chair re-do [finally] complete!

I painted these chairs a long time ago, but just now finished the coat of dark wax which was actually a failure due to my own operator error.  Oh well, in the end I decided they would be okay without it!

So here are the chairs when I got them from state surplus, vs. now…

 

That’s one and a half coats (after first coat I water down a small amount to make it go farther and touch up any areas where wood tone shows through) of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Paris Grey, distressed heavily, with one coat of clear wax and one ineffective coat of dark wax (since I didn’t do it while the clear wax was still tacky which means immediately).

Here are some close ups of the details…

 

 

I am really happy with how they turned out.  Right now they sit in my living room for extra seating, but whenever I find four old matching chairs for the sides of my dining table, they will be painted this same color, and the above chairs will be used at the ends of my table,  which will be painted black and have a natural waxed wood top.  I have it all planned out.  =)

After I failed at the chairs, I also did use the dark wax correctly on another project… look at the difference it makes (when no blonde operator error is involved)…

So, obviously, the one on the top/left has clear and dark waxes, the one on the bottom/right has just the Annie Sloan Paris Grey.  BIG difference.  I did one frame at a time, applying the clear wax to the whole frame using a stippling brush, then rubbing it in with a rag to smooth it into all the nooks and crannies, then stippling on some dark wax, and rubbing it in with a rag.  These are frames with 5x7 openings, and the surface area here is really about all you can do at one time before the clear wax dries too much.  Hence my fail on trying to add dark wax to the chairs weeks later! 

My official review is that I love this paint and cannot find anything negative to say about it whatsoever!  Anyone else tried it yet?

PS: if you’re local, I highly recommend Bella Bungalow in Arlington, for your Annie Sloan needs!  They were excellent and most helpful!