This lamp base is the project I told you about a few weeks ago that had been giving me so many fits. I like how it turned out, but went through about three different processes before I was happy with it. Read on to see the finished product.
It started with wanting to paint the base. I know some people are afraid to spray paint ceramics, but not me! I spray paint everything (purses, picture frames, closet tags). However, I had never painted anything ceramic before beginning this project.
First, I cleaned and primed the entire lamp using Rustoleum spray primer.
Then, I spray painted one coat of paint using a can I already had that the label had worn off of. It was an off-white Krylon spray paint. Several hours later I went back outside to see the most horrific looking cracks!
I had never experienced cracking before. After letting it dry completely overnight, I sanded the crackled portions away using medium grade sandpaper and started over with the primer. I only sprayed the parts that I had sanded. Then, another coat of paint on top. More cracks showed up on a different part of the lamp. AHHHHH!!!
Then, I decided I was just going to go with the crackle look since obviously the lamp weas telling me it wanted to be crackled, so I sprayed the entire lamp brown. I used Elmer's glue to make the crackle look. I applied it with an artist's brush, waited until it was tacky, and painted over top of it with a satin latex paint in off white. It did crackle, but I still wasn't happy with the look.
It turned out like this: AWFUL!
Finally, I decided I would leave just a little crackle here and there, so I applied one last coat of paint followed by a glossy spray finish.
TA-DA! FINALLY!
It has kind of an old world look and really compliments the shade. I couldn't get a good close up picture of the finish, but a little brown shows through and there are some cracks here and there. It makes it look like an old piece of pottery.
After researching my spray paint issues, I found no real reason why it cracked in the first place. It wasn't in the sun, I was painting in mild weather, and I had primed. My husband suggested I didn't clean it well enough and maybe it had some kind of oil residue on it that was repelling the paint. I don't know.
Sometimes things aren't as easy as you thought they'd be. This project definitely was one of those. However, after many coats of paint, I am happy with the lamp and the way it looks with the sheet music shade. It's going to be another great addition to the music studio sitting room.
If you haven't seen the other music studio projects, you might want to take a look at the painted upholstered chairs and the sheet music shade.
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