It's mine, I'll destroy it if I want

When I moved into Condo-copia I decided that the spare bedroom would be an office. I painted it (with the help of friends) a great color and have invested in storage that makes me happy. All the shelves and other items are white.

The desk my grandpa made was going to be in the office, but because it was stained ebony it didn't coordinate. I decided to paint it. Yeah, that's the sound of Antique Roadshow appraisers screaming in agony that you hear. I debated the value against the desire to make it a color I liked.

I painted it a nice white and it's been great. However, and my friend Robin is going to slap me for what I didn't do. I didn't sand or prep the desk in any way except to make sure it was clean. What does this mean? It means that the paint is not really on the desk. It's tightly attached to the wood finish but it subject to what the professionals call "failure". That's exactly what happened. A small area bubbled up and in trying to smooth it down it scratched and a small bit flaked off leaving a small but noticeable spot in the middle of the main work area on the desk.

Since that happened, the "little area" has gotten bigger and bigger as I peel the paint off the top of the desk. It's actually quite satisfying. I pick at it a bit and then every once in a while I get a "big" strip of dried paint to peel off.

The removal of the desk is innevitable and was from the moment of the first flake. It will be a spring / summer garage project to remove the paint, sand and strip the original finish and re-stain it. It will be more work than it would have been if I had just left it alone but I can't lament that too much now.

I normally would post a picture of the desk, but frankly it looks so bad that I can't. I also can't stop peeling. I may need to cover the top with a cloth to stop the picking. In fact it's taken me three times as long to write this because of all the pick breaks.

I have no discipline.