The Rescue Mission

My dear friends know me so well that when they're discarding items they give me a call first.
They know how I love a project, and that my world revolves around recycling and making stuff new again and also creating new things.
Most of all I love giving old things a new lease on life.
I guess I'm just an "artsy fartsy" kind of person....so labeled by one of my crazy male friends many many years ago.
A couple of months ago (think last year), a friend of mine said he was getting rid of some bed pieces and that I could come by and see if I wanted them as he was about to dump them.
Doesn't take much to get me excited at the prospect of another project so off I went.
It was an old bed and he had already dumped the bed spring which I didn't mind, since I was thinking differently.
After daughter dear moved out I had been wanting to turn her room into a guest room and a bed was needed.
The wood bed head and foot came home with me.  He also gifted me with a new set of bed latches/hinges....how thoughtful.
I wasn't sure what kind of wood it was made from but my joiner friend D identified it as Honduras Mahogany and wondered if I was going to transform it the way I usually do....told him YESSS!!
That meant it would be refinished in a pickled white paint.

 

First off the bed spring braces were removed and the holes were filled.
Then came the arduous task of removing the varnish and sanding the wood back to its bare bones.
I had purchased some wood stripper but that was slow going so my joiner friend D came to my aid....coming by one morning to scrape and sand the bed parts for me...thank goodness.  He knew all the tricks of the trade and made light work of the process.
He then made me two sides and 7 lathe supports from some left over wood I had knocking around. 
Originally the bed had cubby hole wood slides at the front for storage with a backing for safety...all these were removed....it was now to my liking.....and the bed was now complete.
A few weeks went by before I got back to the bed project.  I know, I know but I was working on other projects....believe me I was.

 

The bed head ready for paint.

Berger 404 Satin Flat White Paint and Oil Paint Thinners 

Time to mix the pickle paint.
I ran into a problem at first because I only had SupaGloss Oil paint thinners on hand.  When I mixed the pickle it just wasn't coming together properly and I couldn't figure out why.  It was then another friend told me to use the plain oil paint thinners and it worked.
I really thought I had lost my mojo for painting since I had not pickled anything for a long time.

I mixed the pickle at 3:1 ratio.
One portion of paint to three portions of oil paint thinners using a plastic measure spoon but any kind of measurement will suffice as long as you stick to your ratio.
I used a large ice cream container to mix the paint.

A new paint brush was necessary to avoid all streaks.

I know I've told you before how happy I am when I'm painting anything.  I am in love with the low odour paint formulas of today even though I am still affected by paint fumes, I can still enjoy one of my favourite hobbies.
Let the games begin!!

The bed foot with it's first coat of paint.

New hinges shining pretty but they were painted too.

 

                                 Painting the side pieces

 

All painted

All the lathe supports standing at attention.

Time for two coats of Clear Acrylic Overglaze.
I love this product, it dries really quickly and brushes wash out in water easily....love it, love it, love it.
The more coats you apply the glossier it becomes.
I love a matte finish so I stuck to two coats only.

                       Ta dah!!!  Rescue Mission completed. 

All finished and ready for a new mattress and she (yes she) has been saved from the dump heap.  I think I will get the first night's sleep too.
Now on to other projects to whip this bedroom into a nice comfy guest room.