help with making over a chest of drawers.

raven83

Hi i did post this in the shabby chic thread but had no response and need to know asap.

Am looking to shabby up an order chest of drawers i have (first attempt) i would like to put some paper onto the chests, bit like decoupage type thing ( i have a table i got off ebay that has paper on the drawers etc) question is, what type of paper can i use? I s wall paper ok? Also do i use paste or glue to stick it down? Sorry for what may seem like dumb questions but i never done this before and can't seem to find the answer using google so i am hoping someone will some knowledge will be able to advise me:beer:

Gigervamp

Wallpaper should be fine to use, but you may have to use a few more coats of varnish than you would if you used a thinner paper like wrapping paper.

When I've done decoupage, I've used PVA glue to glue the paper down.

splodger_seedswapper

i would have thought that wallpaper would be a bit too thick to get a really good effect - i did a triple wardrobe a few years ago now, using a very classical decoration - and i just copied the motiffs i wanted to use onto tracing paper and stuck that to the wood using spraymount - then fixed it with hairspray and waxed it - it worked a treat (but i wanted the wood grain to show through in the areas that didn't have decoration on it)

meritaten

first make sure you are not ruining an antique!
then apply a base coat suitable for your surface, and decide on the decals you want. the thinner the better! and the best glue to use is Pva. Apply the decals and then leave dry for days if you can but overnight in a dry place will do if you are impatient. Then you apply a coat of clear varnish and leave to dry (you SHOULD then sand this back) then apply another coat and leave to dry. and another. It depends on whether you want a 'quick' result or one which will last.

raven83

Thank you for all your responses. So to clarify; I can use pva glue onto wood? Not wall paper paste? Also the paper i want to use is the one i have in my landing, can you use wallpaper or is it too thick?

Gigervamp

Yep to PVA glue.

As I said above, you can use wallpaper, but as it's thicker than other papers, you'll need to add more coats of varnish to even it out.

raven83

Gigervamp wrote: »

Yep to PVA glue.

As I said above, you can use wallpaper, but as it's thicker than other papers, you'll need to add more coats of varnish to even it out.

Thank you. Also, this probably a really dumb question,:o the chest is already white but i want to give it a fresh paint of white eggshell, so i need to still sand it down first?

Gigervamp

Just give it a bit of a sand to roughen up the old paint, that'll give it a *key* so that the fresh paint sticks.

SailorSam

http://www.ehow.com/how_2283196_decoupage-furniture.html