Furniture Painting Demo with Gail Hodgson - Part I

A great recent demo on refinishing furniture and more. I took a basic class with Gail Hodgson a couple of years ago and when I saw she was offering a free demo with some more advanced techniques I was in.

Part I

Chic Refinishing

There are many names for the type of paint, Annie Sloan chalk paint, mud paint, cottage paint, milk paint etc. There may even be local manufacturers in your area. There are also recipes to make your own on the internet. The paint works on almost anything with little or no prep, including wood, pottery, glass, laminate, leather, cloth, canvas, etc. 

Cottage Paint product locally obtained from -

Star Western Auctions

Furniture Heaven

Home Depot in Vernon and another brand in Kelowna

Superior Interiors on Leathead

For your area try craft stores, hardware stores, furniture stores, or the internet.

As with all crafts there are a few speciality tools. For painting Gail was using a lovely thick and wide brush with a chiseled end for getting into corners. It was bristle and about 3" x 1 1/2" approx $40. She says it lasts forever. I use cheap dollar store house painting brushes which don't last forever and do lose their bristles. It depends how much money you want to spend and how fussy you are.

There are many ways to use the paint and I'm going to spred the techniques over several blogs to keep it interesting.

One Color wet distress

1. Paint base coat with chalk paint brush. - Allow to dry - Each coat dries in half an hour.

2. Second coat. Don't worry too much about streaks because it should look a bit distressed

3. Can use wet distress technique up to 48 hours after painting. Use wet cloth rubbing along edges to remove some of the paint and reveal the wood underneath. This looks best with light paint on dark wood, or dark paint on light wood. This table is "Beechwood" Cottage Paint brand

4. Wax (see waxing technique in later blog.

TIPS

Flat wax is easiest for beginners.

For heavy use areas Cottage Paint Satin wax is most durable.

Do two coats allowing to dry in between - dries in half an hour.

Clean brush with warm water soap and hang with bristles down to dry

Table with wet distress look