Mirror Mirror, Not Yet On The Wall (Still)

January 24, 2012 by 4 Comments

The time has come where I have finally been able to dedicate some time to the mirror project!   When I left off last week,  I was still in the prepping stage.  You know, sanding and using a little wood fill – the boring stuff.  Alas, the boring stuff is over and done, and it’s time to get painting! Wee! My favorite!  Since the accent pieces in the bedroom are silver,  I wanted to make sure  the mirror was silver as well, especially since it’ll hang over the soon to be white chest of drawers.

Home Depot

Home Depot is the place to be with their line of Martha Stewart paint supplies.  Silver Metallic Paint, how I love you so!

Mirror Refinish

The funny thing about silver paint is that it’s not very forgiving.  It’ll show every streak, and brush stroke.  But, at least it’s movable and does not get tacky.  So, I have an easier time of trying to smooth it out since the brush doesn’t drag.  Woohoo!

Refinish Mirror

First coat of paint is up and running! Notice the hole I had to patch up?  Oh, you don’t?  Exactly my point!

Mirror Refinish

Now with two coats on, do you notice the other hole I had to patch up?  See where I’m going with this?

To Glue Backing Straight

Once the paint was fully dry, we knew we wanted to make sure the mirror was properly mounted to its backing so it won’t shift up or down anymore.  With that being said,  Andrew traced the backing on the frame of the mirror itself, that way we could match it up easily later on.

Mirror Refinish

What a good tracer he is!

Used as adhesive

Next step is to use this Ace Brand Clear Silicone to adhere the mirror to the backing.

Mirror Back

Glob it on appropriately…

Must Add Pressure

And flip!

Holding Down The Mirror

The only thing we could find heavy enough was Andrew’s circular saw (an anniversary gift that still hasn’t been taken out of the box yet!!!?!) to keep the mirror down.  Don’t worry, we made sure to not lay the box directly on the mirror by throwing in some bubble wrap in between.  That made for an interesting noise!

Now we wait 48 hours for the silicone to cure.  Ugh! That long?  Stupid directions!

Love, J and A

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Mirror Mirror, Not Yet On The Wall

January 18, 2012 by 8 Comments

Interruption in our regular scheduled programming:

I’d like to say that VintageMauve.com had a very big day yesterday!  For one, we had the most hits yesterday topping out at 266! (YAY!!!!), 5 new subscribers (Welcome gang!), and a feature on Dragonfly Designs.

Dragonfly Designs

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

Okay, now back to your regular scheduled programming!

Updating any room can end up costing a fortune, so whenever there is an opportunity to cut costs…I am all for it!  In this case,  I’m cutting costs by refinishing a mirror that my Mom was nice enough to pass on over to us.   She bought it years ago at a thrift store, so its had its fair share of ups and downs.  I can tell from the remnant paint on the glass, and the gashes in the wood.  But, it’s still a solid wood mirror without a scratch on the actual mirror itself, so I’m willing to take the chance and bring this back to its former glory!

Pre-Refinish

The mirror has a really nice oval shape that will compliment a cute round clock that we got for Christmas, which matches the night stands perfectly.

Silver Mirror

Both will be hung on the same wall, just on opposite sides of the window, so it’s important that they vibe well together. The plan is to repaint the mirror in silver to match. I was contemplating painting it white, but since it’ll be above the nightstand which will also be white…I thought that may be just too washed out looking!  White and silver it is!

Mirror Restoration

Mirror Fix

Poor gash and nail holes, but it’s nothing sand paper and a little wood fill can’t fix.

Mirror Issues

Removing the paint from the glass could stand to be a little more tricky.  Andrew thinks I should just bust out an X-ACTO knife and go crazy, but I’m sure I’ll scratch the mirror.   Not sure, CONVINCED!

Back of Mirror

It’s telling me to use wire hanger, but I am thinking this wire has seen better days.   After this picture was taken,  the wire got thrown into the trash for obvious reasons.

Now that you’ve seen what I’m dealing with, time to get started on the restoring!

First on the agenda is to remove the backing on the mirror since the mirror slides in the frame. Having a sliding mirror doesn’t really appeal to me so once all is said and done, I’ll be affixing it properly so there is no possibility for movement.

Using Pliers

With trusty pliers, and a lot of patience – I was able to remove the 15 or so staples that were in the back of this mirror. It was no easy feat, because there were a lot that were rusted and in their really good.

