The Almost Fail

After two coats of primer ....




The more primer I used, the more bleed-through of stain even on the parts that had been sanded down to bare wood! The stain even made my brush turn pink so that I had to clean it before re-dipping into the white primer.

I tried mixing the primer with a bit of the very light gray latex I was going to use as the color. Those photos were after that coat which was the third coat.

Hand wringing and tears did not help. A trip to the new Lowe's Hardware store in town did not help. They couldn't understand how the stain was bleeding through. They were incredulous that even the brush was turning pink. I don't think they believed me. They sent me away without answers.

Fail fail fail. Total fail. Dead end. Fail. Who wants to sew? Nora's throne was trash. What had I done to it? Lots of self-recrimination ensued. Why couldn't I have been happy to keep it in the original condition? Why did I sand so much? My first attempt to refinish furniture and my hopes to paint other things, dashed. Dumb dumb dumber.

Days went by. A couple of weeks. I wasn't even tempted by online fabric store advertisements in my inbox. Not.even.tempted! Maybe I should just give up SEWING for heavens sake. I can't even put a coat of paint on wood, much less aspire to sew a coat! Oh, I can do pit-of-despair very well. And I was dancing this tune to perfection!

Nora (the real one, my daughter) came home Labor Day weekend with a new beau. At one point I opened my garage door to show him my failure. He made a simple suggestion. Oil based paint.

Oil.based.paint? What was there to loose. Up to Lowe's I trudged (should have transferred my allegiance to Home Depot after the last Lowe's debacle but this new Lowe's is just too convenient). I brought a lock of Nora's hair (the piece of metal covering the light switch) to match colors - thinking to scratch the gray and go with pink because if the oil.based.paint bleeds (and I knew it would because everything else did), the red stain wouldn't be so obvious. Maybe.

Finding a color match took all of 30 seconds. A Lowe's guy helped me find the paint and gave me some painting with oil.based.paint tips (he sold me a roller instead of a brush). Lowe's redemption.

The oil.based.paint went on with perfection. No bleeding whatsoever.

I do hope Nora keeps the guy. I wonder if he knows how to fix drains.

Yes!

My local sewing machine repair guy was able to find two set screws to fit this old, European manufactured machine. Set screws hold the machine to the pegged hinges on the table so that the machine can be lowered and the top closed. After looking at the size of the holes, he was doubtful he had anything small enough, but he managed to find two mismatched screws in his 30 year old stock pile of parts.

I am anxious to put something under her needle. But I'm still in a post-migraine haze so that's going to have to wait a bit.

In the meanwhile, a few more BEFORE photos. If you double click on a photo, I think you'll get a close up.






And more AFTER photos.

Notice how well the hinges cleaned up using a bit of Tarn-x.


The handles also cleaned up nicely - even to the point of having a pink patina! I was going to replace them, but they no longer make handles to fit the 1.5 inch span for holes and I was NOT going to drill additional holes in this old cabinet. I cleaned the handles in preparation for painting - thinking to paint them gray. Once cleaned, they showed a beautiful pink patina, perfect for the Nora's desk.


The pile awaiting the sewer's touch. A good use of the uncomfortable chair.


Here is the extensive presser foot and accessory collection which came with Nora which I am anxious to employ.


Notice that there is one cam. One. I'm on the hunt for Nora's cams. I understand Lelia's cams will fit the Nora. (Supernova cam do NOT fit.) If anyone has a source, please let me know.

The Paint has Dried.