Alchemy Fine Living

Slipcover

Deana — Fri, 17 May 2013 02:16:09 +0000

If you frequent this blog you have probably noticed that I have been MIA for a while. I have totally neglected this blog due to the fact that my hubby and I were enjoying ourselves in Costa Rica for about 10 days. It felt sooooo good to take a vacation! While I was away my mom had 25 pieces of furniture dropped off to be painted and four pieces dropped off to be upholstered. Yikes! I came home from my trip and was flabbergasted. It took a few days for me to get my head on straight and a couple more days for my mom and I to get organized. We finally got a good game plan in place and have started making headway on all of this work.

The slipcover below is one of our most recently completed projects.

How to refinish mahogany table top

Deana — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 02:22:42 +0000

REMOVE THE OLD FINISH-

The old finish needs to be completely removed. To do this I use Citristrip. It comes in a spray can and it smells like oranges. I love it. I’ve used other strippers that had to be brushed on and that goop was hard to work worth, not Citristrip, it’s easy!

Directions for removing the old finish with Citristrip:

1. Make sure the can is room temperature then shake like crazy for 2 minutes. Hold can about 10” to 12” from surface and apply a thick layer of orange coating.
2. Let it sit for about 30 minutes before testing a small area to see if the finish is soft and ready for removal.
3. Remove the finish by gently scraping in the direction of the wood grain with a plastic spatula.
4. Use Odorless Mineral Spirits with 0000 steel wool to loosen any remaining finish and remove all residue. Surface should be completely clean and dry before refinishing.

SAND THE SURFACE WELL-
After the old finish has been removed it is important to sand the wood really well. Start with 100 grit sand paper and then gradually work your way to a finer grit sandpaper (the higher the number the more fine the grit). End by smoothing the finish with 220 grit sandpaper. Before moving on to the next step be sure to clean the surface so that it is free from all dust and loose particles.

CONDITION THE WOOD BEFORE APPLYING A NEW STAIN-

In order to ensure a smooth, even finish the wood should be conditioned. I use Minwax Pre-Stain wood conditioner.

Directions for applying the wood conditioner:

1. Apply wood conditioner on clean, raw wood, using a brush or cloth. I like to use a brush.
2. Allow the product to penetrate for about 15 minutes.
3. Remove any excess with a clean, dry cloth.

APPLY NEW STAIN-

I like to use Minwax stain for my refinishing projects. This table top is mahogany and it was very red in color. I wanted to tone that down a bit so I chose to use English Chestnut, rather than Red Mahogany. The color, English Chestnut, is a deep, beautiful brown with only a tiny hint of red.

Directions for applying Minwax Wood Finish:

1. Stir stain thoroughly before and occasionally during use.
2. Apply stain in the direction of the grain with a brush or clean cloth. Again, I like to use a brush.
3. Allow the stain to soak in for about 5-15 minutes to achieve desired color. The more time the stain is allowed to penetrate, the richer and darker the color will be. I let the stain sit for 15 minutes and then applied a second coat.
4. After the stain has had time to soak in it should be removed with a clean cloth. Wipe in the direction of the grain.
5. If you want to darken color, like I did, apply a second coat after 4-6 hours. Do not sand between coats of stain.

APPLY A PROTECTIVE FINISH-

The final step is to protect your beautiful new finish with a clear coat. I like to use Formby’s Traditional Tung Oil Finish.

Directions for applying Formby’s Tung Oil Finish:

1. Put a small amount of Tung Oil Finish on a soft, lint-free cloth and rub into the wood. For best results apply a thin coat.
2. Allow the oil to dry and then buff lightly with a very fine steel wool pad. (Tung oil should dry within 12 hours)
3. Wipe thoroughly with a soft lint-free cloth.
4. Rub in a second coat. To build sheen and add protection, additional coats may be applied.

Painted Mahogany

Deana — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:29:16 +0000

I love this gorgeous antique buffet. It is part of a large dining set that my mom and I just recently painted. It was in excellent condition so it was easy to get a very smooth, beautiful finish.

The labor charges to paint a piece of furniture like this start at $285. If you have a piece of furniture in need of a makeover bring it to us! We love to paint furniture.

Before:

After:

How to paint Mahogany

Deana — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 03:05:22 +0000

I have painted a ton of furniture over the years and I have learned a lot through trial and error. Mahogany is always one of those woods that has given me a hard time. The first time I painted a mahogany dresser the white paint I applied immediately turned bright pink. After several layers of paint, I’m talking at least six, it was still pink. I was totally baffled. We’ll, since then I have come a long way in my furniture painting knowledge and skills.

For a long time I used shellac to stop the bleeding, which does the trick pretty well, but it is not the most economical. I recently discovered a product from Sherwin Williams that is a shellac based primmer and it is amazing! With shellac I usually found myself applying at least two layers before then applying two layers of a top coat. With this pigmented primer it only took one coat and all stains were blocked. Not only did this product save me time, but it also used less material to achieve a gorgeous finish. The primer is a bit more expensive than most other primers, but not more expensive than buying and using shellac as a base coat.

