This is a picture of the chair before the paint started chipping
I sanded the areas where the paint was chipping then I wiped down the chair with a damp cloth. I primed the entire surface with primer.
Once that dried I used an adhesive spray all over the chair . It gets tacky almost immediately so you'll be able to apply the silverleaf right away. I used Silver Leaf but you can get Metal Leaf, Gold Leaf, etc... I picked mine up at Hobby Lobby but I've also purchased it off Amazon.
The
silver leaf pieces are separated by wax paper. They crumble easily so applying
them using the wax paper is convenient. After placing the first piece I rubbed
a foam brush over the back side of the wax paper then peeled the wax paper off.
The silver leaf stuck to the adhesive. I placed each piece slightly over the
other. I used a paint brush to push the crumbled pieces into the cracks that
the silver leaf didn't adhere to. After I finished putting the silver on the
entire chair I sprayed it with a metal leaf sealer that I picked up from an art
store and let it sit for 36 hours. I thought I was done...then my sister sat in
the chair and got silver on the back of her shirt. So, I'm going to paint a
coat of polyurethane sealer over it. I read online that a lot of people don't
seal their projects because they like the antiqued look when pieces flake off. Unfortunately,
I did a high traffic piece so I'll most definitely need to use a sealer.
**NOTE: The silver flakes get everywhere so make sure you are outside or on a tile/wood surface that will be easy to sweep when you are done.