Sunday, September 14, 2008

One man's trash is another's wealth

When we first moved into our house, we found that the previous owners had left several pieces of wood of various shapes in the garage - probably left over from projects around the house.


I didn't feel like throwing them out, and decided to paint some of them to make wooden wall pieces. I found three of approximately the same size and have been working on them on and off the past few weeks. I finished the work over the weekend.


As a final step, I sprayed them with varnish finish for acrylic last night because the wood (which is a little rough) was catching too much dust that couldn't be easily wiped away. This morning I found that the varnish had dried into pale colored patches. :( The patches are especially visible on the green piece.

I thought I was finished with this project - but looks like I will have to do something to fix this mess now. The paint doesn't go on the wood as well anymore, so I'm still wondering how to fix it. Ideas are welcome!

11 comments:

pink dogwood said...

They are amazing, even with the spots - I love the colors and intricate patterns? I have a lot of left over wood from two summers ago when we had our deck built - I should do something half as creative :)

would the pale colored patches show if you hung them a little high?

Kerri Jean said...

These are beautiful. I love when something can be re-purposed. If they were mine, I might try to lightly sand the sides where you have not painted details, and then add more paint -- but they're not mine and I don't really know what the fix is!!

nikheel said...

Very interesting idea!!

Suma said...

wow...you have certainly transformed someone's trash into a beauty....loving the creative handiwork :))

bindu said...

Thanks, everyone for your comments.

Bhavana - you're right about the patches not being visible in some angles. If nothing works, I have to hang it with that in mind.

Kerri Jean - I hadn't thought of sanding ... good idea.

Nikheel - welcome to my blog.

Shuma.rani - thanks!

megha puNAter" said...

i dont think you can do much,maybe sandpaper it and repaint?( i mean the patches)all the best :)

bindu said...

megha - thanks. I have to consider sanding I guess, even if it will be a lot of extra work ...

Chris Daly said...

Thanks for saying hello. I love your found wall art. It's amazing the things that can come from another person's trash.

ArtPropelled said...

I love the way you have transformed the scraps of wood. Such delicate designs. Unfortunately sanding is the key. When I paint on wood, I sand before and after the first coat of paint. The paint actually makes the wood fibres stand up. The wood behaves after the second sanding. It would be a pity to spoil these pieces. Is it noticeable when you hang them away from a light source?

bindu said...

chris - thanks for visiting!

Robyn - thanks for the tips. I'd never painted on wood before - next time I will sand before and after the first coat. It makes sense. I think they don't look so bad where I've hung them, and I at least have a story to tell now! :)

~ ॐ ~ said...

They look beautiful !!!

sahi !