I know it’s kind of hard to tell in this picture but the white was turning YELLOW right before my eyes. I couldn’t believe it, all my hard work getting this table to this point for it to be ruin with the swipe of a brush AND THE WRONG PRODUCT!
Here are the products that I used to fix my mistake:
- Klean Strip Premium Stripper (I have also used this stripper too. I like both of them but this stripper is less toxic 🙂
- Minwax Polyacrylic Water Base
- Wooster Pro Classic Brush The brush is SUPER important because the bristles are made of nylon and that works the best for the polycrylic formaula. If you use a regular paint brush it will bubble and be a mess.
- 3M General Purpose Adhesive spray
Stripping a piece can be a hassle but in a weird way I like doing it! I love that smooth clean finish to start with. Slather the stripper over your paint and wait 30 minutes. Make sure you wear your gloves so you don’t burn yourself. Then start scrapping away!
Here’s a great tip: if you are wanting a design on your piece, use spray adhesive on your stencil and then lay it down where you want it. It won’t budge while you paint but lifts off really easily. Then it’s time to protect your piece of furniture. Just so you don’t make the same mistake that I made make sure that your top coat is WATER BASE if you are using it on top of a white LATEX paint. Mike recommended Minwax POLYCRYLIC protective finish. I found the finish to be flawless. Remember if you are sealing a piece of furniture you want the finish to be SATIN. Not to matte but not a shiny glossy finish.
So the lesson I learned the hard way is use a WATER BASE protective product on WHITE paint. DO NOT use an OIL BASE. Hopefully this will help someone not make the same mistake as I did.
Your table turned out lovely but I have to admit I felt a pang in the pit of my stomach when I saw the picture you took of the stripping process. I'm so sorry!!! But the table turned out just great. Thank you for the tip!
Haha! I think I had a stomach ache for 2 days straight when this happened! Thanks for your kind words!
I use the same trick for stenciling. Works great!
oh no. your table ….round 2 came out so pretty.
I agree! Thanks so much for stopping by!!
Oh, how awful! I hate going into Home Depot and having someone from another department insist on helping me in one he's not familiar with. Ugh. I would have been so furious if this had happened to me.
Your table turned out beautifully, though! And thanks for the post! I'll definitely need to remember this. 🙂
I seriously started crying in front of the "real" paint guys when I realized I was in trouble. I wonder how many women they have seen cry like a baby in front of them at work? Ha! Thank you for your compliment, that means a lot!
What a pain for you, but THANK YOU for sharing what you learned! I am impressed with your determination. And your table is beautiful! I have made the mistake of using a polyurethane based sealer for a monochromatic canvas acrylic painting, only to have it yellow later. No stripping that, though. 🙁 Only acrylics on acrylics applies to all paint projects, I guess. (Found this post on The Weekend re-Treat, btw. Thanks for sharing!)
Awe…thanks Kelly! Thanks for the tip about the canvas paint.
Love the table….sad you had to go thru this BUT….thanks for sharing so others don't make the same mistake! 🙂
You are SO welcome!
I had no idea! They table turned out great.
How frustrating! But your table turned out beautiful! I use Varathane Water-Based Diamond Coat finish on all my projects, even my white ones. You are absolutely right to stay away from oil-based varnishes.
Your table is beautiful! I am not familiar with the different kinds of paint to use. This is very helpful. Thank you so much sharing your experience. I am pinning this for the future.
Your table is gorgeous. I had no idea about the difference. Thank you for sharing . sorry what happen to you. Pinned!
Oh man, what a thing to discover after the fact. BUT, I'm sure this post is a real blessing to so many people who are DIYing right this minute! Your final result looks beautiful! I'm impressed that you kept going 🙂
Oh man! I sure could've used this info about a week ago!! Lol. Painted some WHITE cabinets…used the wrong sealer and they turned yellow! In the process of redoing them!! It's a heartbreaking mess!!