Brushed Metallic Desk

May 31, 2020

A pretty great repeat client of mine recently brought me this very solid desk for a makeover. Her husband had a desk with no storage, and who needs that, right? So they purchased this desk from a school. I assume it was a teacher’s desk.

They saw and loved the recent dresser makeover I had done for my son – a brushed metallic look. So they requested the same look on the desk.

Here are the products I used.

Resource List:

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Desk (client piece)
Hurricane Gray
Best Dang Wax in Black
Clear BOSS
Coffee Bean
Voodoo Gel Stain in Tobacco Road
Caviar
Clear Coat in Satin
Buttercream
Moonshine Metallics Silver Bullet
Americana Decor stencil – Distressed Harlequin (craft store)
Rustoleum spray paint in Hammered Silver (hardware store)

If you want a reference booklet on all of Dixie Belle’s products, you can download my FREE Comprehensive Guide to Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral Paint by clicking this picture:

guide to dixie belle chalk paint updated

Hurricane Gray

I started by cleaning the piece really well with White Lightning, and then rinsing with clean water. Using my favorite synthetic mini brush, I painted 2 coats of Hurricane Gray. On the second coat, I usually spray mist with my water bottle as I go to keep the paint smooth. You can mist the piece, or the brush. It’s a matter of preference, but either way works.

Black Wax

The next step is applying black wax. I did this in small sections with a big natural bristle brush, and then immediately wiped and blended it with a shop cloth. This is when you start to get the metal look, thanks to the variation in color and texture it creates.

Painted Top

The top was a bit of a nightmare, I’m not gonna lie. I should have seen that black magic marker and known to seal it with BOSS. After all, BOSS stops bleed-through. Instead, I painted a coat of Coffee Bean. Then, another coat of Coffee Bean with some Tobacco Road blended in. Then 2 coats of Satin Clear Coat, and THEN the bleed-through began.

See the marks that came up through the paint? The liquid top coat can make this happen. If I had waxed the top instead, I likely wouldn’t have had the issue.

Soooo, much as I didn’t want to start over, I had to start over. I painted 2 coats of BOSS, and then repeated the Coffee Bean and Tobacco Road. After 1 coat of sealer, I could still see some faint bleed-through. Friends, I was over it by then! So, my solution was to add some black into the blending, strategically placed over the spots.

After some final sealing, I called it done.

Drawer Sides

My client also asked for a fun geometric pattern to be added to the drawer sides. I happened to have this harlequin stencil, so I was happy to use it. I painted a coat of Buttercream for the base, and stenciled the pattern using Silver Bullet metallic. This is a pretty combination I’ll have to remember for the outside of a piece.