Dress Up A Tray Using A Stencil ~ Tutorial

If you've been waiting to see when I would have trouble with a project, today is your day! It was all going along just fine, until I started stenciling the pattern on the tray. Halfway through this step I realized the yellow paint color was just not working.

I had wondered about this choice, but this was an attempt to expand beyond the colors I typically use. Luckily I had a backup, a can of Sherwin Williams ProClassic in Softer Tan sitting in the garage. I grabbed it and started stenciling over all the yellow. As you can imagine, this setback was frustrating. So instead of continuing, I thought it would be more productive to take a break, write this post and finish the project later!


But back to the beginning. I love using ProClassic paint from Sherwin Williams for furniture and decorative items. It dries to a hard, durable finish. Latex X-Tender is also a helpful paint conditioner which minimizes brush marks and extends the working time of paint.


First the tray was sanded to remove the original finish, allowing new paint to adhere to its surface. Removing all the stain was not necessary as primer would cover any remaining stain.


Next a layer of primer was applied...



...and once dry, the surface was lightly sanded to remove a few rough spots.


Then paint was brushed on. The color used was SW 7017 Dorian Gray, and fortunately I was happy with this color choice!


After the paint dried, the tray was lightly sanded and another thin layer of paint was applied.


Now it did occur to me, as I was working through the above steps, that it would be Sooooooo much easier to start with an unfinished tray. Look at the tiny image I found to illustrate my point! Do you know a resource for unfinished trays, in a variety of sizes? If this process was streamlined, stenciled trays would make great gifts for the upcoming holidays. Can you picture a small tray with a simple medallion or other design stenciled in the center, in great colors? Perfect!


Anyway, I was excited to complete the initial steps and get to the next step...stenciling the pattern onto the tray.


First the design was centered and taped into place. I took a few measurements to make sure the placement was correct.


To minimize paint seeping under the stencil a dry brush method was used to paint. Simply dip the tips of the stencil brush in paint and remove any excess by tapping the brush on a paper towel.

Then the design was filled in using a stippling method, which involves tapping the brush repeatedly over the cutout areas.


It wasn't looking bad, so I just keep going. Then I decided to check the progress and lifted up the stencil. Now in the photo below the trellis pattern actually does become apparent. But I tell you, in person the painted areas read as purely random shapes! I literally could not see the trellis pattern and wondered what on earth I had done wrong. Initial panic, then I realized the pattern color needed to be lighter than the tray color for the pattern to clearly emerge.


In addition, this particular combination of gray and yellow was making me feel nauseous.


So I grabbed the other can of paint from the garage and began the process of painting over the yellow with ivory. This was very frustrating and ate up a lot of time...


...but then, relief! Now this is better. Sometimes you just have to hang in there and make adjustments along the way to get where you want to go. Isn't that true with most things in life?

Hopefully things will continue to go well from here and I'll have a finished tray to show you tomorrow, or soon. I promise.