I had the whole week off work due to this "Snowpocalypse" or whatever all the kids are calling it. Let me just say, while I enjoyed having the week off, I am looking forward to going back to work and not being confined to the house any longer. Also, it will be nice to say goodbye to the incessant snow-related facebook status updates. It snowed a lot. WE GET IT. Anyway, on Tuesday I was able to venture out before the second storm hit and pick up some paint for my project. I went to Sherwin-Williams because I was told by Cassie (the chick that I purchased the dresser from) that was where she purchased the paint. She had used their Harmony line in a satin finish, but I needed something a little bit more durable for these pieces. I ended up getting their ProClassic Interior Acrylic Latex in a semi-gloss finish for added durability. Luckily, Cassie also remembered the color she used - Snowbound. A bit ironic, I must say! I bought a gallon, which is probably more than I need, but I'll always have plenty to use on other projects or touch-ups in the future.

Part 3: Painting

Like I said in the previous entry on Priming, a good brush goes a long way. I purchased some nice Wooster brushes that I've been pretty happy with. The downside to glossy finishes is that they show all of the flaws in your painting. If you over-work the paint, you can really see it. The trick is really to put down a nice even coat and then just LET IT BE. Sure, there will be some streaking and brush strokes, but don't worry about it. The paint will level out nicely if you just let it do its thing. Another thing that I decided to do was use some masking tape to help preserve the mitered corners of the table. I ended up doing 2 coats, allowing a few hours between. No big deal, especially when you're snowed in.

Part 4: Distressing

I let the paint dry for a full 24 hours before I started distressing it. Distressing is pretty easy. Depending on what you're doing, there are many different techniques to use. I've read that people use anything from ice picks to chains in order to get a worn/distressed look. Well, I just used some sandpaper. I used some medium grit paper to remove paint all the way down to the original dark-stained wood, then I smoothed things over with some fine grit paper. I also used the fine grit paper over the entire piece to dull out the glossy finish a bit. The sanding helped to smooth out the brush strokes and created an unexpected effect. Now the high spots on the strokes are dull, but the low spots are still glossy. I really like the way that it looks. I tried not to get too carried away with the distressing and only did enough to accent the edges of the piece.

So here is the final product. I still have to tackle the coffee table, but this was a good learning experience.