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Saturday, June 11, 2011

Who You Gonna Call.....


GHOSTBUSTERS!

I know what you're thinking.  How is that related to this desk?  Well, when I first started painting this little lady, the paint was lime green, like Slimer from Ghostbusters. Pretty intense.  So everytime I see this pretty lady I think of Ghostbusters.  See, it makes sense now! =)

So, this little lady was a custom job for one of my pals, Mandy J, who just bought her first home! What's funny is that even though she has antiques galore in her house, there is only ONE item that is older than her home! Yeah, her home is ancient! But super cool!

You'll probably remember from awhile back when I mentioned this desk.  Here is the before:


This desk screamed Mandy - it matches her personality perfectly!

When I got the desk home I realized the veneer was chipping all along the bottom.  Being the genius I am I thought "Oh, it'll be easier to just strip the veneer than it would to glue every little piece." Hahaha - silly me.  I shoulda just glued.

But, I found some cool tips that help speed up the veneer removing process (nothing makes it easy).

Use an iron (please go buy a super cheap one - don't use your legit iron like I did), a moderately damp cloth, and a sharp scraper.

Put your iron on the hottest setting possible.  Dump your cloth into a water bucket (I kept one by me for the whole process) then moderately ring it out.  You don't want it dripping, but you don't want it just damp.  This cloth will create the steam necessary to help remove the veneer.

Place your moistened cloth on top of the section you want to remove.  It's best to find a section where the veneer is already peeling and start there.


Run your iron back and forth for about 30 seconds.  It help dissolve the glue much better than if you do it for a short amount of time.  Once you've run the iron long enough to create a decent amount of steam, remove your cloth and get ready to strip (the veneer, not your clothes)!


At this point I was still using my putty knife, but my super-awesome hubby knew I was distressed, so he ran to the store and bought me a strong, sharp scraper.  Anyways, place your scraper under the strip you want to remove and work it up until it won't scrape anymore (you can hit the end of your tool with a hammer if you're like me and have no upper body strength).

It should come off like this:


I would just hack away at that strip, throw it on the floor, then start the process again.  This took FOREVER! I will never do anything that requires stripping veneer again.  It's not my cup of tea.

I should note though, that the above process works best for desk not made in the last 40-50 years.  Newer furniture uses a different type of glue to adhere the veneer - fortunately this desk was made in the 40s with the glue that does not hold up well to heat and moisture. 

I waited 24 hours for the surface to completely dry and sanded down the entire piece - I did a once over with 80 grit, then once again with 220.

In total, I used two coats of paint. I think it was Valspar's Palm Leaf.  It went on GREAT! I think I made record time for painting this desk.  After it dried for about three days I brought it inside and put on a coat of wax!  And here's Slimer:


 It looks so retro! I love it!


 It's hard to tell in the photos, but this desk is DEEP!  At least 1 foot deeper than your average desk! It makes a great laundry folding table! ;)


 The green actually looked great with the original wood color - but the top was too far damged to strip and stain. Another fun tidbit - I used wall spackle to fill in the holes instead of wood filler!


 This is the first desk I've ever done with these slide-out trays. They're awesome!



Close-up! Isn't she great! It looks awesome in Mandy J's house - she has old hardwood floors and ORANGE walls! I'll get some photos of it soon!

Cheers!



mommahenscoop


56 comments:

  1. Oooh! I love the green! And I love it even more, knowing it is going with some orange decor - my fave color combo.

    Great job - you are a good friend, scraping that veneer junk off. :)

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  2. It looks amazing!! I'm in love with that color so thanks so much for sharing it!

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  3. Yuuuhuumm...

    Fab green and a really sweet piece. Can't wait until I see the orange hue.

    Is it a sort of Veuve Cliquot colour? Love that.

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  4. I love love love this! It looks incredibly chic. I wanna paint my dining room table but have no idea how to even start! Great work, yet again! -Viv

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  5. Oh so cool!! I really appreciate the tutorial on the veneer...I have a project I've been putting off because I wasn't sure how to start!!

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  6. GREAT JOB.... veneer is tough, i had to remove veneer from a road side table i found... took me a couple hours and i used a heat gun and scrapper. it was already wet from being in the rain all week

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  7. Love it even more so since its in my fav colour!! xx

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  8. beautiful job,, a lot of work,,good for you!

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  9. Oh My Gosh... my daughter would love this! You did good! :)

    ~Liz

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  10. Love it! I think you must have incredible patience to do that stripping and hanging in till it was done. Great job! The color makes me feel happy ~

    Pat

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  11. I like how your desk looks! One of my daughter's rooms is painted a bright "granny smith apple" green shade and I love it. We call it the "Shrek" room.

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  12. What a fun, fun color! Love it. I bet it will look great against orange. Worth all your hard work.

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  13. such great tips on veneer removal. I am for sure going to try this process.

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  14. love the color! And great info! thanks for sharing! I love those pull outs above the drawers! ~April @ Wildflowers & Whimsy

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  15. This turned out great! LOVE the color! Please stop by www.laughloveandcraft.com and link up to my Share the Wealth Wednesday Link Party! I'm your newest follower!

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  16. Neato! Would LOVE to see this in her house. Wonder how it will pop with all her other stuff?!! Love it.:)

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  17. I was waiting for this post ever since I saw that little sneak peek last week! Turned out beautiful! That color is amazing!! I love it :-)

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  18. awesome this is right up my alley! I am a new follower ...hope you will pop over soon! I do furniture/decorating etc and I garden!

