Stencil a tabletop
A white painted pine table gets a whole new look with eye-catching stencilling. This is an easy project,
provided you take your time.
Here’s how…
Prepare the table beforehand by cleaning it with a warm soapy cloth; allow it to dry completely. If the white paint is a bit scuffed and you’d like to renew it, give the table a fresh coat – we recommend Dulux Pearlglo Waterbased. For this project we left the table as is, with the pine showing through in places.
1 Select a stencil at a craft store – ours is from homeology.co.za. If you’re concerned about how it will look, test the stencil on a sheet of white paper. 2 Tie a piece of string from one side of the table to the other as a guide to keep your stencilling straight and neat. We made loops at each end of our string and stretched it over small nails tacked into the ends of the table. Tip Tap the nails in underneath the tabletop so you can’t see the holes afterwards, or fill the holes with wood filler.
3 If you want precise stencilling, plan carefully (decide on a starting point to ensure a symmetrical end result) or simply start at one end and get stuck in! Roll the sponge roller in the paint and coat the bottom of the stamp – don’t immerse the stencil in the paint or it will get too wet. Carefully stencil from one side of the table to the other. 4 Move the guiding string along according to the width of the stencil and repeat step 3. Repeat until the tabletop is completely covered with the stencilling.
Tips
• If the table top is uneven, the stencil won’t transfer the paint evenly everywhere but don’t worry as this won’t be so noticeable once the whole table is complete – just persevere.
• Wait until the PVA paint has dried and seal it with a product such as Stiro Bonding Sealer from New Spectra Paints – apply at least three coats to ensure that the table top is washable and scratch-resistant.