First I popped off the hubcaps, then removed the wheels. I wanted the interior to essentially stay the same because I like the pink velvet curtains and the tufted seat cushion. Plus, when the canvas roof is on you can't see much of the interior anyway. So I added two layers of blue painter's tape over each of the 6 windows, one layer going horizontal, one layer vertical. Then I trimmed up a plastic garbage bag and used blue painter's to secure it in place over the roof opening. Then I sprayed the entire carriage in flat black spray paint I bought at Lowe's for $4 a can. It took 2 cans to cover the whole body.
I thought flat black was the way to go so it didn't look to "new". I was wrong. I hated the results. It looked awful in flat black. Even though the wheels were not yet painted I hoped maybe it would look okay once I tried the wheels on?
No. So, I went back to Lowe's and got two cans of gloss black. I let each coat dry for 24 hours after applying so the paint could cure properly, an annoying but very important step with gloss spray paint. I was much happier with the glossy finish. I moved it into my basement craft space to dry for several days and cure completely.
While that was drying I spray painted all of the wheels with flat black. I was sure they would look best in flat black and I was right. Then I reassembled the carriage to get a peek at what it would like.
The carriage originally came with a brown horse but I replaced it with another AG horse that is all black with a white stripe on his face. This carriage needs a black horse for sure. The saddle and ugly green blanket went into the trash and things were starting to look more Ghastly.
Next I had to paint the spokes on the wheels. Originally the wheels were yellow with black accents. I chose to use Golden's Fluid Bronze acrylic to hand paint the detail back on to the spokes. This bronze acrylic matches the bronze lanterns which I liked the way they were and did not want to paint.
Then, I found some brass bat stampings at BSues Boutique (google it, all kinds of cool crap) and I had to decide how they would look best as ornamentation on the carriage. I presented three options to my fabulous friends on Facebook: the original brass, a version that was painted flat black and a version that was first painted flat black and then had some of the same bronze acrylic dry-brushed over it. The majority of us felt that the version painted flat black with bronze acrylic dry brushed on to it looked best. Of course! The most labor intensive always looks the best.
I adhered the bats to the carriage and Evangeline was ready to go to the red Masquerade in style!
There will be more pics to come of the carriage set up in my new display space with it looking pretty ghastly next to the Ghastly Mausoleum in the Ipswich cemetery.
