Expert: maura macaluso - 8/27/2008

Question
QUESTION: I know you aren't a fan of painting over cherry wood, but my husband and I
made a head and footboard for our bed, and while the headboard was in the
shop it got too cold and bowed.  While attempting to straighten it, it got a big
crack right down the front of it...very noticable.  So - I have pretty much just
convinced myself to paint or glaze (I'm not sure which is better...your
thoughts?...) it black with the antiqued look.  So would I just paint it the
black, or would I use some primer, then sand it down to the wood?   Or what
are the steps to achieve the look you see on so much of the furniture these
days?  Thanks so much for your help!

ANSWER: Sorry to hear about your disaster.  Don't you hate when things like that happen after doing so much work?  okay, LOL I will give in and allow you to paint your cherry wood in order to salvage it. First you need to repair the crack.  Depending on how badly it is cracked, this could be a major or minor job.  I can't see what you are dealing with but if you are capable of making it, I imagine you are capable of fixing it. If its cracked through, you may need to glue and clamp it together and perhaps even brace it from the back, then use a filler. If its not too badly cracked, perhaps a good wood filler will do the trick. Allow it to dry completely. Then you must sand it till it is a perfect level surface again.  Putting paint over it will amplify the imperfection so take the time and do the sanding till it is perfectly smooth.  start with a low # grit paper and work your way up to at least 600 grit.  perhaps 80 then 220 then 600 if you understand that.  Once it is perfect, you can begin your painting.

You definitely want to paint it to hide the crack damage.  Using a glaze is up to you.  Glaze is applied over the paint to give all different types of effects.

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by antiqued.  There are solutions that can be applied over the black coat but antiqueing is usually done over a lighter color than black.  There are solutions which can add a crackle effect to the finish and there is something done to make it appear aged called "distressing"(see below). Being it is raw wood I do suggest you use a primer to make sure the paint adheres properly and stays for a long time.  The rule of thumb is to use an oil-based primer if the top coat will be an oil-based paint, and water-based with water-based.  Oil-based will be more durable in the long run but water-based is easier to deal with.  Your call there. In my previous reply to you I told you to use enamel which is very durable but you may find latex much more readily available. Either will be fine for furniture. You may use semi-gloss finish but it is my opinion that it will be too shiny, I would stick with a satin finish for both your final coat and protectant coat. You may even wish to go with a flat paint which will have no shine at all to it. Again, your call.

There are many options to how to paint this. I am not sure exactly what type of look you want to achieve so you can experiment first on some scrap wood before actually doing the bed. You can put a coat of different color paint on before the black layer and then sand a bit off(see the part about distressing it below) and allow some of the secondary color to show through. If you wish to do this, may I suggest a creamy tan, reddish burgundy, sage green or medium blue under the black. You can do a sort of thinned out lighter color coat on top of the black paint to create a kind of whitewash effect. Or you can do any number of faux type finishes on it, check your local box stores(home depot-lowes etc.--they should be able to show you examples.) You can distress it after all the painting is finished and dried, by distressing I mean beating it up a bit and sanding it here and there on the edges to make it look aged a bit. You can use any number of things to beat it with if you like the distressed look, from hammers, socks full of nuts and bolts to chains and such. How much you distress it is completely up to you, a little being better than too much. But be sure you like this look before starting because once you distress it, you can't go back again.  Thanks for the question and good luck with your project

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I greatly appreciate your detailed and timely reply.  I'm attaching images to show the crack, as well as the look I'm wanting to go for...the painted black look with sanded portions for the worn look...

I don't want a color underneath the black - I just want the wood to show where it is sanded.  So would I just prime it, paint it, and sand it wherever I want it to looked aged/distressed?

Are any brands of paint and primer better than others?

(actually I could just upload one image, so I attached the one with the look I'm wanting to achieve so we're on the same page!)

Thanks again!!!!!

Answer
Looking at your pic helps alot. I like what you are trying to do.  I believe you can skip the primer step because you will need to find black primer which maynot be easy to do. I also believe that if you use a black flat paint, enamel or latex(try to get enamel if its not too pricey-this is generally used as trim paint-but latex will also work) it will also serve to prime the wood well enough.  You will want to give the bed 2-3 coats of this flat black allowing it to completely dry between each coat.  then sand down your wood where you want, don't go overboard, just an edge here and there. Perhaps distress it now a bit also. You can see in the pics some random dings here and there, try to duplicate those but only a few here and there as it is in the pic. You can most likely make those marks by hitting it lightly with the edge of a hammerhead and a few with the back edge of the hammer, just keep them randomly spaced. Your bare wood spots will look too light after you sand it but don't be alarmed. then take some satin polyurethane and cover the entire thing with a thin layer.  That will mellow out the tone of the bare wood and add a little bit of shine and protect your paint. If after doing this you still find it to be more of a shine than you want, get one of those cheap sanding sponges or some fine steel wool and very lightly buff it out. The bare wood parts will also darken up a little bit over time with exposure to light.  Remember what I told you, If you choose oil based or waterbased, your choice, just make sure that the flat black and the polyurethane are both the same base or you will have trouble with the poly sticking to the paint.  You don't want it peeling in a few years. Thanks for your great feedback rating and good luck again with your project.

P.s. Sorry didn't finish my answer, was up burning the midnight oil and not thinking straight. I personally use Glidden or behr paints but any premium name brand is fine.  I also like the minwax brand for polyurethanes but again a good name brand should be fine.