Painting Don'ts

Life is full of don'ts: 

Don't pick your nose.

Don't use your sister's hair as a paintbrush.

Don't eat that gum off the sidewalk.

We've heard them all.  Well, most of them...  

When it comes to painting furniture, there are plenty of other don'ts that I had no idea about.  I wish that someone had told me these don'ts before I started my most recent project.  It would have saved me a lot of time and frustration.  Experience is a pretty brutal teacher.

So, to save you the heart ache and hair pulling, I have compiled a list of don'ts for you to keep in mind.  

These will probably reveal my relative inexperience when it come to re-painting furniture, but you gotta start somewhere.  Right?

-  Don't don't prep your surface for painting (did you get that?).  Always strip and sand if you want it to look good!

-  Don't sand everything by hand.  It is possible to do it this way, but very tedious.  My new favorite toy is my hand sander.  Without that baby, my hands would be very hot and tired right now.

-  Don't think that you have to get every itty bitty piece of old paint and finish off of your project before you paint.  (Unless you are planning on using a stain instead of a paint... In that case, sand away my friend!)   

-  Don't paint at night in your dim garage.  It's impossible to see how even the paint is going on.

-  Don't paint at night when all the bugs come out and fly into your paint and all over your freshly painted project.  Nasty!  And such a pain.

-  Don't use cheap brushes to paint large surfaces, use a roller.  But...

-  Don't buy the first roller you see and think that all rollers are the same.  Each roller leaves a different finish.

-  Don't paint outside when it is a bajillion degrees.

-  Don't paint outside when it's humid.   Humidity effects the way that the paint dries and adheres to the wood.

-  Don't paint outside when it is both humid and hot.  Eww!  For that matter, don't go outside at all when it's like that.

-  Don't think that you are good enough to freehand straight edges.  Tape can be your best friend.

-  Don't be a perfectionist (like me).  Things take ten times longer.

-  Don't have a ridiculously adorable daughter that wants to "help" you all the time.  Well, actually this one shouldn't really be a don't, because it's important to have those kiddos.  Just make sure that you have the patience and the time to do a project with a little "helper".

Phew!  Can you tell that this project was quite an adventure for me?  I hope that you are able to learn from my many, many mistakes and not make the same mistakes yourself.    

Even with all of the sanding and re-doing, the entire project cost me less than $20, and that includes new drawer handles.  Not too shabby!! 

from drab

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to fab!!

 The drawers were my favorite part, so of course I had to include a close up.  :-)  I Mod Podged regular scrapbook paper onto each drawer.  It added such a nice special touch!  I may or may not be in love with these... even with all the painting drama.