Round One: Coffee Table Wins!

Remember this little jewel that I found on the side of the road in my neighborhood?

 

Yeah... Well, she spend the entire day on Friday kicking my tail.

I'm guessing you want to know how...

Well, I'll tell you.  

I told you guys the other day, that it was in pretty good condition, but it had some crayon and marker spots on it.  I was convinced that a light sanding would take enough off and I could paint right over it, so Friday morning I wrestled with the funky little nails holding the hinges on, took them off, and did a little sanding by hand.  (It really looked and felt like it didn't even have a finish on it, so I just did a light sanding job.)

After I finished this, I hurried off to Home Depot to pick up some paint.  I had finally decided on a color, and I couldn't wait to get started.  The guy in Home Depot was really nice, even though he probably thinks I'm nuts because I'm literally in there all the time.  When I got home with my paint I got right to work.  

I got a little too excited to didn't take pictures of this part... plus, I didn't think there would be much to tell about each coat.

I was wrong.

First coat goes on, dries a little, and I see some of the marker/crayon through it.  Since it was such a light color, I thought it would go away with another coat or two.

 (I took this photo with my phone to show my mom... I forgot to take one with my good camera.)

Second coat goes on, dries, and I still see the marker/crayon. Grrrrrr.....

 I tried painting the marker/crayon spots a third time, and I STILL saw them through the paint. Double Grrrrr......  (You can't see them in the photo above, but you could SEE them in person.)

At this point, I knew it was a waste of paint to keep going, so I turned to Google.  I asked my good friend, the search engine, "how do you paint over marker/crayon."  He told me, through several websites, that I needed Kilz.  Sheesh... I know the power of Kilz!  Why hadn't I tried that FIRST?!?

Off to Home Depot I go again.  Same nice paint guy helps me out.  I told him what was going on, and he told me it should work.... and through everything I'd read, it should.

I thought I would just save a step by painting the Kilz straight over the paint to cover it up... which in theory should work.  Then, I would just paint over the Kilz with my color of choice.

Yeah, I painted two coats of Kilz, and what happened?

This.

 

At this point, I just got angry.  (I tried not to be too angry because I DID pick this piece up on the side of the road to "experiment" with.... good thing, too, because this has really turned into a learning experience.)

When I got angry, I knew what I had to do.

Sand.  Really  sand the WHOLE thing.

So that's what I did.  I took out the power sander and got to work.

Good thing I did... Because once I got started, I realized that the paint peeled off way more easily than it should.  There must have been an oil-based finish on it after all.  Triple GRRRRRR....

At this point, I was super annoyed, so I got completely and totally reacquainted with the hand sander, and started stripping the whole dad-gum thing!  (Yes, "dad-gum" is a word in the South.)

 Never EVER again, will I paint another piece without it being bare naked wood like this.

I got the top and three sides done before it got dark, and I had to come inside.  I still have the front and two drawers to finish tomorrow before I can prime and paint again. 

It's okay, though.  Even though the crazy table kicked my tail on Friday.  I'm coming back today to beat it in round two.  In the meantime, I'll share with you some of the lessons I learned:

1.  Never ever ever take a chance on painting over something (with Latex) that might possibly have an oil based finish.  (Please don't give me "you should have known better's."  I did.  I just got excited and turned silly.)

2.  Always try to paint on bare naked wood every chance you get.

3.  Latex Kilz is not going to cover up crayon, marker, or anything really greasy... despite what the label says.  

4.  If I ever have kids, keep crayons and markers FAR FAR away from anything made of wood.

5.  Did I mention, sand, Sand, SAND?!?!

I'll keep you guys updated on how it goes.  Hopefully, I'll have a good "Before and After" in the next few days.  :) 

P.S.  This morning I'm doing a "Spin-a-thon."  That means I'm going to Spin class for 3 straight hours.  Yeah, I think I lost my mind.  If you don't hear from me on Monday, you'll know I really was that crazy and just didn't make it.  ;)  

Oh, and just because I haven't asked in a while.... If you read my blog regularly, will you please, pretty please-with-sugar-on-top, make my day and hit the "Follow" button to the right of this post??  I really love knowing who reads, and your support means so much!