It was a lot of work, but I completed the doll wardrobe in the (Saint) nick of time: I finished applying the final coat of clear coat around 11:00pm on December 22. Here’s a summary of my finishing process:
- Take the doors off the carcase and remove all hardware.
- Fill all imperfections and nail holes. I used a combination of wood filler and light spackle for this job.
- Sand down the entire piece until the surface is smooth.
- Prime the entire piece. I used Kilz 2 for this step and it worked great.
- Guess what? More sanding. Sand down the primed surfaces until they’re smooth again.
- Spot prime any areas where you might have sanded through.
- Apply two coats of “buttercream” paint to the interior of the carcase and the drawer bins.
- Apply two coats “sage green” paint to the exterior of the carcase and doors.
- Apply three coats of Minwax Polyacrylic. You should always use a water-based finish over paint since it dries crystal clear.
- Reattach the doors and the hardware.
Painting a piece of furniture is a lot of work, but I think it was worth it in this case because the finish looks great. This project was a lot of fun to build, and I’m glad to have it out of the shop and in its permanent home.
Advertisement
Great job. Nice looking project.
Fantastic. Nice job, Dave.
Where is the base that it sets on?
Hi Matt,
I mentioned this briefly in my previous post on this project (construction complete). I decided to eliminate the base during construction because it was making the whole piece too tall for the space that it needed to fit into. Since, from a functional perspective, I needed the interior dimensions to stay static, eliminating the base was the best option. It was a tough call because the base was a nice decorative feature, but I’m glad I made that decision because it ultimately makes the piece more adaptable as my daughter gets older and her interests change.
Dave
Awesome finish job. Thanks for writing up all the steps – it’s nice to see how others complete a finish. That’s about what I like to do as well (when I have time!). I also recently did a polyacrylic over paint and really like the end result.
Wow, what a nice finishing job! It really looks better than from the store and the colors are very tasteful.
I was wondering how and what to do about priming wood projects and now I know. Thanks!
Miss you on the podcasts.
Happy New Year!
Dave thanks for the reply. Makes sense that you had to eliminate the base. I like the idea of putting a finish over the paint. Did you spray your paint, or brush?
I recently bought an Earlex 6900 — and I love it. I sprayed a project with American Pride Primer (americanpridepaint.com) and then finished it with some Behr (home depot) white paint I had left over from something else. It turned out very well.
-Matt
Dave,
Looks great. I am building one of these quite like it and that is how I stumbled across you blog. One question. What kind of hinges did you use for your doors?
Hi Matt,
They are no-mortise hinges from Lee Valley, item # 00H51.33.
Regards,
Dave
Nice job I am getting ready to build a chest for my daughter who wanted it to be white I have been tryiong to talk her into a wood finsh, because I didnt think I could paint some thing and make it look as nice but you have done a great job and I think I might go for the paint.
I just started listning to your podcast I find them very interesting.
Jim
Nicely done. Thanks for sharing your project, I learned a few things that will be helpful. My daughter came in when I was looking through the project posts and she was pretty excited to see the finished project. Looks like we may have a father/daughter project lined up!
[...] Doll Wardrobe Project: Main…invomaAnada on Doll Wardrobe Project: Main…jpmorrissey on Doll Wardrobe Project: Do…Jim on Doll Wardrobe Project: Do…Mabel Koebel on Shop Tourrhenton on Nightstand [...]
I have gotten a lot of good stuff here. Its worth checking out for future reference.
I have wanted to post something like this on my webpage and this gave me an idea. Thank you.
Are your plans for this project anywhere I can get to them? Please? I am about to start this project and could use the help. I was going to buy one of the AG ones and copy but the cost is just ridiculous and I am afraid something would happen to it around here and then I would be up a creek.