Use Foil for an easy Silver Leaf finish!

 Aged silver leaf on a cabinet is a beautiful look.

Want to get the look without the hassle?

Our lovely cabinet was not so lovely to begin with,

take a look at its transformation.

This wood cabinet is an old stereo cabinet.

The front panels had cracked decorative panels that we removed.

Next step was using Annie Sloan's wonderful paint to cover.

We used Graphite Chalk Paint for the base to our silver leaf effect.

After the paint dried we applied a coat of Artisan Enhancements Leaf and Foil sizing.

Its like a watery glue that you paint on with a brush.

Colin and I painted the sizing on together working from either ends

of the cabinets.  We were undecided about the panels so we did not

apply the sizing inside the paneled area at first. Later we changed our minds

and did size that area as well. Wait for the sizing to dry to tacky status,

about 45 minutes.

Then start with a sheet of foil that will cover an area.

Foil is thin and on a roll (you can see it on the floor next to me).

It comes in silver, champagne and gold.

Where ever you paint the sizing on is where the foil will stick.

I roll off about 18" and then stick it matte side to the sized area.

Then rub it on with a scrub brush or a dried sea sponge to make good contact

before you peel the sheet of foil back.  The metallic foil will stick to the cabinet

and the sheet will come off almost transparent, as you can see above.

This is soooo easy and fast! Foil doesn't flake like silver leaf and you can do

large sections at a time, making this project go very quickly indeed!

Rubbing it on, peeling it off~this is the look.

You will see the brush strokes of the sizing and it creates a 

very natural leafed effect.

After a bit of debate, Colin went ahead and foiled the interiors of the panels.

Then he selected a stencil and used Graphite Chalk Paint to go over the silver.

Look at how amazing this looks!

Our stencil pattern was Royal Design Studios Small Eastern Lattice.

You can see how it looks after Colin finished the first door,

After it was all finished he protected it with Artisan Enhancements Clear Top Coat.

We use this over special finishes, like foil for a clear protective coat.

You can finish it with Annie Sloan's clear soft wax but it will dull down the foil.

Finished silver leaf effect cabinet!

Finished in one day! Hooray!

To see how easy it is to apply foil,

watch the quick short video below.