Bleeding Stain - NOOOOOO!!!

If you buy from enough garage sales, junk stores and yes, even antique dealers, you will eventually come across a bleeding stain. 

What, you ask, is a bleeding stain?  Well, it's usually (but not always) a reddish stain that was popular in the 30's and 40's - and may I say- that time period produced a lot of really cool furniture with lots of details - furniture that you can sometimes find for a song at a garage sale.

The "but not always" part is that it isn't always a reddish stain.  When I first started painting furniture I was told that I needed to look out for the maroon colored wood.  Well, I found out the hard way that is not always the case. 

I painted a gorgeous bedroom suit that had been in the family for generations...

Gorgeous, huh?  Started with the bed, all was well.  By the way, this was all stained a dark oak color, so I thought I was safe.  Next, I painted and recovered the vanity seat, then the mirror and finally the vanity. 

Everything was cool until about two days later...

You may not see it clearly, but a pink color is bleeding through two coats of chalk paint and wax, only on the vanity top.  Not good - not what I wanted.  But so far, I've not corrected it - in fact it has become an object lesson in the classes I teach in my studio.

What's the fix and why haven't I done it?  It involves shellac - either spray or brush on.  I have asthma, so the odor of shellac is not my friend.

I am excited about the new SHABBY PAINTS VAX - the new product line I am carrying.  The VAX is a varnish/wax product that is similar to the soft waxes available, but requires NO buffing.

It has shown great promise in "sealing" the stain from bleeding.  I came across another piece today, another vanity, that is going to require sealing, so in the next couple of weeks I'll be using the VAX and will report back!