When I moved into the bungalow, I bought a large bulletin board at Home Goods. I bought it for it’s size and not the frame. I lived with this bungalow for years and truly disliked the frame but didn’t think of what to do with it until now!
I decided to change it in order to also do a paint test for a larger coffee table project.
I bought Annie Sloan chalk paint in Graphite from my little favorite store in Glendora, CA. I also bought the Annie Sloan clear chalk paint wax and gilding wax in copper. I was hoping to achieve a dark smooth finish with highlights in copper.
I started by taping and covering the bulletin board area. The beauty of the Annie Sloan chalk paints is that you do not need to sand or prep the item that you’re painting. I used just simple sponge brushes to apply the paint at this step. So I began painting the first coat. As I got working, I realized that this was going to take 2 or even 3 coats of the graphite. I let each coat dry thoroughly before painting additional coats. I ended up covering it 3 times to get a nice solid graphite coverage over the slick existing gold frame.
Now I had changed the color of the frame and I was liking it but wanted to dress it up even further. I took a bit of the copper gilding wax on my finger and brushed it over the frame. I loved it! I bought fancy brushes for this part of the project but honestly I liked applying with my fingers and rags. It was the easiest for me to control how much I was putting on the piece. Since I was working on pretty small item of a frame, I didn’t need a lot of the gilding wax. I just kept adding a bit with my fingers and using a clean cloth to rub it in areas for the desired highlight. I started very slowly as it’s easier to add more than to take it away.
Once I had the finished look of the frame, I began adding the clear wax. It was pretty sticky to begin with but I realized that you have to buff it. So you add a bit, buff it and keep working your way around. I used rags for this. I found that it was easiest to keep bristles out of the finished piece as well as lint from rags. You want to make sure you pick lint free rags. I did a couple coats of the wax which hardens when it dries. It had a nice sheen and smooth texture.
Overall it was a very easy process and I should have done this years ago! Now when I see the bulletin board in my office, it doesn’t make me cringe anymore. I just need to find more things to paint in my house next. Let me know what is your favorite Annie Sloan paint color!