Rocking Chair Makeover
My Grandma passed away a little over a year ago. When our family was cleaning her house There was a wooden rocking chair that hadn't been claimed, so I decided I would take it. After looking a little closer at the chair, I decided that I wanted paint the chair with a new color.
Supplies
~ Wooden Rocking Chair
~ Sandpaper, coarse and fine
~ Paint
~ Paint Brushes
~ Newspaper
~ Tin casserole dish (the throw away kind)
~ Paint sticks (free!)
~ Paint can key (free!)
With a little help from my friend Jenna, We sanded the entire rocking chair. WE started sanding with a coarse sandpaper and then a fine. Once the rocking chair was sanded I took a damp rag and wiped down the chair to get rid of the dust.
I was a little surprised at the beautiful red color that came from sanding the chair. But I had my heart set on a different color!
Deciding on a color was difficult. I went to Wal-Mart and looked at all of their paint samples. I really wanted a grey-blue color. Once I finally decided on a color. I actually ended up getting it color-matched at the Home Depot. I got a quart of paint with primer and gloss in one. (Best Idea Ever!) I also got a paint with a deep base because the original color/stain of the chair was so dark.
After I picked out the paint, I also got some brushes and supplies. My friends Tori and Jade helped me pick out some brushes. We got paint sticks, the key to open the paint can, and a throw away metal casserole tin.
Once I had all of my supplies, I was ready to paint!!!
I painted the chair in my apartment, which actually didn't smell much like paint at all. Though I did have the windows open.
I laid out newspaper on the floor and started with the chair upside down.
I started painting with very thin layers. The one thing I learned really quickly is to use less paint and wipe of the brush to prevent the paint from dripping. If the paint did drip on the chair I used the brush to smooth out the area. I did learn that if the paint drips that dried could be pulled off very carefully.
The other trick I learned is with edges to always smooth out the other sides because the paint builds up, and that is really hard to get off. (Learned that the hard way)
So here is what the first coat looked like. I could still see the old color through the paint, So I decided on painting three coats. I made sure to let each coat dry for what seemed like forever. Really it was half a day or more.
I did three coats with the chair tipped upside down. Then I flipped the chair over to do the top.
The other trick that I learned was to keep the brush strokes going the same direction. It made the chair look so much nicer and uniform.
For the last coat on the chair, I ended up needing another paint brush. The bristles ended up braking and coming of as I was painting. I chose a foam paint brush for the final coat. I liked using the foam brush so much more. It was easier to paint with and got into the groves much easier than the bristled brush. And It was much easier to clean.
I am so amazed at the color of this chair! I am in love with how the color turned out. The total cost with the paint and supplies was about $30. It took me about 3-4 days between sanding and painting.
My next project will be to make some cushions or padding to go with the chair.
I also need to find something to do with all the extra paint! I didn't even use half of the can! Any Ideas? :)
~Jessica
