It’s funny, when you see something charming you instantly gotta-have-it! This was one of those pieces. So of course, I-got-it. I found her at the Jersey shore in one of the great beach yard sales, they have the best stuff! So I put art on this vintage dry sink.
Let me tell you though, her insides stunk like nothing else.
Peee-ew!
Aside from her stinky butt, she was actually in very good condition. I cleaned the piece with dawn platinum dishwashing soap, and rinsed well with a damp towel, letting it dry before painting.

Art On This Vintage Dry Sink
Materials Used
- Dawn Platinum dishwashing liquid
- Pro Chip Brush
- Tack Cloth
- Stain
- Sand paper 220 grit
- Shellac
- DIY paints, Queen Bee, Old ’57 and Marquee
- Wise Owl Lemon Verbena furniture salve
- Putty knife
- Mist bottle
Instructions
- Clean your piece well with cleaner.
- First, I put a coat of shellac inside the entire piece. Inside and outside of the drawer/doors. This helps with odors.
- I lightly sanded the top with 220 grit sand paper and wiped clean with the tack cloth.
- Apply the stain with a lint free rag.
- Paint the entire piece with the Queen Bee
- Once that dries, apply the Marquee in random areas with the putty knife. I worked in sections.
- Then apply the Old ’57 randomly as well.
- Using my misting sprayer to create some drips within the color mixing.
- Apply each color. I added more QB if the other colors felt a bit overwhelming.
- The inside drawer and cabinet have one coat of Old ’57, it brightened up the inside.
- Using the Wise Owl salve, I coated the inside and outside for a lasting beautiful smell.
- The hardware was cleaned and rubbed to get a brassy color.

This took me a couple of days, because I’m always second-guessing what I’m seeing versus what I originally envisioned in my head. Does anyone else do that? She sure turned out to be a beauty though! But, I wasn’t done yet.

Easy Gel Stained Top

This piece turned out to be time consuming, more than I had anticipated. See how the blue brightened the inside?

This piece was one of my favorites. I was looking for bold on this one and I think I achieved that goal! She looks like a Sally to me.
Have you used a putty knife to complete a colorful piece? Please share!
Do it with purpose!

-Saul Bass