Thursday, August 2, 2012

Creating a Pattern with Stain

I usually have a couple of projects going on at the same time...something I can work on outside and something I can work on in the basement....This is one of my "outdoor" projects....
 I wanted to try doing a simple pattern with stain instead of paint just to see how it works...I love the wood patterned top with the painted bottom--  I like the balance of the two.
 Here's how she started...I sanded the top but it was already pretty clean.
 I usually draw out a pattern on tagboard even though I 'm using a yard stick or a square....I just use both to help me get the pattern laid out with pencil.
 This time it was a 8x12" diamond....
 Typically the older furniture just isn't straight and square so I find that having the pattern piece just helps it go a lot faster and eliminates erasing and adjusting.... 
 Next I taped off the natural colored diamonds and stained the rest.  
 I used a minwax walnut stain and rubbed it on with a rag.  I wanted it to have an aged look anyways so I put the stain on pretty lightly....
 Let it dry a little and pulled the tape off...
 I decided to finish this piece with Tung oil which we just used for the first time on our Chalkboard Notepads....I like the finish it gives.  I'm a pretty big fan of the waxed finish but since this was all wood with no paint it was a good piece to test it out on.
 It's easy to use too...rub it on with a rag let it dry 5-10  minutes and then buff..they recommend 2-3 coats to seal it really well.
 I'm planning on sprucing up these two beauties to go along with the table....they are beautiful oak chairs....
 And in need of some upholstering...this will be a new technique for me.  Some webbing to stretch, some thin padding...hopefully some leather on top...we'll see...
These aren't getting painted either...I have a whole idea in my head of how this set should look put together.  We'll see how it turns out!

No comments:

Post a Comment