THE LONG ROAD TO BEAUTY - black antiqued chest

This black chest started out as a second hand find George found last month.

It was one of those projects that went south right away.

I decided to get a better handle on the milk paint.

I did learn how to mix it better for the sprayer.

Over the course of that evening the paint started to flake ..... EVERYWHERE I had sprayed it!

This photo of the original drawer handle shows what was happening pretty well.

If you look closely it's not chipping shabby chic style it's flaking everywhere.

Fortunately I didn't spray the sides, which ended up saving me some time later.

I moved on to the hardware.

I didn't care for the style or placement of what came on it,

so I filled those holes in and found the right spot.

Searched high and low for a nice complementary set of 8 handles that would work.

But only found 2 sets of 4 so they had to be matched up.

In came the oil rubbed bronze paint by Rustoleum.

Now back to the drawers, measuring and drilling new holes.

I'll show you how nicely they turned out shortly.

Next thing needed was to remove the broken apron and do some repairs,

Before adding new legs bought at Windsor Plywood.

The milk paint was adhereing to the top surface better,

and was looking pretty neat with all the chipping and flaking that still occured there.

With a great amount of sanding and poly I got it to this point, and very happy with it.

So I decided to match up the sides to have the same look, but without using

the dreaded milk paint.

I used a black wash with regular paint and poly.

After a month of having it sit on the side lines it was now time to deal with the

crappy flaking paint on the drawer fronts.

So one morning I sat in the shade and hand sanded every inch of them,

before masking off the top and sides to get it ready for good ole primer.

and then a beautiful smooth black spray job.

New handles added,

a bit more poly and wax,

And she is shining like never before.

I did try out some distressing but both George and I liked the sleek black look better.

It has a great antiqued effect on the sides and top,

and with the wax and poly it is so soft and smooth.

She would make an excellent TV stand in someones living space.