DIY TOPCOAT FOR CHIPPY PAINT

There isn’t anything I like more than a really good chippy piece of furniture. You know, the kind of chippy furniture that screams …. I AM OLD! As you may have guessed, I am so drawn to things that show their age and I am drawn to things that tell a story. While I do love the character, I do NOT love the actual chips of paint falling off all over my home. With that in mind, I will usually seal my chippy pieces with a topcoat. That helps to prevent the paint from actually chipping completely off and it saves me a lot of cleanup. I have used a lot of different products (things like Polycrylic, Polyurethane, Finishing Wax, etc..) and while I love most of them, I don’t always have them on hand when I need them. Also, these products can be expensive. So, I thought I would try making my own ‘topcoat’ using things that I already have here at the house. This DIY topcoat for chippy paint is very easy and very affordable!

I searched the internet for ‘recipe’ ideas for this little experiment and there were lots and lots of sites that all suggested the same ‘homemade’ recipe. It is actually a mixture that is mainly used for decoupage but I felt like it would be worth a try! The best thing is that it only uses two ingredients, glue and water!

WHAT WE ARE WORKING ON

Today I am going to work on these little bedrail spindles. I picked up an old chippy headboard for a few bucks at a local estate sale a few weeks ago. It was falling apart but I noticed the spindles immediately and felt that they would be great to add to my booth. What I didn’t realize was just how chippy the paint actually was. As soon as I lifted the headboard off of the ground to take it to my car, huge chips of paint began flaking off. I was actually worried that all of the paint would come off while I was moving it around but luckily that didn’t happen. I took the piece home and deconstructed it and salvaged the parts that were still useful. I gave those pieces a very light wash, using mild dish soap and a very soft sponge. I was careful NOT to scrub too hard – I wanted to keep as much of the white paint intact as i could. I just dabbed my sponge all around to remove the dirt and grime. Finally, I just let the pieces dry in the sun for a few days.

DIY TOPCOAT MATERIALS

-3 parts white household glue (I used Elmer’s)
-1 part warm water
-Jar
-Skewer
-Paper plate
-Brush
-Craft paper

DIRECTIONS

1. The first step is to mix the glue with the water. I used a plain ball jar and filled it with three bottles of glue and 4 ounces of water.
   

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3. I decided to pour some of the mixture out onto a paper plate. I did this because I didn’t want and chips or dirt from the wood pieces to end up floating inside the jar when I was done with this project. I made a lot of this ‘topcoat’ and I am excited to have it on hand for more projects down the road. Also, I would have preferred to use a foam brush but I didn’t have one here at the house so I used this cheap synthetic brush instead. I also plan to use the roller on a few larger pieces of the head board.

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4. I decided to take this project outside because I felt like it was going to be messy. I laid out some craft paper, put the salvaged wood pieces on top, and then I got to work! Using the brush and the roller, I covered each piece with a thin layer of glue. I did this process 4 times – allowing each piece to completely dry between layers.

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TIPS

• You may see a ‘white film’ visible when you apply the topcoat and that is perfectly normal. It will disappear as the mixture dries.

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• You may want to place your wood pieces on some bricks or another surface that wont stick. Here, you can see a piece of the craft paper accidentally got stuck onto the wood piece. In an effort to avoid that from happening again, I decided to place the pieces on old bricks to dry. I did keep a bucket of water and a little rag handy to help keep my fingers clean and that helped tremendously.

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THE RESULTS

This little DIY project was a success! The DIY topcoat worked perfectly, sealing in each and every little chip of paint. I did use four layers of the mixture – but I bet I could have gotten away with three. I am so happy knowing that I will always have a ‘topcoat’ available to me – as long as I have Elmer’s glue hanging around! Let me know in the comments below if you plan to try out this DIY topcoat for chippy paint!