A homeowner from Washington State ordered several wood sample colors from me last month. You know, the ones that look like this?

Ten days ago I received this email -
Hi Patty,
I recently ordered the distressing kit in parchment to attack my oak kitchen cabinets (I previously ordered some samples from you). I am “testing” on a small part of my cabinets and have these little ridges when the parchment dried. Hopefully the pictures will show you what I mean. I tried to sand it down to see if they would go away….but they wont. I must be doing something wrong. I was looking for the more smooth look like the close up of the cabinet doors you have on your website on the sample page. I was just going to sand/distress the edges a bit before I put toner on…..but now I have these ridges….what am I doing wrong???
I would REALLY appreciate your advise, suggestions, help.
She sent along this photo -
I promptly got ahold of her (emailed her back and asked for her phone number). How had she applied it? How many coats? I think what happened was she applied the first coat, but it didn’t completely, evenly cover. She did apply a little more, then let it dry and started to sand. All the higher areas sanded and the ‘ridges’ were left. I told her that sometimes my first coat won’t seem to go on as even, but that my second coat fixes that . I explained how I like to touch down with my brush onto the surface, and then almost in a scrubbing motion I move my chip brush all around. What this does is ‘push’ that textured basecoat into those ‘ridge’ or groove areas - the spots that didn’t cover as well from the first coat. As you lightly ’scrub’ and cover your surface, you’ll find that your brush will glide OVER the higher areas, and barely leaves any product on those areas. This second layer goes quicker than the first - when I’ve got the surface covered, I then pull my brush lightly in a downward motion – I always do this – it leaves a cleaner look. If you still see a spot that bugs you? Brush that area - you don’t have to do the whole surface again.
That was it, I wished her luck and told her to give me a shout if she had any other questions. And, I gave her two thumbs up for working on a SAMPLE first.
Yesterday, I got another email from her -
Hi Patty,
Hope all is going well for you and yours. We spoke about a week or so ago over the phone. You helped me tremendously with a “pit-looking” issue I was having on my cabinets. Thanks to you I figured it out and am having so much fun with this! I am an artist/illustrator but being used to working on paper I never really gave re-finishing etc. much thought, although I have tiled my bathroom floor and tiled my backsplash too. But let me tell you I LOVE doing this!
During our conversation you mentioned you had some information you could send me regarding Independent Representatives vs. Certified Independent Reps. I’d really like to have some information if you have it. The more I work, the more motivated I am becoming. My girlfriend, who is an amazing decorator and has a wonderful eye for color, and I were thinking maybe we could get involved over here in the northwest!
I hope she doesn’t get mad at me for sharing some of our conversations, but offering you guys REAL LIFE examples is invaluable. This is why I love the Caromal Colour products. They DO work. They offer great finish options. It can be done without hiring a professional. And the best part is, it becomes FUN! It’s a great feeling we get when our own hands create something lovely. That ROCKS!






















































