Tricycle dresser with antiquing wax
There are some pretty sweet people who follow me here at Eight Hundred Furniture, and every once in a while, I get to paint furniture for them! This project was finished for a sweet woman named Barbara who has known me since my early days of refinishing furniture. She had a vision for her dresser in “Tricycle” by Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint with an Antiquing Wax finish. Everything lined up perfectly for me to be able to achieve this look for her, so sit back and enjoy this Tricycle and Antiquing Wax makeover!
Prep Work
When this dresser came to me, it had a middle-of-the-road shiny finish on it. The poly wasn’t overly shiny, but it definitely required a good scuffing. It gave me the chance to break out my new Festool Mini Dust Extractor and scuff sanded with 220 grit.
Now if you’ve never entered into the world of Festool products, prepare for sticker shock. They’re very expensive (or at least I think so) but they are worth it. This video helps explain why:
I have wanted one of these systems for YEARS but could never afford them. There’s no way I could have swung that kind of purchase early on in my business. The past few weeks have had great sales, so we reinvested in the business and swung for a system that will enable me to work in the basement workshop no matter what the weather is outside. I’ll write more about my experiences with the Mini, but for now, let’s stay focused on the dresser!
Mixing tricycle milk paint & Coverage
Once the piece was ready to go, I painted on 3 coats of Tricycle. If you’ve never worked with this color before, there are a few things you should know.
1. Believe it or not, red paints require more coats to get full coverage. It sounds weird, right? Red is such a dark color. Why would you need to apply more coats of paint to get coverage? I thought the same thing, but red pigments tend to be thin, thus resulting in less coverage per coat. So be ready for more coats of paint or use a base layer of gray to help improve coverage.
2. The old formula for Tricycle offers a strange mixing experience. The red pigments tend to resist being mixed into water for a good 30 seconds. It will feel like nothing is happening and then all of a sudden…BAM…everything comes together! I’m not bothered by this too much because I’m used to it. However, if you’ve never experienced it before, it can throw you off. Miss Mustard Seed worked with her paint manufacturer to address this issue and got a new red pigment that dissolves much more easily! You can read more about that here.
The new pigment looks like a pale pink in powdered form, but it quickly wakes up when water is added.
3. Tricycle cam be a bit messy when you first open the bag. There’s an extra plastic bag inside the regular pouch to help contain the powder. It does make a bit of a mess and if you spill it, it’s messy to clean up. So try to be gentle with the powder and maybe lay down a drop cloth or junk towel over your mixing surface to protect it.
After painting the piece, I smoothed the surface with 400 grit sandpaper and went back with 150 grit to distress the edges. Barbara wanted an aged look, so the distressing helped with that.
Sealing and antiquing
When it came to applying a topcoat and sealing the Tricycle, I opted for two finishes –Hemp Oiland Antiquing Wax.
Hemp Oil makes rich colors such as Tricycle, Typewriter and Artissimo look like a million bucks!
Using a natural bristled brush, I applied Hemp Oil over the Tricycle and wiped away the excess with a lint-free cloth. To give the Hemp Oil a chance to absorb into the finish and dry a bit, I let the dresser sit overnight before I moved on to the next step – antiquing!
Barbara wanted age on her dresser, and the best way to get that look was with Antiquing Wax.
Miss Mustard Seed’s Antiquing Wax contains beeswax with a little carnauba wax mixed in for spreadability. Its rich brown tone is ideal for creating age, grunge and patina on a piece of painted furniture. It is easy to apply, provides a durable finish and has a very pleasant scent!
Want to see the process for yourself? I made a tutorial video that you can enjoy! Watch below:
The handles
The handles on the drawers were so beautiful! Some of them had begun to tarnish over time, which is common for old hardware. This left them looking uneven in their color across the dresser.
To unify everything, I used a metallic wax called Rub N Buff in the color “European Gold” to bring it all back to the same shade. It also knocked down the shine on the handles, adding to the aged feel of the piece.
You can watch the process on my Instagram highlights!
the reveal
Barbara’s dresser looks absolutely incredible. It was meant to wear Tricycle.
The Antiquing Wax settled into all the right places, adding the age Barbara wanted.
Barbara’s dresser has quintessential antique features, like these hand-cut drawer numbers. This is the 3rd drawer from the top. Clever, eh?
Everything about this piece is lovely to me from the sweeping backsplash on the top…
…to the scalloped curves on the bottom.
And who doesn’t love a good set of casters?
This pretty piece is now sitting happily in its home once again with a fresh new look (which I personally think it’s rocking like a boss).
If you’d like to replicate the look I created on this dresser, you can purchase all of the products I used from my retail spaces at Morgantown Market and Homestead Studios. Not local to me? I can ship!
Here’s a quick list of the Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint products I used:
- Tricycle Milk Paint
- Hemp Oil Wood Finish
- Antiquing Wax
- Wax Brush
Here’s an image to pin to save this post for later reference!
