How to Repaint a Wooden Sleigh for Under Your Tree

Have you ever passed up on an item because of the color? Don’t! Let me show you how to repaint a wooden sleigh for under your tree.

You may not have a sleigh but came across a bench in an awful color. It could be a gem in the rough!

The sleigh was red and green. You can see from the photo below it has lots of dust and dirt. Honestly, I wondered if it would ever come clean.

Disclosure: This is a paid sponsored post by Dixie Bell Paint Company. The opinions are always my own.

I will give it a good cleaning Dixie Belle’s White Lightning Cleaner.

Let’s get started!

How to Repaint the Sleigh for Under the tree

Here is a step by step tutorial on transforming this dirty sleigh into a beautiful Christmas decor item for my home.

For this project, I am using Dixie Belle Paint Company products. If you are new to Dixie Belle Paint products, they have an array of items available. The key to any good project is to use quality products. Dixie Belle has some of the best products to work with and I absolutely love their product line.

Clean It

With a lot of elbow grease and White Lightning Cleaner by Dixie Belle Paint Company, I was able to get it clean. You mix White Lightning Cleaner into water. With a sponge or cloth, you wipe down the piece of furniture or object you are working on. I like to put it in an old spray bottle to get into all of those nooks and crevices. After I am finished, I will dump out the bottle and rinse it thoroughly.

I will wipe the item down once or twice with the White Lightning Cleaner. Then I will go over it again with just plain warm water.

Sand

Once the sleigh had dried, I used a sanding sponge over the entire sleigh. I wanted this sleigh not to look new. After all, this sleigh is an old piece. I wanted to keep some of the imperfections and not sand it completely smooth. I did leave it rough without distressing it later.

It adds to the character of the piece.

BLEED THROUGH OR ODOR ISSUES – ADD A COAT OF BOSS

BOSS to the rescue to eliminate an bleed through from the red and green paint colors. I have used BOSS on about four projects now. It is an amazing product.

I gave the piece a coat of BOSS. You shake the product really well and apply with a paint brush or sponge (Dixie Belle also has some great sponges too for top coat). It is important to follow the manufacture instruction for drying times.

This product is amazing and even works on furniture that has that “old” smell to it.

Paint & Seal It

I selected the Silk All-In-One Mineral Paint. What I love about this paint is it has a built in primer and top coat. The color of this paint color for the main part of the sleigh is called Whitecap. It has the built in top coat and will not require sealing.

The top portion in Whitecap took three coats.

On the bottom portion, I really liked the color Hurricane. It is a nice rich gray. It is from the mineral paint line that does not have the built in top coat. I will add a satin top coat only to the bottom portion to seal and protect it.

You would brush on the satin top coat once the paint has thoroughly dried. Two coats of the satin top coat was used over the Hurricane color.

It took two coats to cover the green with the color Hurricane.

Gilding Wax

Have you ever tried Gilding Wax? I absolutely love it!

It can really transform and brighten up your hardware. It adds a touch of beauty, shimmer and sheen to your painted projects.

You can apply Gilding Wax with your finger, cloth, sponge or brush. I am using the Gilding Wax in gold and applying it with a small brush. Next, I took a paper towel to buff some of it off to give it a patina look (aged).

Let the Gilding Wax dry for 30 – 60 minutes. Lightly buff after 12 hours to produce a beautiful gilded finish.

Style It

The white with the gray really ties in with the colors of my home. Also, it could be used on my front porch during the winter with some ever greens plants.

Love it!

A ribbon and some jingle bells tied to twine adds some finishing touches.

Doesn’t it look beautiful with Christmas presents in it?

I am thrilled how well this project turned out. Dixie Bell paints and products helped me turn it into a gem for the holiday season.

What a fun to complete! We will be using this sleigh for many years to come.

Please do me a favor and pin the photo below to Pinterest. Thank you, sweet friend!

Resources

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. The opinions here are all my own. It helps me to continue to bring to you DIY and projects on my blog.

• White Lightning Cleaner – to clean your piece of furniture
• Boss – blocks odors, stains, stops bleed thru
• Silk All-In-One Mineral Paint – Built In Primer, Built In Top Coat (I am using Whitecap)
• Hurricane Mineral Paint
• Clear Coat Satin – Only necessary if using chalk paint (I used it only for the Hurricane color).
• Gold Gilding Wax
• Good Synthetic Paint Brushes – I use Dixie Belle 2 inch mini. They wash great and reusable.
• The Sanding Sponge – 220 grit and excellent for wet or dry distressing.
• Continuous Mister Bottle – This Mister by Dixie Belle is amazing to work with your paint. I will use no other misting bottle.
• Sponge Application

OTHER PAINTING PROJECTS

• Snowman Wood Sign for Christmas
• Jewelry Armoire Makeover – Painted Furniture
• DIY Decoupage and Paint
• Vintage Vanity
• DIY Wall Art for Photos
• Furniture Refresh With Chalk Paint

Thank you, friend for stopping by the blog today. I hope you found some good inspiration on today’s post.

Please follow me on Facebook at White Lilac Farmhouse, on Instagram @whitelilacfarmhouse, on LKT at white_lilac_farmhouse, Pinterest, YouTube and Twitter.

Make it an amazing day!