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This project was very time consuming, but well worth the effort when it was done. As a furniture flipper, I come across a lot of high gloss dining tables for sale because most people are scared to take on that “high gloss” finish when doing a painting project. Thank goodness I have a secret weapon… Dixie Belle’s Slick Stick. Slick Stick makes any glossy surface paintable without sanding (even glass, epoxy and metal). The only prep involved before applying Slick Stick is making sure your piece is cleaned REALLY well.
Step 1: Clean and Prime
The next step is the paint a base coat your piece with a natural tone such as Dixie Belle’s Drop Cloth (like I did) or their Sandbar. I wait an hour then come back and put on a second coat giving the piece a really good coverage to hide the Slick Stick primer.
Step 2: Paint Base Color Wide Belle Drop Chill
With a damp chip brush, I apply a dark brown (I used Dixie Belle’s new color Coffee Bean, which will be available on July 2018) to give grain like streaks over the Drop Cloth. This is the same as dry brushing (using very little paint on the brush tips) but I’m using a damp brush.
Step 3: Add Grin Lines Using a Wet Clip
Then comes the fun part…using sponge, I apply Dixie Belle’s No Pain Gel Stain in the color Espresso in long even streaks from end to end (do not stop…go from one end to the other to avoid “stop” and “start” marks on the table top). I only do one coat of the gel stain so that it is thin enough to show the dark brown streaks and the Drop Cloth underneath. After applying the gel stain you need to wait 3 days before sealing this with Gator Hide or Top Coat.
Step 4: Wipe on Gel Stain with a Sponge (Dixie Belle No Pain Gel Stain in the color Espresso)
Check out the difference…It really gave an updated look to this table. I added clear wax followed up with dark wax in all the details of the legs and chairs to give it an aged look.
Then all that was needed was to recover the seats with an updated fabric and it was all done.
Now its your turn…what are you waiting for? Update that old dining set to give it a fresh new look.
# Dixie Belle Paint Company
Thank you for the directions to do this table and chair. I am a beginner so I will need a lot of practice before trying anything of this magnitude. But hopefully I will have enough confidence to try it,
How do you choose DB gator hide over DB clear coat? I’ve been using the gloss clear coat and love it.
Also, on the voodoo gel stain does it need to be wiped off like other stains?
Thanks!!
Gator Hide is used if you know the piece will get high traffic / wear and tear / or frequent exposure to water. Gator Hide is a little harder to get a streak free finish than the clear coats do. If you love the clear coats, they give great protection and are “water resistant” after they cure in 28 days. Gator Hide is both water resistant and water repellant after it cures. I normally always use clear coats on the body of my pieces and on dining / kitchen tables / counter tops/ cabinets …. I use the Gator Hide.