Pins I’ve Tried… again: Bamboo China Cabinet Makeover

Faux Bamboo China Cabinet Makeover

I know I just posted about the black bamboo cabinet I painted using the same method/paint, but I recently gave this faux bamboo china cabinet a makeover and wanted to give you the details on my experience.

Faux Bamboo China Cabinet

Here’s the deal: I have wanted to try the paint and color  of Natty’s dresser out for a while now.

Sunrise Red and Faux Bamboo by Natty by Design

In her post, she says that the Rustoleum paint is made to self level, leaving a practically glass-like finish using a paint brush.When I tried to use it on the black dresser/cabinet, it didn’t exactly work out like that. But then, I thought maybe it was just that color? Or the fact that she used mineral spirits?

So, I tried it again. I found the Sunrise Red paint in both a quart size and spray paint, which was lucky for me, because it was a pain to try to paint all those creases and crevices on the bamboo parts with a brush.

faux bamboo china cabinet

faux bamboo china cabinet

After I tried to paint the flat parts with a brush, and having no success with getting a glass like finish, I tried to add the mineral spirits to the paint to thin it a little. That didn’t make it much better, but it did thin the paint.

It took a few coats to make the color come out evenly. And it took F-O-R-E-V-E-R for it to dry. Like days. After the first day outside, we moved it into the air conditioned house, thinking it would dry faster. Nope. It dried enough to gently touch it, but it was tacky for days, possibly even a full week. Maybe too much mineral spirits? I know we live in humid Florida, but the house is air conditioned. And it smelled awful for a few weeks. As soon as you open the door to our house, the smell would hit you in the face. It was pretty bad.

But the color is FABULOUS. And the smell has dissipated. And I get compliments on the cabinet all the time, so I guess it was worth the it. Eventually, I’ll move it into the breakfast/kitchen area, but for now, it is still in the living room.

Faux Bamboo China Cabinet in Sunrise Red

As much as I love the color, in the future, I’ll get a water based paint tinted to match it. Between the time it took to dry, and the smell that lingered for so long, AND the fact that the finish isn’t as great as I was hoping, it doesn’t make sense not to use a latex paint. I’ve been using Sherwin Williams All Surface Enamel lately on a lot of projects, and it dries quickly, isn’t tacky for days and doesn’t have a strong odor.

While the finished cabinet is beautiful, I have to say that this pin was sort of a FAIL for me.  🙁

Have you tried this paint, and had fabulous results? If so, what did I do wrong?!

Thanks for stopping by!

Eliesa