Table Trouble

"Muriel"

We'd like you to meet Muriel.  

Muriel is a beautiful old table that had been sitting in storage for quite some time.  She used to look very similar to this (Not the actual before picture. We forgot to take one but this is close!).   Her finish was in pretty bad shape and she was kind of dreary looking.

Oh yes, and she had another slight problem...she was missing a metal claw foot.  Now if it had been just a plain piece of metal without much detail it may not have been too much of a problem.  But this foot was anything but plain!

Because we thought we would be getting the missing foot from the original owner, we had already made plans for this table to join some other pieces that we had made for someone at a lake cottage.  We had already painted the entire table and we were just waiting to add that missing foot and to paint it.

At first there was a bit of a panic, should we just hope they wouldn't notice?  No, that wasn't an option.  Do we call them and tell them that this perfect table that they had already paid to have done was...ugh...less than perfect?  Not a great option either.

And then it hit us!  We had used this amazing product called Quick Wood in another one of our projects to replace details that were missing.  Maybe we could use it to create a foot?  Hmmm...it was worth a try!  

We used a foot from one of the other legs as the mold.  We needed to make sure that the putty would come out of the mold so we brushed the inside of it very lightly with Pam.  (I know, who would have thought?!)  We worked the putty as directed and then laid a flat piece of it inside the foot.  Next, to make sure that the mold would fit on the foot when it cured, we placed the claw foot, with the putty in it, onto the bare wood foot while the putty was still wet.  You have to work quickly because it sets really fast!  

When we pulled the mold off the leg (right away) the putty remained behind and it looked like this.  

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Ok, we did leave behind a few finger prints and the edge needed a little more detail but that wasn't a problem.  We just added a little more filler where needed and then used a dremel to polish off the fingerprints and to adjust some small details once it had dried.

A little metallic bronze paint followed by the old white paint and voila...Muriel had a perfect foot!  You honestly can not tell the difference!

And here is Muriel now...in ALL her glory!

So if you ever find that your "perfect piece" happens to be missing a bit of detail, don't pass it up because you think there isn't hope!  A little bit of Quick Wood might just do the trick!

Sharing with:

Coastal Charm:  Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Elizabeth and Co.
My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia: Tuesday's Treasures
Between Naps on the Porch: Metamorphosis Monday
Under the Table and Dreaming:  Sunday Showcase Party
Savvy Southern Style: Wow Us Wednesdays