"A Fresh Coat of Paint'

I don't know how many times I have heard the statement that with a fresh coat of paint everything looks "fresh" and "new." Be it HGTV or any other home decorating show, magazine etc.. a fresh coat of paint makes what is  "old" look "new" in a jiffy.  Forget about scrubbing  your old greasy kitchen cabinets....just use a fresh coat of paint.....Since we live in a society where growing old is an absolute no no a fresh coat  of paint provides for a quick resolution to a  complex problem....I must add I became a victim to this myself with a wooden mirror I bought for 8 bucks. Now feeling trigger happy after spray painting the small green chair I wanted "color." After all in decorating magazines all you see is painted furniture....So I got ready with cans of colors from the basement and decided to let it all hang out....

After painting it multiple times (I opted for aubergine) I realized that it looked like a sad hollywood star whose  plastic surgery had gone terribly wrong.

Check it out and you know what I mean: http://radaronline.com/photos/the-20-most-shocking-celebrity-plastic-surgery-transformations/photo/528124/

Now,  if you have something that is very very damaged,  plywood or just plain ugly a coat of paint can only make it look better but if your acquisition is solid beautiful wood put the  paint can, brush etc to the side and be willing to work....Just remember that all this countries' old wooden furniture is being  painted beyond recognition as we speak and it is your responsibility to step up to the plate...

Anyway, after realizing my failure I took out the stripper, steel wool, wood conditioner, stain, varnish and got to square one taking the whole mirror  apart and starting  from scratch:

Now, I must admit the the idea of throwing the whole mirror  away cruised my mind as I scrubbed and rubbed....( I could always buy a new one...). Nevertheless, deep inside I knew following that path would scar me for life....After all the scrubbing, conditioning and staining things started looking up:

Finally I put the whole mirror back together and here you go:

Hugh....feel much better....
I feel I was true to this nice mirror with an old "USA" sticker on the back. I want to give it a chance to grow old gracefully...