Bookcase-Cam - Days Twenty Three - Thirty One



It's time to paint. As the uniform color of the primer coat hides dissimilar wood species and joint lines and emphasizes the lines of trim, the project starts to look like real furniture:



I apply the first finish coat of paint to the south case...



...and the north.



It's hard to see the Wagner Power Roller in these pictures, which is a pump that sends paint from the can through a tube that leads to a special hollow roller, so you basically never have to go to the tray for fresh paint. I bought it for this job after trying out a friend's -- I don't use the roller here, though -- instead I use the Power Pad attachment to get paint onto the cases, and a hand brush to smooth it out. It shortens the painting time considerably, but is tricky to control; several times I get too much paint on the surface and it starts to drip or sag. (Hmm, maybe a clothespin on the line next time...) Should work well for ceilings too -- every one in the house needs a coat.

Meanwhile, Anne primes & paints the doors & drawer fronts:





At last the paint is dry and we can put all the parts in place, to see how it will look:



It's a relatively quick job to put in the hinges (which match those in the original china cabinets, whose detailing I am trying to mimic) and knobs, and load up the shelves with books.



With this, another major milestone is reached, this time felt throughout the house: as the living room returns to normal for good, other rooms benefit by disgorging their contents into the cases. I call this "phase one completion" -- even though there's more to do, someone unaware of the remaining features would consider the cases finished at this point.

Initial week of daily activity: | Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7,8 | 9 |
Long-term weekend progress: | 10 | 11 | 12,13 | 14,15 | 16-18 | 19 |
Intermittent bursts of effort: | 20-22 | 23-31 | 32-35 |
Bookcase-Cam Home

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