Talk to me about shabby chicing...

**Cymber** · 12-07-2012, 10:59pm

or shabby shitting as my dad says

I have acquired some orange pine dining chairs and I want to change the finish of them.

I'm not particularly bothered about the rough finish of shabby chic, but it makes sense as I'm guessing a pristine finish won't stay that way long, so if I go for an already battered look there's nothing to spoil iykwim?

So how do I do it?

Prep? 2 layers of different coloured paint? Anything else?

**pacha** · 13-07-2012, 12:39am

i've never actually done it myself but if was to I'd firstly wash them down with some sugar soap, sand down, paint etc, and probably finish off with some wax for a bit of protection.

**Sam** · 13-07-2012, 07:42am

I've done an equally orange pine mirror and I just sanded it down, painted it and then sanded a few areas again. It looks ok but if you're not careful you do get a tiny glimpse of orange! Hopefully someone else will have a better method, I think there are quite a few shabby chic-ers around on here

**donna-j** · 13-07-2012, 08:55am

Annie Sloan chalk paint is the business for this. You don't need primer, but you do have to apply wax over the paint.

However, I just use four coats of Zinsser now as I think the off-white colour and it is robust.

**Samba** · 13-07-2012, 09:06am

I've done a few bits with AS Chalk Paint, I wouldn't do it any other way now, so much easier

You'll need to see if you have a local stockist first ... you can buy it mail order, but if you find somewhere local they are usually v helpful & knowledgeable about the product, so will guide you through all you need to know.
http://www.anniesloan.com/acatalog/Stockists.html

I have a thread here with a couple of things I did with it.

**claireh** · 13-07-2012, 09:04pm

I didn't shabby chic the stuff I painted. I just did two coats of zinnsser bin and then two coats of egg shell.

I really like the finish. I painted two bookcases for the playroom and they have stood up really well to quite a battering.

**Cymber** · 19-07-2012, 11:42am

Originally Posted by donna-j

Annie Sloan chalk paint is the business for this. You don't need primer, but you do have to apply wax over the paint.

However, I just use four coats of Zinsser now as I think the off-white colour and it is robust.

Is the Annie Sloan stuff water based? Just wondering if I could use emulsion paint (I already have) and then wax over it.

What's Zinsser?

**Samba** · 19-07-2012, 12:22pm

Yes it is, I linked to it up-thread.
If you use emulsion, you will need to prepare the woodwork first (this is the part you don't need to do if you use Annie Sloan).
Zinsser is a make of primer.

**Cymber** · 19-07-2012, 03:23pm

Thanks Samba. I was a bit lazy there wasn't I? Will ever get around to even doing the painting!?!

Wow, so not having to prime with the AS stuff is great, isn't it?

So I basically paint, then wax? If I sand down bits, does that rub off the wax and paint, and therefore reveal my orange pine underneath?

**Samba** · 19-07-2012, 03:28pm

Yes you can do that to distress it if you want to

You then put a bit more wax over the sanded down bits, to make sure its sealed again.

You can do a different colour of paint underneath and reveal this colour as well, where you sand.