Kitchen Table Makeover with Fusion Mineral Paint

I mentioned previously that I would be soon carrying a new line of paint called Fusion Mineral Paint. You can read more about it HERE. They have a full line of products that I cannot wait to try! Gilding Paste, Tinting Kits, Sand Stone finish, Pearl Embossing Paste, Tough Coat (a clear, water based topcoat!) and so much more! I can’t wait to get the whole line up and running. Right now I am carrying the paint in the shop for pre-order if you want to try some.

As a furniture refinisher/painter, I am always on the lookout for something that will make my work load a bit lighter.

When I first started painting furniture about 10 yrs ago, I used latex from the hardware store. It worked OK but I often had issues with it scraping and then peeling in areas long after I painted it. Not good when it was in my own house but TERRIBLE if I wanted to sell something to someone!

So, when I began this business about 5 yrs ago I sanded everything down to the wood, used a primer and then used the latex. A LOT of work.

At the time, I had never heard of a chalk type paint. I was a working professional pediatric nurse practitioner and used the computer to write reports, look up info pertaining to a disease or developmental problem and rarely to just browse around. 

In fact….don’t laugh now….I didn’t even use a computer at home. To me, a computer was for working. There was no laptop, iPAD, smart phone for me……nada, nothing.

Just before the kids we adopted arrived (read that HERE), we got computers for them and I got my first laptop. I had quit work by then and my oldest daughter introduced me to the world of blogs….OH. MY. WORD.

I loved seeing what everyone was doing and making and cooking and EVERYTHING.

When I started the business, I started a blog page just so I could let people know when my next Porch Sale was taking place. I soon started seeing chalk paint all over blogland and the whole world opened up (furniture-painting-wise).

I bought a can and some wax and tried my first piece….a big hutch. I loved the finish that resulted and I was sold! Not long afterward, Miss Mustard Seed announced she would be creating a line of Milk Paint and was looking for retailers! I jumped for that opportunity and began learning about THAT paint next. 

But, as you know, using the specialty paints are a LOT of work…….beautiful, but a LOT of work (did I say that already?)

If you are doing one or two pieces for yourself during the year, then it’s probably not a big issue for you. But when you are doing a lot of furniture in a year so you can sell it….like me……it’s a… LOT OF WORK….well, you know, I already said that.

Oh sure, I could use the old latex paint, but the finish? I mean, that silky, smooth, matte finish? That’s what I wanted now…..nothing else would make me happy. It is easily achieved with either a chalky paint or the MMSMP, BUT….I won’t say it…..pinky swear

Now, after all these years, along comes Fusion Mineral Paint! 

I know it’s hard to believe, but the finish on this paint is smooth, silky and matte…..it LOOKS waxed and all I did was paint it on!

I heard about the paint and immediately applied to be a retailer. I sent for the retailers trial kit and decided I was going to try it right away.

I had taken a custom job on a kitchen table and six chairs.

The client had an end table in her house and she wanted to match the style of crackled, chipped finish…only a little less pronounced.

I knew I could easily get this result using the Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint I was very familiar with. But, this was a large set and I was not in the mood for all the finish work….especially in the August heat of the garage.

So….Fusion Paint to the rescue! Unfortunately, with a new product, there was not a lot of info about distressing techniques yet. I was going to have to use trial and error. 

I decided to use Fusion Algonquin and Champlain as my colors….they matched the focus end table the best. See all the colors HERE

I sanded the table lightly to get the shine off. I have not yet tried to use the Fusion with no prep work because this was for a client with small children…..I erred on the side of caution. But, I can tell you that other retailers have tried it without the prep and have reported great adherence! I am anxious to give that a whirl.

I painted the whole set with Algonquin. Then, the trials began…..how best to get the crackle and chipping?

I decided to use Miss Mustard Seed’s Hemp Oil as a resist and brushed that on in a few areas on one of the chair seats. I let it sit for a few minutes to see what would happen. Because Fusion is acrylic based, the oil did not soak in…what I expected. So, I brushed a coat of Champlain over the hemp oiled areas and hit it with some heat. Voila!!! A really nice crackle! I was thrilled!

This was going to work GREAT!!! I did the second seat……Hmmm……not so good, in fact, not good at all. Sort of splotchy and unattractive. I decided that I needed some method that was a bit more reliable and consistent. I let that chair seat dry and sanded the bad spot off and re-painted.

I mulled this over for about two days. I went into the garage and stared at the chairs….a lot. Maybe the Miss Mustard Seed’s Wax Puck? It is a great way to get a distress RIGHT where you want it….no spreading around like the hemp oil.

Didn’t work well for me. The acrylic didn’t seem to allow the wax to stroke on like I was used to. More mulling, more staring.

Crackle medium? Turned out to be JUST the thing! I mixed the Crackle Medium powder and tried again on a chair seat. I brushed it on in some long, irregularly shaped areas, let it get a bit tacky and then stroked on the Champlain. I used some heat on it and VOILA!! Once again, the result I wanted.

But, could I repeat it over and over? The answer was YES! So I moved on to adding areas of crackle all over the chairs and table. As you can see, I did the crackle treatment in a spot and then came back and filled in with the Fusion Champlain.

I love how it turned out and the client was VERY happy!

I did use a clear topcoat on the tabletop and the chair seats for extra protection. Fusion has one called Tough Coat and it was wonderful! It is water based and dries to a matte finish. I thinned it slightly with some water so it would float onto the tabletop as smoothly as possible. I do not spray here but it can be sprayed for an even better application.

For all you furniture painters out there….I would recommend Fusion Mineral Paint without reservation. The finish is lovely! I am looking forward to learning more techniques and sharing them with you! 

Once more….here’s the BEFORE

And the AFTER