In my mind I barely qualified for the industrial theme this month of our Themed Furniture Day. I’m sharing my faux painted zinc dresser makeover that I made for DH 3 years ago. Like last month, the industrial theme is a tough one to incorporate into our beachy coastal project house. My qualifying feature is the faux zinc top.
When we moved into our project house almost all of our furniture was too big. Too big as in my old dresser was massive and wouldn’t even fit through my 1950’s sized bedroom door!
Truth be told, our room didn’t even have a door the day we moved into it:)
I found a worn out poorly painted white MCM dresser on Craig’s list for $40. This was my first dresser makeover, ever! I used a homemade chalk paint recipe for the first (and last) time on this project. It was also my first party with wax. I learned my lesson pretty quickly about applying too much and what a gummy mess that can make:)
What did work well, was the double row of vintage style nautical porcelain knobs I added to the flat drawer fronts. I drove over an hour and half each way, to the nearest Hobby Lobby for them! Miscounted and had to drive back again!…I’m not sure how I had trouble counting to 10, as in 5 drawers and 10 knobs.
We’ll just laugh that one off.
My biggest triumph on my first makeover was this faux painted zinc top. I don’t have pictures of the process but can share that the multiple layers of paint is what make the top look so good. The base coat is Modern Masters Silver Metallic paint, I added layers of silver guilding wax mixed with a touch of turpentine, mixed black paint into the silver and unevenly brushed it on. Then I sprayed it with a little water. A few layers were very watery brushed on unevenly that beaded up. Let each layer dry thouroughly before moving on to the next layer.
My last word of advice on painting a faux zinc top?
Don’t touch it while it’s drying!
I have a smeared fingerprint somewhere on that top;)
The faux painted zinc finish has held up well. As many of you know, my husband, DH is in the Navy and wasn’t with us for the first 8 months of Fl living. This was his welcome home gift from me. It was much better than the plastic box we had for his clothes at the time:)
I still have to decorate our room, it’s on the “to do list”…and I’ll share a step by step tutorial on how to build this awesome four poster bed soon. In the meantime, check out my post on How to Paint a Dresser in 7 Steps. It’s a great beginner’s guide if you are new to painting furniture!
Here are few of my other favorite DIY furniture projects that are also Industrial
In the meantime, Let me share the other entries into Themed Furniture Day.
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Paula@SweetPea says
Your top really does look like zinc. I know your husband was happy this this “Welcome Home” gift.
I’m glad that I’m not the only person who has to make two trips to the store (or more) when working on a project. 🙂
Wendi says
Paula…if I actually counted the multiple trips I sometimes make, I’d be embarrassed! Thanks so much for the compliment, and yes, he loved the dresser:)
Marie@The Interior Frugalista says
Love the effect of that faux zinc top! Pretty nice job for your first dresser makeover. I had a chuckle over your trip back to Hobby Lobby – that is something I would totally do…heck I’ve done it…a few times just didn’t have the hour long trip back and forth.
I learned your lesson about not touching the finish until it’s dry yesterday. I’m working on an MCM coffee table with a faux tin top. I was doing the happy dance over how beautifully the finish turned out and then I touched it and tried to repair my finger prints. Today it is being stripped and refinished. grrrrrrr
Wendi says
Thanks Marie…I read so many ways of doing this type of finish that by the time I actually did it, I’d already made my own version! I’m so sorry you had to redo your piece! We should know better! LOL
Jen @ Girl in the Garage says
Awesome faux zinc top! I have to put that on my to-do list to try someday.
Wendi says
Jen, You should try this on one of your makeovers! It’s easy and looks so real. Thanks for stopping by!
Kimm at Reinvented says
OOh, I’m going to have to give that zinc treatment a try! It turned out great, and I don’t see a fingerprint anywhere! 🙂
Wendi says
Haha. I think the fingerprint is on the other side. I really should have known better. This is a fun finish to do, I think it would look great on so many different furniture styles.
Lucy @ Patina Paradise says
Wendi, thanks for stopping by early this morning and leaving such a nice comment. That zinc finish is just awesome! Pinning it for future reference! I was thinking zinc finish for my project, but am glad I changed my mind. I amazed at how different everyone’s project turned out. SO fun to be a part of this!
Wendi says
Welcome Lucy! It’s a great group of talented and sharing bloggers. You’ll have a good time with the challenges, they really stretch the creative in us with the different themes:) Thanks for your sweet comment on my zinc top. It ame out surprisingly good and looks pretty real.
Angie @ Postcards from the Ridge says
I love the zinc finish on the top. That’s one I’ve never tried but might have to one of these days. And I can totally relate to not having enough of something to finish the job!
Wendi says
Angie…DO try the zinc finish. It’s loads of fun and easy. Thanks so much for your visit!
Jeanette says
Great dresser! It’s the smeared fingerprint hidden on top that makes it perfect! This was a fun but challenging theme. Jeanette
Wendi says
Jeanette…I agree, this theme was a challenge for me. As much as I love industrial, I couldn’t think of what to do fo it!
Nancy @ Artsy Chicks Rule says
That zinc top is amazing and so realistic Wendi! 🙂 Love it.
And….don’t feel bad, I’ve miscounted too (needed 10, got 8)!! But I live 40 minutes from HL and by the time I went back the 2 knobs I needed were not in stock…and never came back in stock weeks later! So I had to switch knobs. 😉
Nancy
Wendi says
That’s such a shame Nancy! I hate when I find the perfect item for a piece and then I don’t have enough. Even a 40 minute drive x2 is a half a day wasted. Glad you like my zinc top! I really want to do it again soon.