A personal favorite

Goof Off 2 is one of my favorite products to use when it comes to removing something sticky. Since its water based, it’s not as caustic as the original Goof Off, so its less likely to ruin the surface you are working on. I’ve used this on fabric to remove paint, and it worked beautifully and didn’t remove any color.  All I did was spritz a little on the area, and let it sit on the mirror for a few minutes.  As you can see in the picture below,  it’ll work on its own to remove most of the paint.

Removing paint

After giving it about 3 minutes per section, I used the X-ACTO knife while the mirror was wet to lift up the paint. It came off so easily!  I hate to say it though, but Andrew was right when it came to using the knife.   When I tried to use a paper towel to rub the paint off, it took it off in a  smeary motion and wasn’t as effective.  Grumble.  I hate it when it’s right.  Doesn’t he know I fancy myself to be Martha Stewart when I start these projects?   Anyway, you can see how the paper towel affected the paint in the picture below.

From Glass

Once the mirror was free and clear of any paint…

 

Hand Sander

…I took to sanding with my handy-dandy hand sander.  For little projects, I love this thing!  I gets into very nook and cranny so easily.   During sanding, my goal wasn’t to take all the paint off, but just smooth out the rough edges before I got to using the wood fill.   This is always my least favorite part of any project, because I despise the dust that gets EVERYWHERE!

By the  time I got to sanding, it was time for me to pack up the project to continue for the next day.   Come back tomorrow for the mirror update!

Love, J and A

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Refinish, Restore or Rethink This Idea

January 5, 2012 by 2 Comments

So, who out there in reader land remembers me mentioning that around Thanksgiving I was in the process of refinishing a chest of drawers?  Oh, you do remember?  Good.  Then you may recall that I haven’t mention anything about it in over a month!  Why, you ask?  Hmm, it may be because I really did a number on it.   That is just my nice way of putting that I royally messed it up.  Paint brush strokes galore, globbyness and holes that just didn’t get filled all the way.

Here’s my problem:  I go online and read about how everyone on blogland so very easily transforms any piece of furniture that they bat an eyelash at.   By default,  I assume I can magically do an amazing job without any real skill or knowledge.  Therefore, I go to Home Depot with a list of supplies that cost a ridiculous amount of money, but assume it’s going to be “totally worth it, since it’s so much cheaper to buy an old piece to fix up, then buy new.”  Or so I tell Andrew, repeatedly.  Which,  I am sure that’s 100% true because quality has gone down, and prices have gone up – but that doesn’t make restoration any easier to do!  At Home Depot,  I pick up my primer, paint conditioner, paint color, polycrylic, wood fill, sandpaper, new paint brushes….the whole kit and caboodle.    For I am gung-ho, and hear me roar!

Wood furniture restoration

Wood Furniture Refinishing

Wood refinish

As you can see, what I’m working with is pretty solid.  All of the drawers are dovetailed, and it’s really sturdy.  I love the legs, and the overall look of the dresser.   You can tell the handles have seen better days, so I’ll have to wood fill the holes, sand it smooth, paint, and drill new holes. It’ll be just soooooooo easy, or so I think.

I wish I had taken photos during the actual wood fill process so you could see that is not all rainbows and butterflies.   But, during the time, I don’t think I realized the outcome and how bad it could potentially be. While filling the holes, I must not have gotten the fill flush with the  rest of the wood.  I could have sworn I did, but after priming (and painting!!) it became very obvious where the previous holes were.    To add insult to injury, I read that you should paint furniture with a brush.  Boy golly, if a website said to do it, I was going to do it.   Never once did I take into consideration brush strokes, or maybe it might be a good idea to brush on, then roll to smooth.    The blog I was reading didn’t tell me to do that.   How was I to know?

During refinish

Ick!  The brush strokes look terrible!  That’s two coats of primer, and it most certainly is not going away.   But, I only say that because I now know from experience since I put two coats of paint ON TOP OF THAT!  It’s safe to say that I asked for an orbital sander for Christmas, so I can sand this puppy down and start over again.

Am I disappointed by the outcome of my rendezvous into refinishing?  Of course.  Was it necessary?  Of course.   Ultimately,  this is trial and error and you learn from experience.  I don’t know about you, but I realize I was not born with an innate ability to master something right out of the gate.  It takes practice, mistakes, and learning from them.   At the end of the day, once the project is all said and done,  I’ll be more happy with the results because I know it didn’t come easy.

At least we know what I’ll be working on this weekend!

Love, J and A

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