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Projects from our Paint & Design Studio in Australia. Inspirational and instructional how-to tips on chalk, milk and mineral paint as well as refinishing furniture, upcycling and before and after projects!



                                          
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Painting a Metal Headboard with Old World Paint

7/1/2016

20 Comments

 

My home is an explosion of colour.  There's colour everywhere. And frankly, I love it. 

Except my bedroom. It's my nemesis room. I never get it quite right.

So when I told this to a fabulously-gorgeous-wonderfully-kind-and-immensely-talented friend as I admired her stunning and peaceful bedroom in her perfectly-styled vintage home, she told me something in many ways I already knew, but needed to hear. (You know that way that only friends have?)

She said keep it calm, keep it neutral, add your pops of colour. I'm simplifying here, but it resonated. Because my home is a riot of delicious colour, I kept trying to carry that into the bedroom...and it never took. 

This brings me to our beautiful metal headboard that I still love after all these years. It's been stashed in a shed for awhile but the chat with my friend had me dragging it out over the weekend.

Here's what happened next....
painting-metal-headboard-chalk-paint
BEFORE: Metal headboard with pewter finish
painting-wrought-iron-bed-chalk-paint
The high-gloss hammered pewter finish on wrought iron
old-world-chalk-paint-on-metal
Close-up of finish
With absolutely no prep and no sanding, I painted straight over the gloss metal with the first coat of Old World Clay & Chalk Paint in the colour, Almond Orchard, a soft warm white with rosy undertones.

The first-coat-ugly-stage can send people in an outright panic.  It looks like it's never going to work...
ugly- first-coat-chalk-paint-metal
Work-in-Progress: First-coat ugly!
Picture
Ugly brush strokes, not great coverage...that's OK!!!
It's the second coat of paint that does the really hard work. Check out the coverage difference! 

Spraying the bed with Chalk Paint is another option, but I'm a sucker for a hand-painted finish. I found that switching to a round paint brush left fewer drag marks in the paint and I used an artist brush to get into all the tricky curves and turns. 


best-paint-brushes-painting-metal
Artist Brushes help get into curves, turns and tricky angles
less-drag-marks-with-round-brushes
Round brushes helped cut the drag marks on the tubular surface
metal-painted-bed-headboard-australia
Loving that coverage with just two coats of the colour Almond Orchard
I wanted to see the headboard in natural light and although I THOUGHT I wanted a solid finish...at this very moment I knew it needed a bit of distressing.

Because the base is metal (and it was only left overnight to dry) I assumed I'd need to be very gentle when sanding back but I had to put some muscle into it. I went from a 220-grade sandpaper, to 150 which I then used to wet-sand.

Once I was happy with the finish, I waxed it and some brushstrokes become a bit more prominent with waxing. If you prefer not to have brushstrokes and want a more solid finish, I recommend primering with a grey tone and a light sand between coats before waxing. 

Here's the end result...I kinda love it.
distressed-chalk-painted-metal-bed
vintage-painted-metal-bed-adelaide
eclectic-vintage-bedroom-styling
I might just be on the path to making friends with my bedroom style...we'll see if it sticks?!!!
It's all here...for the love...
Sada
20 Comments
Susie
8/2/2016 11:50:53 am

You've inspired me to paint one of my iron beds. This is a most beautiful job!! Thanks for linking to Friday's Furniture Fix. Susie@TheChelseaProject

Reply
Sada
9/2/2016 08:42:23 am

Oh Susie!! Thank you. Really thrilled to be included and so happy to have you visit me here!! xxSada

Reply
Robin link
23/4/2016 08:06:49 pm

Thanks for sharing Susie. I have an old singer sewing machine stand that is painted red and I really want to paint it just like your bed.....we will see!!!!

Reply
Sada link
24/4/2016 08:02:43 am

Sounds like a lovely project...I'm sure it will go well Robin! Let us know how your progress goes!
xSada

Reply
kris
6/11/2016 01:15:53 pm

I have a black iron headboard and footboard ( with A LOT of scrolling) that I have started to spray with Heirloom white. I'd like to "chip" it...I have never done this before, in fact, I haven't refinished anything before..lol. I bought 50 grit course paper. Do I sand before I seal it? I bought a waterbased sealer to brush on.. not sure if these were the right products to use or not either.... HELP

Reply
Geri link
12/7/2017 01:54:20 pm

Will this work on a brass bed? I saw a free headboard I may try it on.

