Optimus Prime-r

Back to all the board and batten goodness.  Besides the fancy-schmancy tools we used below, Randy used a table saw that we borrowed from my dad to cut all the MDF board planks to the right length.  He probably could have used my box miter saw just as well.  Anyone who has just basic equipment could do this, and that is why it was so exciting/rewarding for us.  It took a long time, but it was significantly cheaper than having someone else come and do it, and when we have people over we can say we did it without having to lie.

This is me in my very sexy dust mask sanding the edges of all of the boards.  That is my luxurious purple sand-paper holder thingie that I mentioned in the last post.

Then we went around with the Dyson and sucked up all the saw dust.  I'm not sure if this step was necessary or not, but I wanted the paint to last for the long haul, so I also deglossed the boards to make sure we got all of the dust off using an eco-friendly liquid deglosser we got at Home Depot.  If Sherry and John of Young House Love fame say it helps adhesion, I'll do it.  Yes, I refer to them as Sherry and John.  No, I have never met them.  Randy thinks they're my imaginary friends.  I think they have a lot of good DYI tips and the blog posts about their daughter, Clara, crack me up.  Ashley is similarly enamored with them, and is actually the person who first told me about their blog.  People who name their sofas with great taste in home design?  I'm in!

Then Becky and I started the primer.  I had previously purchased no VOC high gloss white paint for the dining room shadow boxing, but due to my previously mentioned frustration with caulk, it had sat unused under the sink in the hallway bath.  So I decided to use what we had and got a can of white primer instead of forking out more dough for the paint and primer in one (although we did LOVE it for the gray $6 oops paint we used above).

To my dismay, the primer didn't cover the blue swatches so well.  That's ok, I assume most people don't try to paint white right over dark blue swatches on their walls, and maybe that is an unrealistic expectation for my non-so-optimus primer.

Take a look at the sides of the MDF board.  See how they soaked up my primer like a sponge?  I expected a little suckage, but wow, they looked like they were never touched!  Tip for everyone else out there, spackle the sides of your boards before you prime.  It keeps the MDF board from soaking up all your hard work!  Unfortunately I didn't figure that out right away, but did it all along the top edge of the horizontal boards and it worked great.

 Unfortunately cats don't go down for naps, so if you have a pretty persistent feline, it makes it hard to get work done.  Keller likes to be involved with everything we do, and will sometimes sit patiently and watch, but most of the time he cries until you to pick him up and cuddle him.  Otherwise he'll stick his nose in the paint or rub up against a wet wall.  We have needy cats.

 Here's how it looks with the first coat of paint!  It's starting to get there.

Here's one with the blue swatches.  You can still see it, but it's looking a lot better, right?

Anyone else out there tackling a project that makes a huge difference in a room with very basic tools?  We want to hear about it!