Rustic Emerald Green Drawers
Some pieces have beautiful bones and I love finishing them in a more simplistic style. This is one of them...
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Product list:
Tree Frog Green Chalk Mineral Paint
Midnight Sky Chalk Mineral Paint
Brushed Gold Cup Handles (from Knobbles and Bobbles)
Here's the before shot - they're solid and beautifully made but had some damage to the top which I really hoped would sand out. I had already removed the handles on this shot as some of them were damaged and missing.
After a thorough clean with White Lightning, I filled the old hardware holes with some heavy duty filler. I usually use Dixie Mud for most jobs like this but the old holes were pretty large and I knew I'd be needing to drill new holes for the handles I chose so I opted for something a little more stronger in this case.
The water damage and stains on the top did sand out which I was super pleased about as the tone of the pine is beautiful. I used an 80 grit paper on my Festool sander and worked up to a 120 grit for a smooth finish. I also scuff sanded the rest of the piece ready for painting.
I wanted to create a custom mix of green. I wanted a deep colour but still with some vibrancy and clout! I chose Tree Frog Green and Midnight Sky for a two colour mix. I kept adding Midnight Sky into Tree Frog Green until I had the dark green I was looking for. I couldn't tell you the exact measurements as I usually mix colours by eye until I've achieved the look I have in my mind. I can tell you that the initial colour I mixed wasn'y dark enough once I had applied it onto the piece so I added some more Midnight Sky for the second coat!
Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself! Once I'd mixed the custom green, I decanted some paint into a container and added some water. I wanted to apply my paint in thinner washes and layer the paint up. The main reason for this is because I knew I was going to distress this piece for a rustic vibe but also because building up washes of colour can really add depth to the finish.
I applied the watered down paint or wash with a premium chip brush as it adds to the rustic, aged vibe I was looking for. I built the layers up and used 4 coats for pretty much full coverage. I left some areas thinner - like around the drawer edges so that these would distress back differently to the rest of the piece.
Once the paint had dried, I poured some Howdy Do Hemp Oil on a paper plate. This is what I will be using to seal the paint work and give a gorgeous lustre.
I liberally applied the Howdy Do Hemp Oil with a different premium chip brush (I allocate one for oil based products) all over the painted surfaces of the drawers.
Then I wrapped a RAD pad sanding sponge around a sanding block...
...and sanded the painted surface with the oil on. This is known as wet sanding. It gives a super smooth buttery finish and is a softer way to distress as the oil works as a lubricant between the sanding sponge and the paint work. You don't have to distress with the wet sanding method if you don't require the distressed look - you can wet sand for a super smooth finish, however, I wanted the distressed look on my piece.
Once I had wet sanded and distressed the piece, I removed the excess oil with a lint free rag. The paint will only accept the amount of oil it requires - any excess will sit on top and needs to be wiped back otherwise it may result in patchy areas. Sometimes you may need to revisit the piece after several hours or so to wipe back any oil that hasn't been absorbed by the paint.
If you have issues with top coating darker colours (they can be a pain in the @rse) then Howdy Do Hemp Oil may be your answer! It dries matte and creates a gorgeous depth on darker colours. It takes 30 days to fully cure and after that time it creates a durable, water resistant finish! You can also use this on bare wood to nourish, revive and protect! It really is an awesome product.
The top was sealed with Best Dang Wax in Clear and I added some simple stencil design on the drawer sides with Caviar at the last minute!
Here is the finished piece - simple but handsome, I hope you'll agree!
Con x
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