Once the dry fit was complete and all the joints looked good, it was time to begin "distressing" the frame. As I mentioned in part 1, when I researched this process, I came across several different ways to achieve the same results. However, four different methods were repeated often. Since the base color was down to two colors I decided to make a sample board.
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| sample finishes |
Four of the colors used a base coat of Rustoleum Golden Mahogany Stain. The other four used a base of Minwax Chestnut Stain. All of them had a final finish of one to two coats of satin polyurethane. The difference lied in how the distress marks were highlighted.
After applying the base coat and allowing to dry (in accordance with directions on each can) I used a variety of tools to bang and mar the sample.
Next came the highlighting. The four methods used were as follows:
1. Rub Black Shoe polish of the surface and then wipe off, allowing it to fill the marks.
2. Apply a dark stain and immediately wipe off.
3. Apply a dark gel stain and immediately wipe off.
4. Re-apply the base coat. Allow to stand for 3 to 5 minutes then blot dry.
As you can see, each method is very similar. Though it was mainly a matter of which product to use. They say that some of the best inventions happen by mistake. So was the case with this project. Holly decided she liked method #1 with a base of the Minwax Chestnut, the best. So out to the shop I went to stain the frame.
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| base coat applied |
You'll notice, in this shot, there are two cans of stain. One was left over from another project. It was a darker stain (Minwax Pecan). After marring the surface, I wiped it down with a coat of shoe polish. The shoe polish darkened some areas far more than I liked. So I wiped it off and dabbed it with more stain...only I did not realize until I was done that the stain I used was pecan instead of chestnut.
I wiped off the pecan (it had sat for about 5 minutes) to reveal the perfect color, aging, distress that we had been looking for. I showed it to Holly who approved by stating it looked better than the samples! Woohoo...score!
Now some may be wondering why I finished the frame before assembly. I decided to wait on the Poly until after assembly, but in order to avoid messing up the chalkboard, I thought this would be best. Also any scratches made during the assembly would only add to the distressed look. Had I been going for a clean, non distressed finish, I probably would have waited.
On to the clamps...
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| Glue and Clamp |
You will recall, from previous post, that I have yet to build the glue up table. Given the size of this project, I had to move it indoors. I think Kaylee may have gotten he snout out of joint (her kennel was the best "table" for this).
If I do this again, I will use a different joint for the corners. For this purpose a dowel joint was used. On the plans I will be switching it to a lap joint.
Glue (tightbond II) was applied to the rabbet all around the frame. The chalkboard was then placed and clamped down. Any glue squeeze out was quickly wiped up. Underneath, a substantial amount of squeeze out had dripped onto the cardboard. This was easily removed once dried.
Once fully assembled, I went back over the frame with Minwax Wipe On Poly. Two coats with a light sanding in between. I also noticed that somehow I had missed staining the ends of each frame section and went back and touched those up.
To hang it, I used picture wire. Though I have a feeling will change, to a cleat, in the near future. Apparently, another project has gone on the list, that will require the chalkboard to change position....Wainscoting....for the kitchen.
So how did we fare for this project. Originally, we were looking at a discount store to buy a similar product. The ones we found ranged from $50 to $100. Shopping online I found chalkboards without distressed frames ranging from $40 to $150.00 plus shipping.
As I already had many of the materials used, my cost were:
Chalkboard paint (quart) $7.50
1x3x96 pine board x 3 $7.11 (I had one left over for future use)
Stain (pint) $4.99
Total $19.60
Had I not already owned the rest my total cost would have been:
Supplies already mentioned $19.60
Primer (qt) $ 7.64
Polyurethane $ 9.99
brushes / roller $ 6.00
24" x 48" x 1/4" plywood $ 8.37
Grand Total $51.60
So, if I had to buy everything from scratch, I would break even. However, keep in mind that by building it ourselves, we get the satisfaction of building it as well as getting exactly what we wanted.
In the end, Holly got her chalkboard, I had a lot of fun building it, and we saved about $30 to $50 dollars. I call that a "WIN".
Until next time
Kevin
