Black Vintage Dresser With Gold Leafing

by Shanna Gilbert

The lovely and talented Amy Howard brought a handful of bloggers, including myself, down to Memphis for a few days for a training session and some fun pampering. We got to hear her story about how her company began, and how it transitioned into having her own line of paint. She also spent some time teaching us some new techniques, and I got to use some products that were new to me.
Once we got home, she most generously sent us some products to work with on our own, and I thought I would share my first project with you today.

black vintage dresser with gold leafing, painted furniture

The paint I used is called Amy Howard One Step Paint. It's made in the USA, contains no methanol, no VOCs, and it's certifiable green. You can use it on almost any surface including glass, plastic, wood, formica, and metal.

The first thing I did was I cleaned my dresser off with Simple Green (you can get that at Home Depot, Lowes, Target, etc).

I then made double-sure to mix the paint extra well to bring up any pigments that might have settled down to the bottom.

I picked-up today's dresser at an estate sale this summer.

The piece was had great bones, but one side of it had some serious water damage.

During my first coat (I used Black), I realized why it was called One Step Paint.

I have used tons of different brands of paint, but this one gave me the greatest coverage. With most brands, you have to use 2-3 coats plus touch ups, but with One Step one coat covered almost the entire piece - I just had to touch up a couple of small areas.

If you do need to use a second coat, make sure you let it dry at least 30 minutes before going over it again.

After I painted my piece, it was needing a little pizazz, so I decided to try my hand at a little gold leafing.

I taped off the areas with Frog Tape that I wanted the leafing to go on.

I then went a small section at a time. I lightly painted on a layer of gilding size, which is a special adhesive for the gold leaf.

I then waited 10-15 minutes for it to come to tack (get sticky). I then took my book of gold leaf and cut it into quarters. Pulled the tissue back, and while holding onto the tissue and the gold, turned it toward the piece and held the end with my left hand and lay down firmly.

I'm not going to lie, it does take a little getting used to do this. While holding the tissues in place, rub your fingers back and forth, burnishing it into the surface.

When you pull up, pull the tissue away. (When laying multiple pieces, do not try to match lines. Overlap for full coverage.)

The first 5 minutes I worked with this, I wanted to throw this stuff out the window. Be patient, and the longer you work with it the better you will get. Take a rag or some super fine (0000) steel wool and rub over the area you just completed to remove any excess.

If you are wanting your piece to have that "chalky" or flat look leave it as is. One Step paint does not require wax to seal it.

Since the piece I worked on was going to be in heavy use as either a dresser or tv console, I decided to give it a coat of Amy Howard's Clear Wax.

To see the final project head over to the link down below!

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1 question

Lori Ward-Laatsch on Apr 17, 2023

No picture of the whole dresser???

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3 comments

Lori on Mar 17, 2016
Shockingly beautiful. Love this.

1 Reply
- Shanna Gilbert on Mar 17, 2016
  @Lori Awww, thanks so much Lori!
  
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Hannah V on Mar 18, 2016
Nothing more glam that black and gold! Great job :)

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