Share
This was an old console table given to me by my aunt. It had water damage and many scratches.
After a light sand, I painted with rust oleum chalk paint in pink, once dry I painted in charcoal chalk paint. A light sand all over to bring through the pink colour from underneath.
Finished with chalked protective top coat (not easy to work with) and new handles for the drawers as one of the original ones were broken.
This now has a new life holding my keys and lego 🤣
Materials
Protective top coat - https://www.bunnings.com.au/rust-oleum-887ml-clear-matt-chalked-protective-topcoat_p1580863
Charcoal paint - https://www.bunnings.com.au/rust-oleum-887ml-charcoal-chalked-ultra-matt-paint_p1580861
Pink paint - Rustoleum chalk brand. It’s the pink in the dark tint base, cannot find it on Bunnings website to do a link sorry.
Handles are from Bunnings. Cannot find on website as too many to go through.
Tack cloth (to get rid of anything before painting) - https://www.bunnings.com.au/uni-pro-18-x-36-painters-tack-cloth_p1673206
Sanding blocks - medium for first sand prior to painting - https://www.bunnings.com.au/rocket-medium-sanding-sponge_p1661078
Sanding blocks - fine for in between paint coats and final sanding for pink colour to come through and really light sand after top coat - https://www.bunnings.com.au/rocket-fine-sanding-sponge_p1661077
Gloves - https://www.bunnings.com.au/sabco-medium-purple-nitrile-disposable-gloves-100-pack_p0065945
Brushes for top coat - https://www.bunnings.com.au/crafted-assorted-sponges-paint-brushes-3-pack_p0323819
Brushes for paint - I used the smaller of these two - https://www.bunnings.com.au/paint-partner-50mm-75mm-2-piece-paint-brush-set_p1662337
Rags - https://www.bunnings.com.au/white-rags-paint-partner-1-5kg-white-rags_p0105941
Mask - https://www.bunnings.com.au/bear-disposable-p2-respirator-dust-mask-with-valve-3-pack_p1210576
Paint stirrer’s- (I have a heap of these and they also come in handy if you need something slightly elevated. https://www.bunnings.com.au/monarch-timber-paint-stirrer-1-4l_p1660993
Paint pot - I cannot stress enough, always pour paint / top coats ect into another container when using. This way if you accidentally contaminate it, you don’t lose a whole tin of paint - https://www.bunnings.com.au/prorenovator-disposable-paint-pot_p0328832
Tools
Sanding blocks- medium and fine - https://www.bunnings.com.au/rocket-fine-sanding-sponge_p1661077
Screwdriver for drawer handles - I bought myself a set of these, they last forever as I have some that were my pops - https://www.bunnings.com.au/stanley-20-piece-acetate-screwdriver-set_p6061822
Lights - I bought these especially for this project as they can be adjusted height wise, angle ect. And it was so hard to see parts of the console table with just regular garage light. Great price and I use them all the time now - https://www.bunnings.com.au/arlec-1000w-halogen-worklight-with-tripod_p7070522
Steps
Step 1
Step 1- Ready the work area, make sure you have plenty of room to move. Get the song playlist ready 😊
Step 2
Step 2- Clean off all dust ect you can with damp rag before starting to sand.
Step 3
Step 3- Start sanding!
I hand sanded the whole table as I prefer hand sanding over the numerous power sanders I have.
Step 4
Step 4- Paint! I just used cheap brushes that I threw after use.
The beauty of chalk paint is you don’t have to worry too much about brush strokes as it all adds to the charm of the item once finished.
Step 5
I did two coats of the pink chalk paint. Then let it completely dry for two days.
Step 6
Painting the top paint colour. I did two coats of charcoal chalk paint over the pink.
Step 7
After allowing top paint colour to dry for a few days, get the fine sanding block and sand lightly to get the lower paint colour to show through.
How much you sand or don’t sand is up to how you like the look. But I’ll say take it light and easy, as you can sand more off but you can’t put it back as easily (lesson learnt) 🤣
Step 8
Continue sanding for colour to show through until you have achieved the look you want.
Step 9
Now for the top coat. 😬
The website for the chalk paint said to use their brushes for this, but they were horrible to work with and kept falling apart.
Other brushes also left brush strokes and this stuff is thick and a pain to work with.
I eventually settled on foam brushes, it left no brush strokes and applied easier than normal brush.
only use a little at a time and move quickly as this stuff gets thick and dries quickly.
Step 10
I did two coats of the top coat with a light sand of fine sanding block in between coats. Then using tack cloth to remove anything before the final top coat.
Then added drawer handles and put inside 😊
Hi @Mjay,
I should start by saying WOW I had no idea that globe is made from Legos until I read about it and had to look closer! The other WOW is of course your fantastic upcycled console table, perfect for displaying your great achievements. Thank you for sharing your lessons learned as well, this will definitely be helpful for other members looking to create a similar project.
Great projects like yours sometimes make it into our Top Ideas articles like our Top 10 most popular indoor furniture projects. You never know, you might find your project in there one day!
Katie
