My Chippy Paint Entryway Mirror Shelf
A few months back i found this gem sitting on the side of the road, and it had been sitting in my garage collecting dust ever since. I just couldn’t decide whether i wanted to strip it and repaint it or leave it beautifully rustic? I mean what is a girl to do?
Then a couple of weeks ago while ramping up for my first market, and trying to produce enough products to fill my booth, I decided I needed to make a final decision on it. After much contemplation I just couldn’t go through with stripping the wonderful characteristics of the chippy paint.
So it was on to cleaning and protecting those beautiful characteristics. Let me show you how I did it.
How to protect old chippy paint pieces
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. I only link items I truly think you may like/want. Any purchases made from these links provide a small commission to me at no extra cost to you. This helps me keep Boss Chíc up and running so I can continue to provide quality content for you.
Before dealing with any old piece you want to make sure lead based paint was not used on it. You can get a lead paint testing kit here. **Link**
If your piece does have lead based paint you will want to stop and check with the United States Environmental Protection Agency on how to handle lead based paint.
Once you have verified you piece does not have lead based paint you can continue on to cleaning it.
Cleaning you chippy painted pieces
The first thing i did was to lightly rub off the extremely loose pieces of chipped paint.
Then I used my shop vac and vacuumed every nook and cranny of my piece, being very careful, as to not remove an unneeded paint.
I know it seems weird that i removed paint and then I try to keep it intact. I do this because the real loose paint will not only fall off while handling and brushing the piece, but it won’t allow the sealer to cover the entire piece properly.
And I do want to save as much as that chippy goodness as i can, so I try to save the stuff that is still pretty intact.
Next, I wiped my entire piece down using a rag, bucket of warm water and dish soap. Then I let it dry for 24 hrs.
Sealing all those beautiful characteristics
The next day I started by prepping my piece for sealer. I used painters tape and taped the edges of the mirrors, to protect it from any spills or accidental brush strokes.
Then I put a couple coats of sealer on it. I used Rust-Oleum 284473 Varathane Triple Thick Polyurethane, Satin I choose this sealer because it is self leveling, so even with all the unevenness of the chippy paint, you still get a smooth finish. And it is triple thick so is a one coat coverage product. I did put two coats on my piece but that’s just because i go overboard sometimes.
And there you have it, how to protect old chippy paint pieces!
A couple of D-rings and my piece was complete!
Boy, I am glad I decided to make a decision on this piece. And it sure was the right one. I sold it at my first market and the buyer was so excited to scoop it up!
Let Me Know!
Do you like the chippy paint look? Or would you of stripped it and painted it? Let me know in the comments!
Want more Boss Chíc Lifestyle Ideas? Be sure to Join the Boss Chíc Journey and all of our Posts will be sent directly to your inbox every week! You can learn more about us here!
Also follow me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest, so you won’t miss out on any of our great material!
With Love,
Melissa
P.S.
Melissa
Comments