Pinterest Failure and Recovery

 




Pinterest had a few people that have done a technique making painted furniture and doors look like wood pieces.  It is a faux wood technique using gel stain.  I watched the videos and read the blogs where peeps did this technique and the pieces really did look like wood.

As you can see the white armoire is very pretty but it just blends too much with the white walls.  I am trying to add more natural wood pieces like this bench and baskets along with my bamboo shades to bring in some texture to my whites.



I was excited when we got the gel stain which is oil based and began to apply it to the armoire.  I thought hmmm that really does look like natural wood.  We continued to apply the stain on the whole piece.


We finished this piece over week ago and the stain was still not drying.  I closed up the condo and put on the air to make sure there was no humidity. 
I followed what everyone else did and they said it should dry in 24 hours.  NOPE!!! A whole week and still not drying. 

With frustration we decided to go and get some polyurethane and applied it to hopefully help it dry. 
Well it dried but with a lot of blotchy areas.



Not a good end.  The wood was taking the stain in some spots and not so much in other areas.  It looked terrible as you can see in the picture above.

I was so frustrated and followed what everyone else had done and did not get good results. 
I knew I would not be happy with it like it was. 

Terry got some paint and stain stripper and we applied it and left it overnight and then began the painstaking job of scraping all the poly, stain and paint off the piece. 
What a mess and a waste of hours of  our life scraping that we will never get back!!!!

After scraping and removing the paint and stain we decided to put Kilz primer all over the piece.  Terry put on two coats. 

Then I sat and thought ok do I give up and not try this again and just pick out a paint color for this piece or do we try it again. 

We thought with using the primer instead of paint on the armoire maybe the stain would take better to the primer than paint with a finish on it.

I really wanted the wood look since that is what I had in the rest of the room.

Terry and I talked about it and decided to give it one more shot.  This time using water based stain instead of the Gel Stain which is oil based.  Terry thought maybe it was the gel stain being oil base that was not sticking properly to the paint even though this is what others were doing right over paint.   




This is after we applied a coat of Summer Oak water based stain.  I figured this would be a good base tone.  Went on easily and dried quickly.  Not like the gel stain that took days to dry and still was sticky and never fully dried.




This was the second color of water based stain. American Walnut gave a rich wood look.  We put it over the light Summer Oak color and let it dry.

Now it feels so much better in the room with my other natural wood and wicker pieces. 
LOL the blue painter's tape will be coming off the walls and floors as soon as I know it is competely dry. 


Now I am on the hunt for some kind of cool big antique unique handles.  Maybe some old door handles off vintage doors.  I want something unique to add some character to this piece.

What I learned
Don't give up even if you did everything right and it did not work out.  Think it through and try it again. 
I was ready to give up on the faux wood look.  I was going to repaint the piece a color other than white to keep it from being too much borning white but glad I tried the Faux Wood finish one more time with the water base instead of oil base stain.


If any of you are thinking of making your front doors or other furniture pieces look like wood I would suggest using the water base stain and not oil base.

Everything on pinterest seems to have the instructions to use the gel stain that is oil based.  It was a complete failure for my piece.  I like the finish I got with the water base fast drying stains.

The suggestion is to poly the finish or use wax to protect the finish.  Not sure I will do either.  It is not a piece like a table top that would get a lot of use so I think I am going to leave the armoire alone from doing any kind of finish.

Have a great Wednesday and rest of the week.
Hugs,
Kris

Parties: Love your Creativity 

45 comments

  1. Perserverance paid off! Looks good. I like the look of some wood scattered around with all your beautiful whites. Have a good Wednesday!

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  2. How how it finaly came out. It looks fabulous

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  3. Wow!! It looks fabulous....you guys did an amazing job!!!! It is so beautiful and really does look just like real wood. Love the whole room....
    ~Des

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  4. well Kris, it turned out to be gorgeous!!! It looks like real wood, and I love the contrast and look of wood in that space. It really works with your other pieces. It's hard to share disappointments especially when you put so much time into it. What a big frustration you went through, but thanks for sharing it with us and the caution in using the gel stain.

