Painting, Distressing & Varnishing a Mirror with a Durable Finish Tutorial

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQKHOi0pwWQ]

This week I got back into doing something I truly love, and that is restoring unloved furniture into desirable and more modern pieces.

It’s been a while since I had promised to sought through all the vintage items of clothing first for my eBay shop, Victoria British Boutique.

I have a backlog of projects I have hoarded and lots of paint to get through. Unfortunately I also have a selection of colours which I would love to use but as many restorers will agree it’s dangerous to paint with anything other than classic, saleable white. I would love to experiment with other colours, but I have to be commercial due to limited space and the need of a quick turnover.

This mirror here is my 2nd project of the week which featured on my new YouTube channel, Vikkie’s Vintage.

Originally in orange pine, it was a classic piece that could easily be transformed so I bought it a couple of months back. I can’t get enough of mirrors – they’re vital in a home for lighting and narcissism(!) and so they tend to sell quick in my shop.

I sanded the shine off the mirror to start with, rubbed down with a damp cloth and gave it two thin coat of Leyland’s undercoat and primer.

I then gave it one coat of a now discontinued Harvest Moon Wickes’ Chalky Flat Matt paint, gave it a distressed look using 220 grit sandpaper and sanded out some of the brushstrokes and sealed with a Ronseal Satin Non-Drip Supergel varnish I had bought off a local market for £5 (this is a similar one).

As for protecting the glass itself with any project, I would not do it any other way other than fully protecting it with paper and masking tape. I have tried paint scrapers in the past and found on every project, I have had scratching – it is not worth impeding on your hard work.