Reply
Sada
12/7/2017 01:58:28 pm

Hi Geri,

It shouldn't be a problem. Check out the blog post on painting a vintage brass lamp for more info: http://www.forthelovecreations.com.au/blog/painting-a-brass-lamp-with-old-world-clay-chalk-paint-a-vintage-decor-save

I always recommending testing if possible. And sealing with Aqua Sealer will increase "scratchability!" Hope this helps!

Reply
Cheryl Barnett
10/10/2017 03:11:47 pm

Thank you for sharing! I'm going to try this on our bed. One question - what exactly is waxing? Thank you in advance!

Reply
Sada
11/10/2017 03:39:30 am

Hi Cheryl!

Waxing is one way to seal the paint. Old World Clay & Chalk Paint has a matte finish that is quite chalky. When you seal it with Wax or Aqua Sealer (our poly), it intensifies the colour while protecting the paint and making it smooth and silky to the touch, while also increasing its durability.

Let me know if you have any other questions!

Reply
Jackie
24/2/2018 01:59:46 am

Beautiful job and great tips! Question...I don't understand the whole "wax" part I keep reading. Would you mind to go into further detail about the wax? Maybe once you actually buy the product it is clarified. I haven't gotten that far yet :)

Reply
Sada link
24/2/2018 03:12:25 am

Hi Jackie!
Because wax brings out the true colour and dimension of the paint, it can also highlight brush marks....which is fine if you want a handprinted look or are going to distress or just LIKE the look of brushstrokes (which I do).

But if you want a more solid, less handpainted look, there are steps you can take (like sanding between coats, spraying instead and even using a primer colour can help).

Does that make a bit more sense? You're right, it's pretty unclear in the post!!

Feel free to email me any other questions at sada@forthelovecreations.com.au

Reply
Deb
22/3/2018 12:52:19 am

Hi. I just put a coat of paint on a bed metal headboard, and it looks like it may chip. The enamel paint I bought had primer in it, I wanted to match the other dresser I painted. It's still dry, but I want to know if you think I should try to get the paint off. I love your headboard. I wish I saw it before I started.

Reply
Sada link
24/3/2018 03:33:35 am

Hi Deb, It's difficult to advise not knowing which paint you've used. The Chalk, Milk and Mineral Paints that we carry are specifically designed for use on furniture and difficult surfaces like metal, glass, etc... My best advice would be to remove the paint as best you can and purchase a paint designed for this purpose. There are so many great blog posts and tutorials from experts in this industry...and of course, we're here to help as best we can!

Reply
Raechel
3/7/2018 10:22:16 am

I really LOVE how your bed turned out. I have a wrought iron bed that I picked up on marketplace and I don't like the finish. It's white but has dark flecks in it that are actually grooves (indented). The frame looks expensive, it was a custom piece but I'm not sure what they were trying to accomplish with the finish. I want to repaint it but am confused as to what to do. Could I email you a pic and maybe get an idea? It would be a shame to get rid of this bed frame! Thank you!

Reply
ADRIANA L MENDOZA
27/8/2018 06:02:22 am

Need to paint a couple of rusty plant stands that I've had for many years. Is there a way to do this on these, I want to achieve the same look on them. Thanks!

Reply
Aluminium screens Perth link
18/3/2019 09:26:32 pm

My home is an explosion of color. There's color everywhere. And frankly, I love it. Except my bedroom. It's my nemesis room. I never get it quite right.Aluminium screens Perth company is best for home.

Reply
Eda F Bull
8/10/2019 10:56:01 pm

This is brilliant, thank you for sharing

Reply
Joanie
12/11/2019 01:43:28 pm

I love how the bed turned out. I am about to paint a metal headboard myself and I would like to do a matching nightstand. Would I use the same paint color and just distress? Thanks so much.

Reply
Sara
23/3/2020 07:49:49 am

HI, thanks for sharing! I’m currently trying to refinish my antique bed frame as well and this was a helpful look at one of the possible ways forward with that project!

I did want to give you one note: this piece is not wrought iron, it’s cast iron. “Wrought” and “cast” are simply the methods of working the iron; this piece is identifiable as “cast” because of the seam lines left in the iron by the molds used to shape it. I hope this doesn’t read as snarky or judgey! I have a master’s degree in decorative art history and it’s made me want to educate the world...hope you found it an interesting fun fact!

Thanks again!

Reply
Where is Waldo Wandering link
24/11/2020 11:49:58 am

Hello mate nicce blog

Reply



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    My name is Sada, I'm a painter-girl obsessed with all things old, imperfect, beautiful and useful.
     
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