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  19. Hi Katie, I just love the way your desk turned out! I'm doing a series on chalk paint projects and at first I thought this was chalk paint. I featured your desk in a post today showing an example of how you can get a similar look with regular paint. You can check it out here -
    http://elizabethandco.blogspot.com/2011/06/green-cottage-dresser.html

    Thanks so much!

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  20. Love your "Slimer" desk! Looks great! Would love for you to stop by and share it at the Tuesday To Do Party! http://blackberryvine.blogspot.com/2011/06/tuesday-to-do-14-and-13-list-makers.html

    Smiles!
    Jami

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  21. Love the green! Bold colors are my favorite. I just did a project where I tried to strip the veneer, got so frustrated that I just bought a new piece of wood and glued it on top of the wood. Good job sticking with the stripping! Oh, that didn't sound quite right.

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  22. great color! love it :)

    Jackie
    http://jaclyndesigns.blogspot.com/

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  23. Way cute!

    I love the green!

    Cara

    http://miscellaneousme.wordpress.com

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  24. I always look forward to seeing what you do each week! Thanks for linking up to Craft and Tell!!

    www.cherishedbliss.com

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  25. This is so frog fabulous! I love it! If you have time, tomorrow I am hosting my first linky party and love for you to join me!
    Jenni
    kissedbyafrog.blogspot.com

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  26. Super super cute! I just bought a cardigan in that color...it is beautiful!! Great job!

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  27. I love the retro vibe this piece is giving off. Great color choice!

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  28. I love the color, and the slideout trays are a great surprise! Fantastic:)

    I'm a new follower!

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  29. Wow! This is fabulous such a striking colour :)

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  30. Now I am sining who you gonna call in my head! thanks for linking to WorkShop Wednesday! I hope to see you again this week!

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  31. I LOVE the color! Great choice. Thanks for the tip about the veneer.
    I would love to see it next to those orange walls! Fun!

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  32. I found you on Thrilling Thursday Linky Party. I didn’t join since I haven’t created anything but I had to check out the projects everyone else did. Creative people inspire me and this project is an example of why so I am now following you. I love that you painted this desk green. It looks great. I hope you will follow me back http://talesfrommyjournal.blogspot.com I can be found in facebook too http://www.facebook.com/DeniseMartin.LillaRose and twitter @DeniseLillaRose If you like/follow me there I will do the same for you. When you stop by my blog, please check out my kind of fashion (hair jewelry).

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  33. This desk makeover is AMAZING. I am getting ready to do one soon. Wish me luck!

    As far as the comfort of the bar stools you would never know you are sitting on rope. The spray to seal them helps and the nylon rope is very smooth. I thought about using hemp type rope but there would be no way to make that comfy so I ended up using nylon rope and it is perfect!!

    http://ashtonscraftycreations.blogspot.com/

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  34. Slimer! Too funny! The piece looks great and it looks like the paint really covered well.

    I'm going to check out your older posts! I'm following you now! I'd love if you followed me back at www.illgetyoumypretties.blogspot.com

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  35. OMG, this is the exact colour that I'm planning on painting a dresser AND my desk that's almost the same as yours! Thanks for the preview of what mine will look like, lol! I'm your newest follower from the Thrilling Thursday hop!

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  36. I think this desk is very nice - i love all shades of green. very nice!

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  37. Love this color! It looks fabulous. So vintage and chic!

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  38. I love the new color of your desk! Great job!

    Katie from Sew Woodsy

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  39. Great update! The color is so vibrant :-)

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  40. It reminds me of a the colors used in comic strips, and the desk totally fits into that idea too.

    Absolutely love it!

    I'm your newest follower, found you on Remodelaholics.

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  41. Hey, looks great. Thanks for the tip on getting the veneer off! Thanks for sharing.

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  42. Love love love the green! I have a whole post dedicated to loving green and a board on Pinterest with all green things! You can see my green post here: http://paperscissorspaint.blogspot.com/2011/06/for-love-of-green.html

    I just found your blog and I am so glad I did!

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  43. Hahaha, your post title made me sing in my head! ;)
    Love the transformation and the color you chose!
    Thank you so much for linking this up to {nifty thrifty sunday} last week!
    Hope to see you again this weekend!
    xoxo,
    Vanessa

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  44. fun! love the green! you did a great job. this post would be such a great addition to my weekly party "from trash to treasure" I'd love it if you joined!!
    alchemyfineliving.com

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  45. Love your blog!! Its so cute!!! I am your newest follower!!! i would love to feature you on my blog. so let me know!! :) So if you would like to go and check out my blog and follow me too! That would make my day!!! :) I am so excited to start blogging and share my ideas on food, crafts, and mineral make-up. I will also be doing giveaways on stuff, like mineral make-up. So look out for it!
    Thanks!
    -Brooke
    For-the-luv-of.blogspot.com

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  46. You are so funny Katie! And that desk is fantastic. You did a great job on it, the color is perfect, and those were some great tips! Thanks for sharing all of it with us at Inspiration Friday this week!
    Vanessa

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  47. I think we had a desk just like this, the drawers are nice & deep! Thanks for linking this to Wicked Awesome Wednesday.

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  48. I love it! I would love to feature this on Reduce, Reuse, Upcycle. Feel free to stop by and grab a featured button. Thanks!

    http://reuseandupcycle.blogspot.com

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  49. Great job! I am featuring this at my party today, thanks for linkin up!!

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  50. Hey Katie! I featured this cutie on my blog today. Have a great day!

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  51. I LOVE this color!!!! I'm so over happy, beachy, shabby colors! Way to through in a punch!!! Great job!

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