison Blanche.  Now, I have some real milk paint that I am going to try on another piece so we will see how that works.   For this piece, because the kid was so clear on her wants, I decided to use something I had success with previously.

Silver antique

So I painted the body first with three coats of General Finishes Antique White.   Next came the Stain.  As you can see below the top just soaked up the Java Gel.

 

Luckily there was still grain showing through and I loved the contrast of the really dark top and the light body.  

All Done

Once the piece was done we moved it into the living room, temporarily so that we can get rid of the old computer desk.   I have some pictures on my camera that are way better and I will add them as soon as I figure out why my disk scanner on my laptop isn't working.   (It's always something!).

So to recap this project:

The desk was totally free and I am so glad my sweet hubby saved it from the dumpster and certain death!

The days/nights of stripping this thing made my time spent incredibly long but I think the finished product is simply lovely, feminine, and perfect.

The painting and staining took approximately 3 days from start to finish and included:

*3 coats of GF Milk Paint

*1 coat of Java Gel

*5 coats (with light sanding in between) of Poly Acrylic Gloss on the top.

*1 coat of satin Poly Acrylic on the base

* Antiquing with Silver Organza by Maison Blanche Paint Company

*Clear wax for protection

*Maison Blanche white Limestone Wax to soften the overall effect.

*Lots of buffing, cleaning, and bath time for me!


In between all of that I managed to help hubs repair our old shed/barn, mow an acer of lawn, plant the first round of our garden which included Turnips, Cucumbers, Zucchini, Yellow Squash, radishes, Cantaloupe, Blue Berries, Raspberries, and Grapes, and also some flowers (Which my chickens were eating the tops off!).   Just an average weekend when we are home.  There is no rest for the wicked.

Happy Monday everyone.  It's spring break this week and we are doing lots of fun stuff like dentist appointments. 



Part 1 of the Desk Makeover