For this furniture makeover, Fusion Mineral Paint provided me with paint from their Tones For Tots collection. This was my first time using their paint so I was a bit nervous, but that feeling quickly went away as soon as I started painting. Read more below on the process of painting with Fusion Mineral Paint.
This plywood dresser was in rough shape, some hardware was broken and the surface was damaged, including the plastic laminate on the top surface. All of the rough spots were sanded and patched with wood filler. The plastic laminate surfaces were scuffed up with sandpaper to allow the paint to stick to it. Because my surfaces were all inconsistent I decided it was important to do a few coats of primer before I started painting with top coat. I used Zinsser BIN 123 you can find it at your local hardware store this stuff removes funky odours, seals in stains and preps the surface for paint.
Here’s some before photos:
Once the surface was primed and dry, it was time to apply my Fusion Mineral Paint. I used Little Speckled Frog from their Tones for Tots collection. It’s a pastel green, a bit lighter than the green I usually use and very subtle and beautiful. I paired it with Fusion Mineral Paint Casement from the classic collection, it’s a warm white that accents the pastel green so nicely.
Normally I’d apply the paint with a small roller, but this time I decided to see how it would go on with a brush. I prefer a clean smooth modern finish, so I used a synthetic bristle brush which allowed the paint to go on so smooth, so there’s pretty much zero brush strokes. My fears of painting with a new paint went away so fast, its such an easy paint to work with. It brushes on so smooth and cleans up easily too. The only thing that annoyed me a bit was the packaging, while it’s super cute, the screw top lids get glued shut from the paint after a few uses, but you can easily open them by running it under water for a minute. Honestly, it’s better than cans of paint that rust around the top edge and don’t close properly after a while.
I allowed a day to dry between coats only because I’d extra cautious with curing the paint. After about 2 coats of paint for each colour, I let it all dry for another day. Then I applied a thin coat of Beeswax with a soft cloth to give the piece more durability.
Lastly, I wanted the piece to feel original to the vintage style, so I sourced new knobs and pulls from Ikea, they have beautiful metallic brass knobs and pulls that perfectly suited this piece, they’re called Bagganas and they’re so affordable.
Here’s the final result:
It is beautiful, you really know how to pick the right colour for your pieces. Love the way you’ve styled it as well.
Thanks Gemma, I like to stick to a limited colour palette and I’ve found that people really love this colour so I just go with it. It helps that it works so well with vintage brass.
LOVE it – and I love Fusion. I get what you mean about the screw tops though. I generally add a layer of saran wrap in between the lid and the jar when I close. It helps create a tighter seal, prevents spill and makes it slightly easier to open.
This makes me miss furniture painting!
oh wow this is an amazing tip, thank you so much Megan!
Nicole, did you buy this paint online – or do you know a source in the Greater Vancouver area?
I’m not a big fan of chalk paint, but Fusion mineral paint sounds ideal.
I’m always scrounging around thrift shops, finding gorgeous vintage pieces – never thinking I could paint them.
Thank you for posting this!
Heidi
Hi Heidi, I personally don’t like chalk paint, but Fusion doesn’t really feel like chalk paint, it’s a mineral paint and has a smoother finish. I’ve used other brands of chalk paint in the past and really disliked the finish. I found that Fusion is great on it’s own but even better once you apply the wax layer. The fact that it goes on so smoothly with a brush is what sold me. I was getting sick of wrapping mini rollers in plastic and saving them for the next coat, it was getting messy. I still love Benjamin Moore Advance, but for now, I’m going with Fusion for the next few projects. Fusion sent me the paint to try for this first project, but you can go on their website and find retailers, there’s a “where to buy” tab on the far right of their menu, unfortunately right now it looks like their retail locations in BC are in the suburbs, like Coquitlam, Delta and Abbotsford. I think there’s one retailer in Kelowna that can ship. Thanks for reading!
Thank you for the nudge in the right direction. There’s a source in Cloverdale.
Heidi