Painting Furniture for a Weathered Look
- 1). Wet a sponge with warm water, and use the sponge to remove dirt and other debris from the furniture. Dry the furniture as well as you can with a soft cloth, and allow the furniture to air-dry completely. Remove all pieces of the furniture that you do not want to paint, such as drawer hardware or an upholstered seat.
- 2). Sand or scrape the furniture to remove old paint and/or sealant. Remove excess dust and other debris with a soft cloth.
- 3). Paint the furniture with one coat of a base color paint. Skip this step if you want some bare wood to show. Otherwise, the base color will show. Allow the paint to dry.
- 4). Apply a thin coat of crackle medium using a foam paintbrush. Allow the medium to dry for two to four hours.
- 5). Paint over the crackle medium with a paint color different from the base coat if you applied a base coat. Use a foam paintbrush and a thin coat of paint for small cracks in the surface; a bristle paintbrush generally creates a larger cracks. Avoid going over the areas that you already painted with a second coat of paint because doing so will fill the cracks.
- 6). Distress the furniture with sandpaper if desired. Rub fine-grit sandpaper along the edges of the piece or in areas that normally receive wear.