Did you have a good weekend? I hope so! Today I'm sharing a sneak peek of my Tennessee living room tour for the Blogger Styling Home Tour blog hop (I'm up Wednesday, but to follow from the beginning click
here)
Recently, I've been obsessed with two things 1. bright yellow and 2. achieving a super glossy finish. So I decided to try both on a set of lamps recently found at the thrift store for $8 each.
They had a weird faux brass / pinkish finish.
First a warning .. this was definitely not the easiest shape to achieve a glossy finish, simplicity is best, due to the amount of sanding.
To get started, I sanded it with medium grit synthetic steel wool. Then, I sanded it with a fine grit synthetic steel wool.
Then, I taped off the socket and cord. And placed old paper on the ground and a few extra pieces of wood to lift it off the ground. Make sure the area is dirt and dust free. I blew it off with the spray attachment on our air compressor.
I wiped it off with an old wash cloth (micro fiber would work too). If you don't have a dust free paint booth, it's best to do a final wipe off where you'll be painting it right before you paint.
Then, I started painting. I used
Zinsser Cover Stain since I had that on hand. (I've primarily used this on wood, but figured that it would work on metal too) I think
BIN primer would have been a good option as well.
I gave it two light coats, letting it dry in between.
To get a super glossy finish, sanding is a MUST .. a lot of sanding, with small steps between grits using a fine grit to finish (i.e. 60 grit is rough, 600 grit is fine)
This isn't the only way to do it, but a fairly simple method that worked for me (sandpaper gets even finer 3,000 and up)
After the primer, I lightly sanded the entire surface with 320 grit.
This definitely isn't the easiest shape to sand .. something with less facets would have been much faster.
After removing all the primer dust with a cloth, gave it a coat of
Liquitex, Cadmium Yellow Light 5. Here's my thoughts on it .. I loved the wide range of colors, it didn't come out super fast, which helped control the paint and not waste it (I was able to cover both lamps with one can a good bit left over) Also, I wore a respirator .. but what I could smell, smelled like hairspray, so that was nicer than the typical spray paint smell. It didn't come out super smooth .. It sanded ok, but if you're looking for more color options, I'd recommend
Montana Gold instead.
I gave it two coats, sanding it with 400 grit in between, once dry. After the last coat of yellow, I sanded it with 600 grit sandpaper.
After removing all the dust, I gave it a few glossy clear coats of Krylon Lacquer. I've used a few clear coats and this is by far my favorite. It doesn't run easily (a common problem with clear coats) and it gives a super glossy finish.
I did a fairly thin coat, constantly moving it in a circular motion, letting it dry a little in between coats (about 15 minutes) It doesn't have to look even on the first coat .. Then I applied more coats until it was evenly glossy. Using a spray paint grip helps give control and even coverage (I have this
one) just make sure that the can is secure prior to painting (not all cans fit) ..
My original plan was to wet sand and buff the clear, so it was super glossy, but I was afraid it wouldn't work well since I didn't have a higher grit (around 2,000-3,000) sandpaper. In the end, the lacquer was very glossy, so I don't think it was necessary.
I love the bright saturated color!
They're currently on our
Holly & Martin console table behind the sofa - love them paired with the bright coral x benches from Target.
Full reveal of our TN living room on Wednesday!!
p.s. Today I'm at
Infarrantly Creative sharing our latest DIY project .. stop by and take a look!