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  5. Interesting....because you can paint oil over water-based paint/stain, but never anything water based over oil. But y'all sanded it and everything...AND y'all have had so much rain. Shanley and Christopher were in town Sunday for the Cubbies game and it was rained out! Maybe the humidity messed you up. Sorry it took so long, but it looks pretty now, and that's what counts. I love the color!

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  6. I am sorry you have to do it twice but it turned out great!

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  7. Thank you for sharing the ups and downs of this project. I can feel your frustration with the first attempt, I am glad you tried again, it looks lovely.

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  8. You two are real troopers. The end result looks really nice. Can't wait to see the handles that you find. I know that was frustrating, yikes..I would hate to have heard my hub..lol Great job though. Have a great rest of the week. :0)

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  9. Pinterest makes everything look so easy. How frustrating! Glad that you and Terry put your heads together to figure things out - it does look fabulous!

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  10. This looks fantastic with your white wall, but what a lot of work! You and Terry both have the patience of a saint. Brian and I would be throwing up our hands after the first try and saying, "we're done!" lol

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  11. That turned out really nice in the end. You must be glad that you gave it another (different) go! -Jenn

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  12. SO appreciate seeing your lovely place. It is a treat to see how you decorate your homes.
    Blessings,
    d

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  13. I'm so glad it finally worked for you! It's so petty, and the perfect finish. Really adds so much to your room. You're a pro.

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  14. Sorry it took you and Terry some trial and error but that armoire really is a beautiful piece so I'm glad you stuck it out. I am surprised you went with a wood look instead of the white you love but it looks so warm now. I really love how it came out. Don't poly it though, you may regret it. I painted a hutch a few years ago and then put poly on it and I hated it. I mean really hated it. It changed the whole look. My husband had to drag it outside and strip it and I had to start over. Since then I have never put poly on any of my pieces.

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  15. Good morning, Kris!

    What a frustrating moment! But like always, you and Terry did not give up. It's really hard, from my own experience, to cover up wood with paint then try to get the wood look back unless (and this is from my own painstaking experience) you remove all the paint and get back to the original wood. That in itself is a messy job requiring a lot of muscle and it's too hard to do! I think your solution of going with water based stain is great. OHHHH the piece looks great!

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  16. Gosh - I think that the word here must be perseverance! Sorry that you had to go on such a very difficult journey, but so very pleased that you got such a wonderful end result. It really does compliment your other pieces in the room beautifully. Hugs, Gilly

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  17. Who knew it would be this much work? Well, it looks great!

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  18. mmm yep been there done that and had the same experience. Terry is right, oil based over paint will not dry properly. Nice job on the recovery attempt, it looks beautiful now! Have a happy week! xoxoxo

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  19. I love it! I think oil based stain is only good if you apply it over natural wood, as it seeps into the grain. But you did recover and it looks awesome!

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  20. So happy you gave it a second try and that it worked! It looks beautiful! Good luck with your knob hunt! Hugs!

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  21. Good for you guys for not giving up. I'm a huge fan of water based stains because unlike oils, it doesn't penetrate into the wood. Being more like paint, it's much more workable for unique finishes. Your armoire looks fabulous! I wouldn't use poly on it because it may alter the color and you won't get that lovely matte finish.

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  22. Oh my gosh, reading your trials.... how exhausting. It is great that both of you were in it to win it, so you could share your frustration as well.
    This was a lot of work.
    The end result is exceptional

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  23. Wow, Kris, I'm so sorry. I have always been afraid when I hear "oil-based." Not sure why as I've never used it. But it just sounds more permanent.
    Brenda

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  24. Gorgeous! When I read do we give up? I said no way they gave up. You and Terry always figure it out.

