Monday, August 15, 2016

Saltwash Versus Sea Salt

Furniture painting, Saltwash, painting with sea salt, textured finishes
After using plain sea salt on my zinc pots (READ POST HERE), I decided to take the challenge to tables.


It would be the Saltwash Versus Sea Salt competition.

Which product would win the gold?

By the way, I was NOT compensated for using the products named in any way.

Saltwash purchased HERE.   Two Lovely Flowers on Etsy.

Cerulean Seas Sea Salt Fine Crystals purchased at Fresh Market for $1.99 plus tax.





My two victims - two similar candlestick tables.

Both needed a bit of tightening and cleaning before the challenge began.









To be able to start on a level playing field, I painted each with Waverly Chalk paint in Truffle.

One coat for each.

Dried great in less than 20 minutes.







In separate plastic cups, I mixed Saltwash with Americana Decor Chalky Finish paint in Escape and the same with plain sea salt.

I only mixed a little because a little goes a long way.

I used the directions from watching Saltwash videos.

At this point I was not a happy camper.

It was a hot and humid day.

Not good for painting outside.






This is the table with Saltwash.

I named her Prissy.











This is the table with plain sea salt.

I named her Scruffy.

I had a very difficult time getting this dry enough for the next step.

The Saltwash must have a drying agent in it - it dried a little better than the sea salt.





I used Americana Decor Chalky Finish paint in Lace for the top coat.

Here's a full view of Prissy.







Here's her top.

Texture - check

Sea washed color - check










Full view of Scruffy.
















Here's her top.

Texture - check

Sea washed look - check

However neither table would dry.

It did not help I left them for a quick Olympics watch and it sprinkled rain on them.

I threw both of them in the dining room for a few days.


The paint finally cured - it no longer peeled right off.



Here's Scruffy after sanding and a coat of satin varnish.

It was quite easy to get the layers of paint to show.









Her base is definitely textured and ancient-looking.












Prissy (Miss Saltwash) was harder to sand.

I was not using the electric sander - just a sanding sponge.

Here's her top - it was difficult to get down to the brown layer of paint.






Her base is textured and has an old look.












So which table wins the gold and which the silver?













I have to award Prissy (Miss Saltwash) the gold - she dried and sanded to a smooth distressed finish.

Scruffy (Miss Sea Salt) wins the silver - if you love a lot of texture and depth this is the choice for you.

I will use the rest of the canister of Saltwash on other furniture projects, but for smalls like my zinc pots, I will stick to plain old sea salt.

I still think the finishes learned in the Farragoz course are superior to these. 

And, NO, I am not compensated to say that.


See y'all!









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12 comments:

  1. I like Scruffy! Good job comparing both products.

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  2. They both look great! But, I am partial to Scruffy! :)

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  3. Great comparison. I like them both but love Scruffy. Great job Donna.
    Kris

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  4. I guess it all depends on what finish you want to have.

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  5. Great job on both Donna. I'm partial to Prissy.

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  6. Thanks for doing the comparison. I was just replying to a comment about Saltwash and went to your post for the link. There was your comparison post.

    I'm going to try your method on some unsuspecting piece of furniture in the house and I'll let you know my opinion - whether you want it or not!

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  7. Very interesting! I've been wanting to take the Farragoz course. Maybe with my Christmas money...

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  8. Thanks for doing a comparison...I think I like Scruffy better.
    Have a good week! xo, T.

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  9. I love scruffy! It was great to see the comparison side-by-side!

    Tania

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  10. An upset! I was sure that Scruffy had the gold. I think the French judge flip flopped.

    (I'd be kind of afraid that all that salty painting would give me high blood pressure.)

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  11. It was very interesting to see your work on the two tables. I love Prissy most, but I must say I love the different colours on Scruffy.

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