Final Coats of Paint and Finishing touches

 

There are few things as satisfying as opening a fresh new can of paint... especially when it is the colour of liquid sunshine!

Here is a photo of the final coats going on, including the yellow ribbon around the perimeter of the desk.  The table legs needed 3 coats in the end to get an even coverage, I guess because I was going from black to white.  

To get the yellow edge I taped off the grey top and painted away.  Unfortunately, because the desk is old and the edges slightly chipped and uneven, some yellow seeped beneath the tape and it was difficult to get a perfectly clean line.   I will need to touch this up with a careful hand in due course.

A bright idea!

I just had a bright idea about how to add a fun punch of colour to the desk - I will paint the edge bright yellow!  I brought home some paint samples today and will collect a small tin of 'Delhi Bazaar 4' on the way back from my Pilates class tomorrow morning.  The grey in the background is the colour of the desk top - Cornforth White No 228 - from Farrow and Ball.

First Coat of Paint

On goes the first coat of paint...!  The paint needs 4 hours to dry between coats, so the second coat will go on before work tomorrow morning.

Hammerite & Prep work

Today the Hammerite 'Direct to rust' metal paint arrived in the post.  I debated for a while about whether or not to get the spray or the paint - a spray finish is usually smoother, and I thought it might be easier to apply given all the detailed scroll work on the legs.  

The Hammerite technical department informed me that as their product was an oil based paint, you dont really see the brush marks anyway, and with a spray you would need 4 coats, whereas with the paint you'd only need 2 as it goes on thicker.  So, in the interest of time, and for the ability of being able to paint the table legs in the flat, I opted for the paint.

I chose the satin finish in white as I thought it more appropriate for an interior application over the glossy.

I also started sanding the table top in preparation for the Farrow and Ball 'Cornforth White'  Estate Eggshell paint, and cleaned the table legs with soap and water. There wasnt any flaking paint or rust to brush off.

A new table

This bank holiday weekend was pretty relaxing and didn't involve much more than pottering around town eating nice meals.  On Monday however, I found this desk in a junk shop in Crystal Palace.  I've been keeping my eyes open for one that would fit in the niche beside the fireplace in the bedroom to make a little home office area, and this one fits perfectly!  My plan is to paint the legs white, and the desk top light grey to match the fireplace and shutters so that it blends in more with the bedroom decor.