    Now you have a beautiful look. I know you'll find amazing handles

    Hugs

    Cindy

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  25. You and Terry persevered and the end result is beautiful! The tone is perfect for the room. You will find the perfect handles for the piece. Hope you both are well! xoxo

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  26. Love the contrast. Great job on trying again with the water based stain. it looks fabulous. It's great you never gave up. Enjoy your stunning piece. xoxo

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  27. Morning Kris,
    Oh My what an ordeal.........but glad it turned out so well. It looks really pretty.
    Can't believe that it just wouldn't dry, so crazy. Seems like we had that problem with something years ago, maybe it was our door, we painted with oil based paint because we were told to.....and the paint all just bubbled up and looked like a door with pimples everywhere, so we had to strip and repaint it with water based paint, and finally achieved our goal. Don't you just hate stripping paint......ughhhhh.
    Well, glad you finally achieved the finish you were wanting hon.
    Have a lovely day,
    Blessings, Nellie

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  28. OMG...Kris. I wish you had popped me a note first...I would have recommended acrylic gel products for you. Oil stains are for really for a 'glaze look', wipe-on/wipe-off and even then they take forever to dry. Your cabinet looks great now...! So much work though. Sandi

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  29. Wow that was a lot of effort! I agree adding an oil base product must have been the issue. It turned out great!

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  30. I'm so sorry that you and Terry had to go through all of that process and have it a fail. It does look nice now and I like that it goes with the bench and it breaks up the look of all white.

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  31. Sometimes unfortunately things just don't work out the first time and I think that it looks perfect the second time you did it! So so lovley!
    Hugs.x

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  32. Girl, I would've given up LONG before you did. Good save, and looks great. With your title being recovery, I thought maybe you had kidney stone surgery and were recovering. How's it going? Mr. P's reared its ugly head right before we had to travel to Cincy for my bil's funeral, but with meds his pain was tolerable again. One thing he knows for sure.....it's not gone like he thought it was.

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  33. Okay... I just got caught up on all your shenanigans since February. Congrats on your new home... it's lovely, and the added warm wood tones are looking perfect in your new condo! So fun that you have a bit more space, and I love that you were give permission to have a little 'garden' on the front porch of the building! Gotta love it! I'm amazed at how much you two have gotten done in such a short amount of time. How are you and the hubby healing?

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  34. Kris, you are amazing. You and Terry always end up doing it the right way. Some times things don't always work out the same for everyone. I really love the look. It is a beautiful piece of furniture but you did lose the effect of it with so much white. I think you are on the right track to find a little something extra to add to it. Gorgeous..xxoJudy

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  35. Wow! Nice recovery.....looks terrific!

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  36. Wow! I would have thrown a fit. It looks great now though. It pays to persevere! Have a good week. Hugs, Cecilia

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  37. Well it looks fabulous now, but oh my what a mess you had a first. xo Laura

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  38. I understand the frustration you felt when it didn't work out the first time, however I'm glad you stayed with it because the final result is stunning. I really do like the natural wood looks you're incorporating with your whites. The contrast is beautiful. xo

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  39. It looks beautiful and I had no doubt that it wouldn't with your sweet hands beautifying it up! Happy Monday sweet lady. Hugs and blessings, Cindy

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  40. It was worth trying again, Kris. It looks fantastic. It really does look like wood...well it IS wood-but didn't LOOK like wood before. lol
    It is a nice contrast to all the white, I think, and really warms things up. xo Diana

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  41. You were brave (and maybe a little bit crazy? lol) to try to stain it again. I'm glad you had success after that first debacle. What a nightmare to have to take all of that oil-based stain off! I think your results were definitely worth it!

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  42. Definitely worth all the effort, Kris! What a pain it must have been to scrape all of that oil-based gel mess off! Yikes! You're so brave to try it a second time!

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  43. I know it was a lot of unexpected work, but it really is outstanding. As other people have said, you guys are real troopers, but so worth it!! xxoo

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  44. Kris,
    O my goodness, what an ordeal you and terry had to go through with that process....BUT it looks lovely and perfect where you have it!! I love the stained wood look.....Thanks so much for sharing your experience!!And thanks so much for stopping by!!
    Hugs,
    Deb

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  45. I had the same thing happen to a door I did, but unlike you I gave up and walked away. That was two years ago. I may try it again now, thank you!

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