This table was a lucky find. I took a wrong turn in an unfamiliar neighbourhood and there it was!
Once I got it home, a scrub-up with White Lightning and a good rinse and it was good to go.
Almost . . .
There were two cavernous gaps in the tabletop. I don’t know what would have caused this, and some might have thought this was unrepairable, but my experience with Dixie Mud told me it was completely fixable!
First, I placed blue painter’s tape across the cracks on the table top to keep the Mud from spilling out. Next, I turned the table upside down and filled the gaps from underneath using Dixie Mud in Brown (it's also available in black and white).
Dixie Mud can be used to fill gaps like this, as well as old hardware holes, to repair simple veneer damage by acting as a glue between the veneer and the surface, or for filling surface areas for a smooth finish. I’ve also used it for raised stenciling, but that’s a topic for another time.
Never, EVER rinse off your Mud in your sink. Mud dries hard as rock and you don’t want the possibility of it clogging your pipes. I always rinse my Mud spatula in a container of water then dump it out in the garden. As Mud is drying it will dehydrate and shrink. About an hour or two (in temperate weather) after the first application it may look cracked or sunken. This is when it’s time to reapply another layer. I always do 2 heaped applications. Once dry I simply sand smooth. Drying time varies but I prefer to let it dry for at least 1 day, then I seal the mud with a layer of Clear Coat before I paint it.
While the Mud was drying I painted the pedestal base of the table in the beautiful and soft Savannah Mist Chalk Mineral Paint by Dixie Belle using Dixie Belle’s large round synthetic bristle brush.
After I sealed the whole surface of the painted base with clear wax I used brown wax to highlight the recessed details and give it a bit of an antiqued look. If you want to use a coloured wax over your chalk paint it’s important to use clear wax first to seal the paint and act as a barrier. If you put coloured wax straight onto chalk paint it might stain the paint darker than you’d like.
Once the wax was on I gave it a Gold Shimmer glaze. The metallic glaze is just the thing to highlight curved details in woodwork. Dixie Belle glazes come in 9 colours including 5 metallics. They have translucent coverage so the base colour can come through, and with 9 different finishes, endless eye-catching layered combinations can be created.
I wanted a stained tabletop but stain wouldn’t hide all the repair work I had to do, so I did the next best thing and painted the tabletop then stained the paint. I applied No Pain Gel Stain in Walnut using a cheap, old brush and for the first layer I just smeared it on and rubbed it into the whole painted surface evenly.
For the final touch I created a faux wood grain effect by dipping the tips of the bristles into the stain, dabbing most of it off onto a paper towel, then lightly dragging the tips of the bristles in straight lines across the surface. I didn’t think it was necessary to seal the top, but if this was a table used often I would have sealed the No Pain Gel Stain with a tough top coat like Gator Hide or Clear Coat.
Dixie Mud repaired the damaged and No Pain Gel Stain disguised the repair work on the top, while on the pedestal base gold glaze reflects the light and brown wax brings dimension to the carved details in the woodwork.
Katie ❤️
Leave a comment