Shellac vs. Shellac based primer

How to paint mahogany white

1. Clean the furniture really well with TSP. If you are not familiar with TSP, Trisodium Phosphate, you can find it in the paint department at your local hardware store. It is used for preparing surfaces for paint.

2. Sand the surface with 220 grit sand paper, just enough to rough it up a bit. There is no need to remove the old finish. The shiny surface should just be dulled.

3. Remove all dust particles using a vacuum or forced air from an air compressor (this is especially helpful if the piece has a lot of carved details where dust has a tendency to stick). Then wipe with a damp cloth.

4. Apply one coat of Sherwin Williams white pigmented shellac primer.

5. Sand really well between coats of paint using 220 grit sandpaper.

6. Remove all dust once again.

7. Apply two layers of the top coat of your choice. I used Sherwin Williams Kestrel White in a Satin finish.

Painting dining chairs black

Deana — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 17:54:20 +0000

I use so many different furniture painting techniques and finishes. Lately I have been painting a rainbow of colors too, but black and white are still so classic. A simple black or white paint job with light distressing is still probably the most common request that I get. These antique farm style chairs were the perfect pieces to paint black. The light distressing lends really well to the subtle country style.

Baby blue bench

Deana — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 22:58:25 +0000

This deep purple bench is made of metal. It is a garden bench that is used outdoors, so it took a little different prep work than most of my usual projects, which tend to be wood furniture for indoor use. Because it is made of metal I used a special primer that sticks to metal, glass, and other glossy, non-porous surfaces. Because the bench will be exposed to the elements I used a paint that is different than what I would typically suggest for the final coat.

To prep the bench I just gave it a good cleaning, no need to sand it or scuff it up like I typically do. I used a bonding primer. It actually specifically says on the label that there is no need to sand. It also says that TSP should not be used to clean the surface, so I just used dish detergent and water to remove dust and any oils that might have been on the surface. The bonding primer is an oil based product made by Zinsser.

This primer gets excellent coverage, so it only took one coat. After priming the bench I did lightly sand it before applying my top coats.

For the top coat I used a beautiful pale blue from Sherwin Williams. The Pro Industrial line of paints made by Sherwin Williams includes high-performance coatings that are super durable. The particular paint that I used was the Zero VOC Acrylic. It can be applied directly to metal and resists rust. It got amazing coverage and made for a beautiful finish. It was so easy to spray with this paint. It should have probably only taken one coat to cover the bench with this product, but because it has so many different angles that I had to come at it from it took three different coats to get it perfect. This was my first time working with this paint and I loved it, I for sure would recommend it to anyone.

Mint Green

Deana — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 23:29:23 +0000

I adore the color of this night stand!! This night stand is part of a bedroom set that I just recently painted for a client. The set is probably about 100 years old (that would be my best guess based on the style and construction of it). It was pretty beat up over all those years, so it needed some TLC, but it sure did turn out cute! I love the great detail in all of the hardware, the decorative spindles, and the carved flowers. This piece is just oozing with charm.

Here at Alchemy fine living, located in Santa Ana, California, we paint tons of furniture. We have been painting furniture for over eight years and have learned a lot during that time. Let us show you the tricks of the trade at a furniture painting workshop. CLICK HERE if you want to learn how to paint your own furniture, we’ll let you get hands on at one of our workshops and you will learn several different techniques.

Club chair upholstery

Deana — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 01:16:00 +0000

This super cute little chair came out of a local Starbucks. Our client used to work there and he scored this freebie when the Starbucks decided to remodel. As you can imagine it was worn out, but not anymore! The chair has brand new upholstery in a bright, fun fabric. Our client chose this great geometrical design and I think it is the prettiest color of blue. My mom did all of the upholstery work on this one and I must say she did a fabulous job. Way to go mom!

We are located in Santa Ana. If you stop by our workshop you’ll find my mom and I sewing at our machines or working on upholstery projects most days of the week. Stop by or email for a quote if you have a piece of furniture that you would like to have re-upholstered. We offer a selection of fabrics or you can bring your own.

Cane chairs

Deana — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 23:32:33 +0000

These two vintage cane chairs were recently painted and upholstered. Our client chose a fun mix of fabrics and I really love the way they turned out! For your upholstery needs stop by our boutique! We are located in Santa Ana. We have tons of fabrics to choose from or you can bring your own. We upholster ottomans, chairs, and even big sofas.

Bamboo Barstools. Paint & Upholstery.

Deana — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 17:03:55 +0000

These barstools were a bear! The old upholstery was incredibly hard to get off. The staples, there was a million of them, were brittle and driven deep down into a tiny crevice. The whole family took turns working on these babies- mom, dad, grandma, grandpa…. we all took turns.

Once all those darn staples were out it was easy sailing. They were painted a beautiful brown called Status Bronze from Sherwin Williams and lightly distressed to draw attention to the bamboo detail. Then we added new foam and applied the new fabric. The back was upholstered in a pretty, deep teal colored velvet. The seat was covered in a small, fun print that reminded me of cane.

The labor charges per chair for this job were $85 to paint, $12.75 to distress, and $117 for upholstery.