How to Paint Crisp Straight Lines Using Metallic Paint and Frog Tape

Deer Run Revamps
by Deer Run Revamps
4 Materials
$81
4 Hours
Medium

I recently became a retailer for Frenchic® Furniture Paint in the good ole' USofA. This brand was originated in the UK and became the #1 mineral chalk paint brand over there. We so badly wanted to try it over here in the states, so they went ahead and started bringing on retailers so that we could all experience these amazing products! And now, just weeks after releasing it in the states, Frenchic® Furniture Paints is now the most loved furniture paint in the WORLD with over 300,000 likes and followers on their Facebook page 😲

I've tried almost every mineral/chalk paint on the market today! I chose to stock this brand over the others because it is easiest to work with, best coverage, the colors fit my style and of course the built-in wax ❤️

Frenchic® offers a lot of different products! Three different paint ranges, waxes, brushes, topcoat, FrenSheen which is a metallic powder pigment, stencils and so much more! As you could imagine, it's a lot of product to stock. So I needed a cute cabinet to put all of these products in! This is the first piece that people see when they walk into my shop, so I wanted something with color, yet neutral, would fit many different styles, and most importantly, hold most of my Frenchic® stock!

I decided on Frenchic's® "Wise Old Sage" from the Al Fresco range with metallic pale gold stripes on the back, and some distressing along the edges. If you follow me, you know I love the contrast between paint and wood. 99% of the time, my pieces have sections left unpainted, usually the tops or drawer fronts. This piece was no different. Read on to see how I got this look and those perfect crisp lines for the stripes!

First, prep your piece. I've discovered this new cleaning product that I have been raving about lately! It's called sugar soap and it's made by Frenchic®. This is an all natural cleaner that will get up dirt, built-up grime, even nicotine stains! You just wipe down the piece using paper towels or a rag! If the piece is super dirty, I recommend using your cleaner plus extra fine 0000 steel wool to scrub the piece.

My piece was relatively clean compared to some others I've worked on. That dirty paper towel pictured below is after wiping just the top of the dresser! It picked up quite a bit of grime that I didn't even know was there!

Wipe with water after cleaning the piece. Make any necessary repairs, fill any gouges and sand out any scratches. Do a quick scuff sand all over the piece using 220 grit sandpaper. While this step isn't necessary when using Frenchic® Furniture Paint, it is necessary when using most other paints. It gives the paint something to adhere to. Wipe off the dust and your prep is done!

When painting a lighter color, most times, a primer is needed. Tannins (color leaking through wood and stains the paint) can really ruin your project. Prime your piece using zinsser 1.2.3. Two coats if painting over a dark wood, one coat of it's a lighter wood. Allow to dry for 2-4 hours before painting

Paint your piece! Frenchic® Furniture Paint offers great coverage, so I only needed two coats of my light sage color from Frenchic's® Al Fresco range. You may need more.

I was able to finish the entire piece using 1 full 5oz/150ml tub, and I only dipped into a second to finish up the legs and trim! Now that's impressive! I do add a bit of water since I don't like working with thick paints, and doing so really makes the paint stretch!

Once you are happy with the application, allow to dry for 3-4 hours before moving onto the stripes.

Let's get ready to add our stripes!

Plan out how many stripes you want. Measure the width of the panel, and then divide it up. Make sure your stripes are even. Using a pencil and a ruler, mark where your stripes are going and the width of them. Then lay the frog tape on your marks

I chose to only do 3 stripes. One large one in the middle with 2 thinner ones on each side. Once your frog tape is in place and pressed down well, paint over the edges using your base color. In my case, I painted the tape edges using wise old sage.

I've also done stripes over bare wood. If you don't have a base color, use clear shellac, poly, varnish, whatever your durable topcoat choice is, just be sure it is clear. This acts the same as the paint would.

Allow the paint to dry, and then paint your stripes! I used a leftover acrylic pale gold paint that I had laying around. It compliments the sage well.

Alot of times, when using metallic paints, the coverage isn't great and you'll need upwards of 5-6 coats to get full coverage. As soon as the paint is dry to the touch, you can add your next coat. Keep going until you are satisfied.

Everyone has their preference when it comes to taking off the tape. I prefer to do so while it's still tacky. I wait about 10 minutes after the last coat, and then slowly and carefully remove the tape.

I then took a little bit of Frenchic's® Ivory Tower color and did some dry brushing to really highlight the details.

Using 220 grit sandpaper, I did some distressing. I sanded the edges, feet, really focusing on corners.

Remember what I said above about Frenchic® having 3 paint ranges? Well, wise old sage is from the Al Fresco range. This means that it has the wax built right in! All you have to do is lightly buff to get the subtle shine! This range can also be used outdoors in the elements. It will last for 6 years before needing another coat of paint!

The lazy range also has the wax built in, but is not designed for outdoor use.

If you have used a different paint without a topcoat built in, you will need to wax or apply a waterbased topcoat now.

My cabinet has glass doors. They are always difficult to paint if the glass isn't easily removable. If you are lazy like me when it comes to taping things off, then just use a putty knife to scrape off the paint that got onto the glass!

Add on your hardware, and your finished!

Now I have a gorgeous cabinet to greet customers at the door and give them easy access to view all that Frenchic® has to offer ❤️


Making old broken furniture beautiful again, one piece at a time!

Keep on Creating lovely people!

If you are interested in trying out Frenchic® furniture paint and products, you can visit my Etsy shop. I will be adding to my available inventory daily for the next couple of weeks so check back often!

You can also follow me and my journey on Facebook or Instagram


https://m.facebook.com/deerrunrevamps/?ref=bookmarks


https://www.instagram.com/deer_run_revamps

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