SNS's Creative Outlet: Entry Table Makeover

A while back I scored a nice vintage 1980s entry table on Craig's List from a really nice girl who happens to live in my neighborhood. Anyhow- the price was right at $30. I purchased a paint sprayer a while back that was rec'd by Anne Marie of Twice Lovely (see blogs I follow below to check her out). It was the right price at $15. The hubs already has an air compressor, so that saved me some serious cash! I also purchased 4 legs from Lowe's for the table since it was only 25 inches tall, making the table a nice 32 inches high. I liked that the table had a lower shelf and main shelf. It had these grey glass inserts on the top, which I was not a huge fan of, but i figured I could use some glass etching technique to bring the table up to speed. I have been slightly obsessed with Greek Fretwork, so I decided on that for my stenciling (maybe not the best choice in hindsight- more on that later.) I think the etching paint was $20, but you can buy a smaller contained for less, I just thought I might like to use it again. I also purchased a "Man Cave" grey paint from Lowes in a semi gloss latex. Micheal's had the Martha Stewart for plaid paints, I bought a light grey, some brushes for painting lines (fabulous btw) and some painters tape from her line as well. I had coupons for the Micheal's gear, so that helped out a bit.
Here are the steps I used to get the final look:
1.) Sand down the peice
2.) Remove old feet, replace with new
3.) Prep for spraying the piece, hang plastic, filter paint for sprayer, test spray paint on board to check that nozzle/pressure/ technique are correct.
4.) Spray piece with paint, initially we did not water it down, but we ended up watering the paint down for the last coat. We think that the paint might not have been properly mixed since it was really chunky?
5.) After allowing paint to dry for 24 hours, tape the stencil design. Then paint the stencil design. Remove tape and touch up. I had to touch up the entire piece since when I removed the tape the edges were not very crisp. This is where Martha's brush set rocked! The detailing brushes were great for touching up the straight lines.
6.) Polycrylic the piece with as many coats as you desire- I did two in a satin finish.
7.) For the glass inserts. I cleaned the glass, taped down my design and then I followed the manufactures instructions on the etching solution. This included leaving the etching solution on for 5 minutes then washing off. I repeated this process a second time. In hindsight, I would not have done this. I did not remove all the tape and start stenciling again so it wasn't super clean and you can see where the etching solution actually was still on the glass and etched portions I did not have in my initial design. I also might have picked an easier stencil to try first. Something very linear and symetrical is not very forgiving for a novice.