Yep, I’m Spray Paint Ignorant: Bookcase Before and After

I have the opportunity to save items that might otherwise end up in a landfill or sitting useless in a basement and give them a new life. To help them on their path to finding new homes, I opened a booth at a local antique mall / flea market. (It might also be why my blog was a little neglected in January. So sorry about that!)

When I told people that I opened a booth, they thought it was a wonderful idea. Then they went on to tell me how I should frequent estate sales, garage sales, and Craigslist. I was a bit resistant of the idea at first, but curiosity got the better of me and I went to my first estate sale.

I found the perfect bookcase. It needed love, but it was sturdy and made of strong wood. I knew exactly what I would do with it before I even got it loaded in the car.

After I purchased the supplies to make it beautiful again, I set to work. My project was not without its obstacles – the cold weather was one of them, but I was determined to complete it.

The sanding and painting went rather smoothly. My paint job has brush strokes, which I know most people hate, but I think it looks great. But, this is not the real story.

The real story is the spray painting.

The back board of the bookcase just had to be silver. I’m not sure why I was set on this color. I bought a brushed nickel spray paint and couldn’t wait to get it on the wood.

I am pretty sure I have spray painted something in my life, but when I got the paint for this project, I couldn’t think of a single thing I spray painted. I read the directions and tons and tons of how to blogs. All of which says not to paint in the cold weather. And it was freezing outside.

Not to be discouraged, I figured out how to get it painted even though it was too cold. I set up a space in the garage, keeping the paint and wood inside the house until the last possible moment.

I took a cardboard box and set it in the middle of the garage to keep the wood off the floor and surrounded it with newspapers. Once I had it all set up, I retrieved the back board and paint from the house and quickly arranged it on my designated painting area. I raised the garage door some to allow for ventilation.

Now all I had to do was paint. I took the can, which I had previously shook for the full minute it required, and twisted the top to unlock the paint spray. I started spraying.

I thought I was about 8-10 inches from my board, which is the recommended distance, but I was impatient and got a little closer. I was probably 6-8 inches instead.

When I took a break from painting, I noticed the can was getting really sticky and the paint was all over it. I thought something was wrong with the can and I hoped it would last long enough for my paint job.

I sprayed more.

I looked at the can. It was worse! I hoped it wouldn’t explode in my hand before my project was complete!

I hurried to finish. Once my painting was finished I looked at the can again. It was covered in paint! But, so was my hand, my clothes, my boots, and my glasses.

You know what wasn’t covered in paint? The newspaper I laid to protect the floor. Nope. Nothing.

Yeah. I’m that paint ignorant. I seriously thought there was something wrong with the can before this moment. It did not occur to me until now that it could possibly be spray back.

All you experienced furniture painters can quit laughing now.

The important takeaway from this whole experience is that the bookcase turned out wonderful! I love the silver (although it looks more grey than silver) back against the white.

If you want to share a funny painting story with me to make me feel better – please do! Post it in the comments below or send it to me using the Contact Me! page. I want to hear them!