Getting There: Repainting the Bookcases

Today I also completed the repainting of the two built-in bookcases.  Originally, I'd only planned to repaint the back walls of them in the darker yellow.  But a week ago when I took the books out to begin, I was confronted with the black marks left on the latex paint where the volumes had stuck to the shelves.  I decided I'd do better with oil base paint tinted to match, and I'd give it at least a week to cure before I put anything back.

Got the quart of oil-base last Saturday on my way to the Green Festival.  Found out that due to the difference in the base, I couldn't get it tinted in exactly the same shade.  And I had to settle for gloss, where all the rest of the woodwork is semi-gloss.  Never mind, the durability is the thing.

But these differences led me to conclude that I'd best repaint all parts of the bookcases, inside and out.  Before, I was only going to do the top surfaces of the shelves.  And maybe the side walls, where book jackets would stick, too.

So early this past Tuesday afternoon I started in with the oil base primer, formulated to go over latex or oil.  It's thicker than latex and takes a lot longer to brush on.  Thus as I started on the lefthand case I was dismayed to see that it was already 2:40.  Oh-oh.  I really needed to be cleaned up, changed, and on the road by 3:00 in order to make it over to the next county for the meeting of my presbytery by 4:00 PM.  But I really needed to finish the primer in one go.  I'm short of mineral spirits and I had only one clean 2" chip brush, the one I was using, and intended to throw it away when I was done.  So I kept working, debating within myself as to whether I would go to the meeting or not.  As it was, I did finish priming and I did go, pulling primer out of my hair all the way there and arriving over forty-five minutes late.  I'm glad I went, in a grim sort of way, but that'd be a story for different blog.

Anyway, late last evening yesterday and into the wee hours I got the "Decisive Yellow" latex onto the back wall of the lefthand bookcase, a second coat of same onto the righthand one, and the first coat of the oil base white onto both.  Today saw me getting the second coat of the yellow onto the left, and a second go at the white oil-base on both bookcases, though this time I only did the shelves and top.

Oh, yeah, I also used the oil base paint on the ledge that runs in front of the attic hatch door.  Actually, that's why I didn't start this process till Tuesday:  I didn't want the roof inspector to come tramping over it while it was still wet.

Now it's all shiny and smelly and off-gassing delightfully.  And hopefully it'.ll look better longer than the latex did.