This I weekend I return to finish the woodwork and painting the furniture. Last weekend I started by applying coats of chalk paint to some pieces that were a bit beat up. After I hit all of the pieces with a 2nd coat, I start using the wax they recommend as a finish. All pieces need 1 coat of clear wax to protect the finish and then I also bought a tin of black wax to give a distressed look. I put on the clear coat and let that dry although it’s hard to tell when wax dries because it never appears wet to begin with.

After a few hours, I go back to put on the black wax which is recommended to be applied over another coat of clear and then you use a rag to wipe away the black wax to control how much distressing you want. Once the black wax goes on, it does look like crap, but as you wipe away it gets into the nooks and crannies of the paint layer and it does start looking pretty good. Overall, the Annie Sloan products seem to deliver on being easy to use and produce good results.

While I go back and forth with the furniture refinishing, I also work to finish up the wood trim. Last weekend I put down some initial coats of shellac on the wood. I mixed all the shellac myself and bought a few varieties. I started with dewaxed amber flakes which was the base coat. I did 2 coats of that and then switched to a darker button shellac which gives more of a tint to the wood. Both varieties were mixed to a 1 lb cut which means 1lb of flakes to 1 gallon of denatured alcohol. The tint is pretty subtle so not sure how much the shellac is changing the color, but overall things are looking decent enough. After 2 coats of the dark shellac, I then put down a layer of wax and buff that. The woodwork has a nice luster to it with the shellac and wax. Shellac is a traditional combination with the negative being that it has been replaced with varnish, then polyurethane due to it’s lack of durability. I guess I’m taking a risk with using these weaker historic techniques for a rental place, but it will be interesting to see how they hold up after the summer. I think that paint and poly also show a lot of scratches and dings so not like they are the end all be all of protection.

I then hang some replacement bullseye rosettes I ordered from https://www.heartwoodcarving.com up in Maine. With that, I pretty much end all of the major work in the room. I start moving the furniture back in and next weekend will just be curtains and installing the hvac vent cover.