REVITALIZING PATINA

Patina. What a powerful word. It is a look, a style, a finish that is so unique that only time can produce. A special layer that gives a bench or an armoir a exclusive look. The feeling deep inside you get when you walk into a cozy room that sets your heart on fire. You just must have it. A feeling that can't be explained. It might be love. History. Character. A story. 

A while back I came across this steamer trunk at a flee market. It was old, it was handmade, it was a nice size, it had a few cracks and chips, and the price was just right. It also was a lot of not so nice things too. It had been painted black, the hardware had been replaced (or was missing) and among others, and worst of all, the interior had been covered with wallpaper. Into the basement it went to live until another day.

Today is that day. My goal is to bring back some of the original patina and give it a new modern everyday function that could easily slide into many interior lifestyles. Something you cant buy, but you can bring it back to a new life. 

Start by wiping down to remove dust and dirt.

First order of business is to remove all the wall paper. Lucky for me it came off  just by pulling.

Underneath the wallpaper lay (perhaps) an original wallpaper. My instincts were to preserve this paper and integrate it back into the finished trunk. Unfortunately, as I removed the top layer of wallpaper, the underlying paper was in poor condition and large segments were torn or missing, so I chose to remove it (sigh) too and along with that, the trunk’s interior gets a clean, new potential finish.

I have refinished many, many pieces of furniture. For this one, I envisioned enhancing  and highlighting a worn textured finish. Perfect project for chalk paint. The result is clean, but not a factory new finish. I have used Annie Sloan chalk paint many times, I have even mixed my own (nice if matching an existing color). Both are wonderful. Both are easy to use, both help hide (or highlight) imperfections and the result is always great. The nice thing about chalk paint is that it requires no sanding, priming, basically no prep work. Just open the can and paint.

I decide to test out Magnolia Home’s new line of chalk paint. And, as it turns out, it is just as wonderful as all the chalk paint that I have used. Perfect.

I choose the color “Shiplap” (screaming to be used for this project) without knowing exactly what that color was. I was hoping for a neutral white.

Perfect.

Now to paint. Just simply brush on the entire surface with paint. The paint was rich and smooth.

I was pretty sure two coats of paint were needed, painting over black and old wood sometimes requires more than one coat.

Let dry overnight.

Second coat. Much nicer.

For the interior, one coat of primer, left to dry overnight.

Now a coat of a pale blue-gray paint with a soft pearl, semi-gloss finish. Perfect to protect anything stored.

Chalk paint needs to be sealed. Use a clear wax by applying a small amount of wax with a soft rag or a fancy brush. Both work just fine.

Dip your brush or rag into the wax and just "paint" the wax. Once the wax has been applied to the entire surface that is painted with chalk paint, gently buff off the wax with a soft white cloth. And old tee shirt or washcloth work well.

You can see the soft luster of the buffed wax on the trunk. Looks like the piece has been kindly touched and handled for a very long time.

To create a distressed finish, use medium to super rough sandpaper.  

Sand corners, sides, handles, raised surfaces, horizontal edges or cracks that would have naturally been bumped and banged as if it traveled around the globe.

Sand a little or as much as your heart desires. It is all about preserving love, after all.

Once you are happy with the outcome of the sanding, apply a second layer of clear wax to seal and then buff.

Perfect technique to revitalize a love-life-worn piece of furniture. Character. History. Patina.

So find a piece that time has forgotten and try your hand at restoring the beauty that is not ready to be left behind. It just may have a great story waiting to be discovered.

I may not know the history of this trunk but, here's the start of my new love story...

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