Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Redo

     So I have been in possession of some very expensive and oh so shabby chic Annie Sloan paint since before Christmas waiting to find the perfect dresser to turn into a bathroom vanity. I was not going to let spring break end without at least getting the first coat of paint on. I learned two very important things today in the process...

1. Don't be afraid to google in the face of difficulties
2. Sometimes.... to enjoy life you just can't care about the state of your house (I think I already knew that...lol..I had nothing to fear...the laundry did not go anywhere)

Here is an interesting list of reasons that Annie Sloan states makes their paint is so special

1. It's the BEST paint for painting furniture by a long way
2. No need to prime or prepare
3.Extremely low VOCs so it is good for the environment
4. You can use it on any surface, indoors and out ( the outside of our shop was painted in it- perfect!)
5. You can use the paint by diluting it with water to make a wash to show the wood grain
6. The colors are mixed intelligently and the web site shows how you can adapt your colors for your use
7. It's a girls' paint, but boys can use it too.
8. It's flexible so you can be creative and change your mind
9. It allows your walls to breathe so it is perfect for cottage walls
10. You can use it as an impasto ( thickly) - leave the lid off to thicken
11. We've been making it since 1990 so it's tried and tested

So here's what happened. I put the first coat of paint on and I started to see a pink hue coming through. Ughhh...this was not supposed to happen...part of the whole attraction of Annie Sloan paint is the idea that you don't have to use a primer or sand or anything before you paint. So I was a little aggravated. Then over lunch I grabbed my handy Kindle Fire and googled it. Here is what I found out. Below is a direct quote from the Annie Sloan


With some pieces of furniture, typically pieces from the 1930s and 1940s, after painting the first coat there is either a yellow or pink stain which bleeds through the paint. No matter how may coats you paint, the stain colour will continue to bleed through.
 
The ANSWER is to get something called * Knotting or sometimes it is called shellac. Get the clear one and apply it using a pad rather than a brush. It dries in minutes and you can get on with painting immediately!

The before picture with the mirror removed and a general idea of what the galvanized bucket sink will look like.

An upclose of the first coat of paint.

You can see lots of brush strokes here which are supposed to fade with the second coat. I was trying to get a pic of the pink hue but the camera would not pick it up.

I was so excited to see paint going on I had to stop and take a picture.

The whole first coat didn't take long at all. I also didn't take long to tell something went wrong. I guess according to Annie Sloan's website we can safely assume this piece was from the 1930's or 1940's as indicated by the pink hue bleeding through.

 

 

 

     So the project will live to see another day. I guess I will be off to Lowes to buy some shellac and to look for a galvanized bucket that is similar to the one in the picture below that I will use as the sink vessel. Oh well part of this whole process is being creative, getting messy, and thinking about something other than Standardized Testing for first graders. I like where this whole project is going though. I will update with more pictures after we go spend some more money at Lowes.