It’s official…..I’m in my metallic paint phase of life! The funny thing is for the longest time I didn’t even like metallic paint! Now, every time I paint anything my first thought is “It should be metallic”. So, when I finally got around to redoing my $20 thrift store dresser I knew that I wanted it be a metallic charcoal gray. At first I wasn’t sure what paint to use so I Googled…..A LOT. It seems in the world of metallic paint that two paints stand out above the others, Martha Stewart and Modern Masters. The more I researched the more conflicting reviews I read about the Martha Stewart paint. So, I made the decision to use Modern Masters metallic paint for my dresser based on SO MANY rave reviews. Now, that I have used the paint first hand I thought I would give you an honest opinion of my experience.

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Pros!

Color Choices!

If you haven’t looked at the huge selection of paint colors then get ready to be blown away! Modern Masters offers a full line of colors for their metallic paint. This makes it super easy to find a color that will complement your home décor. The problem I ran into is that there are really too many choices! My heart was set on the dresser being gray but little did I realize that they would have several versions of gray! Needless to say, I did finally make up mind about a color but it was so difficult!

Difference Sizes!

The Modern Maters metallic paint comes in 6 ounce, quart, and gallon sizes. I love that they offer a 6 ounce size of this paint because you could “test” the paint on your project before you invest in a larger size. I debated about buying the quart or gallon size because I wanted to ensure I had enough paint to cover the entire dresser. Since the quart was drastically cheaper than the gallon size that’s what I went with. Luckily, I had plenty of paint to do the recommended three coats of paint.              

Easy Clean Up!

Since the metallic paint is water based the cleanup is a breeze! All you need to wash out your brushes or hands is warm water and soap. This is a huge deal for me because I detest using turpentine when I paint. Since this paint is water based, I had no trouble cleaning out my brushes!

Quick Dry Time!

I was seriously surprised when I read the instructions and it said that you could recoat in 30 minutes and it would be totally dry in 1 hour! Since this paint needed several coats this was a huge bonus. Because of the fast dry time I was able to completely paint the dresser in one day! I don’t think I have ever used a paint with such a quick dry time.

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No Lingering Smell!

Don’t misunderstand me. The paint smelled something horrible when I painted it onto the dresser. However, after I had finished painting the dresser and I left it outside for a couple hours I couldn’t smell anything. This tickled me because I was able to put it back into my room the same day that I painted it. Trust me this is NEVER the case whether I paint or stain a piece of furniture! Usually, I have to leave the painted piece out of my room for several days due to the smell triggering my Asthma (stupid breathing problems). So, the fact that this paint didn’t have any lingering smell was totally awesome.

Cons!

Hard To Find In Person!

Maybe this won’t be the case for you in your area but I had a hard time finding this paint in a physical store. At first I was super excited that Home Depot carried the paint until I found out they only had it online. Finally after fighting with the horsey Modern Masters find a retailer feature on their website I was able to locate a little paint store that carried them. As expected, since it was a small store, they didn’t have very many colors to look at (not to mention they were rude). So, in the end I bought my paint from Amazon and crossed my fingers that it was the color that I wanted.

Weird Texture!

Before I painted my dresser I completely sanded off the old stain. The dresser was so smooth since I had spent HOURS sanding it. Once I painted it with the metallic paint, the dried surface feels gritty. Not so much that it will hurt you if you brush up against it but it’s definitely not smooth. This totally bummed me out because I was envisioning my dresser being smooth to the touch like after you paint with oil based wall paint. However, this was sadly not the case. Now, Modern Masters does recommend a Master Clear sealer (a Modern Masters product) for pieces that are frequently used. Since I didn’t use this sealer I’m not sure if it might be a smoother finish with it applied. But I opted to not use the sealer because it’s quite expensive.

Leaves Marks When Touched!

Whenever I touch a dresser drawer if leaves a weird smudge. Unfortunately, these smudges won’t come off of the paint unless you use a damp rag to wipe them off. Again, I didn’t use the Master Clear sealer that is recommended and wonder if the top coat would alleviate this issue. However, it seems really stupid that I would have to use the sealer to make sure you don’t see marks when I just touch the dresser!

Coverage!

Now, I knew going into this that I choose a semi-opaque color that had less coverage than an opaque color. However, I feel like Modern Masters should warn that the first coat is going to look absolutely horrible! The package suggest using at least three coats of the paint to get good coverage. Before I began to paint with the metallic paint I painted the entire dresser with a gray tinted Zinsser 123 water based primer. I was under the impression that if I used a primer that I would need less coats of the metallic paint. This was SO NOT the case. I ended up doing all three recommended coats of paint and heavily debated about doing a fourth. Even after settling on three coats I’m still considering a fourth coat (heavy sigh).

Brush Marks!

According to Modern Masters you can use a brush to apply this metallic paint. So, after I bought good brushes I thought this would be just like any other paint that I have brushed. SO WRONG! The brush marks were clearly evident on every coat that I applied. For the final coat I applied the paint across the entire side of the dresser and had to drag the brush from end to end without stopping to make it look good. If I touched the brush to the paint for any reason I would once again have to drag the brush from end to end which was EXHAUSTING. I know what you’re going to say. Why not use a roller instead of a brush? And…… the answer is because I tried one and it made the paint have millions of tiny bubbles so back to the brush I went.

Requires Constant Stirring!

Oh man, this was so irritating! I made super sure that I had mixed the entire quart really well before I started painting. Then after a couple of brush strokes I looked down at the paint and noticed that it looked like it needed stirring. This kept on happening throughout the entire three coats of paint I applied to the dresser and drawers. I don’t think that I have ever stirred a paint so much in my life. Besides being annoying, I worried that maybe I hadn’t stirred it enough and the dresser would be blotchy. Luckily, this wasn’t the case because I would have been heartbroken!

Modern Masters metallic paint offers a huge selection of paint colors but comes with some downsides. So, if I could talk to myself before I choose this paint for the dresser would I still go with Modern Masters metallic paint? That’s a difficult question because I have some serious mixed feelings about this paint. I absolutely love the final color of the finished dresser and how it simmers when the light hits it. However, the gritty texture makes me say that I wouldn’t have chosen this paint if I had known this beforehand. In the future I think I would only use this paint on something that I wouldn’t have to touch. That way the texture wouldn’t be an issue.

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