White Painted Table-Part Two

It's done! Yesterday, finally, I put the final coat of paint on my tired, old Craigslist table. I worked on it very sporatically, spending an entire day here and there, an hour or two occasionally, and mostly not doing anything at all. For weeks.

But over the last few days I went into overdrive because I'd like the entire set to be finished by Thanksgiving. Now that I know how difficult the chairs are going to be, I don't see that happening, but I'm going to get as far as I possibly can.

In case you've forgotten, here is the "before" image:



It really wasn't the ugliest table, but I wanted a white one.
Note the hideous water damage on the base:


And now it looks like this:






The table was first lightly sanded, then primed using Zinzer Bulls-Eye 123, painted with Valspar's Off White latex paint in a satin finish, detailed with some brown craft paint mixed with the Off White, and finally top-coated with water-based, clear semi-gloss Polycrylic Protective Finish by Minwax.

Here is a close-up of the detailing on the pedestal base:


...and on the top:


The water damage is long gone:


I worked endlessly trying to get a perfect finish on the table top, and I can honestly say it just wasn't going to happen. I believe I have (not kidding here) at least 20 coats of paint on the top, because I couldn't stand the brush marks. I tried using a sponge roller, several different brushes of different sizes, and a flat applicator. No matter what I tried, the brush marks were visible. I believe that I could have achieved a spotlessly smooth finish if I used a sprayer or even spray paint, but that was an expense that I couldn't afford.

After many, many days of painting, sanding, painting, sanding and painting again, I finally decided to purposefully apply the brush marks in a random pattern. And it looks JUST FINE. I could have saved a tone of time and paint if this had occurred to me sooner.

You can see a little of the brush marks, purposefully applied, here:


I'm so happy with how it works in the room. I love light and airy spaces, how can you feel down in a such a happy place?


Here is a side-by-side look at the table before and after:


So, what do you think? Was it better before? Did I ruin a perfectly good table? I'd love to hear your thoughts, so let me have 'em!