- 1). Lay a dropcloth or old newspapers to protect the floor in your work area. The area should provide ample ventilation.
- 2). Clean debris, dust and dirt off the piece of furniture with a mild liquid soap and brush. Use a toothpick or toothbrush to get into the small crevices. Allow the furniture piece to dry for several hours. Remove loose paint with a dry rag.
- 3). Paint the furniture piece with a base coat of flat latex paint, using a paintbrush. This base coat will show through the distressed areas when this project is finished. Strokes of paint should follow the same direction as the wood grain on the furniture. It's fine to paint over an old layer of paint. Allow the base coat to dry for 24 hours. Paint over the base coat with two or three colors of paint and allow each layer to dry.
- 4). Distress the furniture piece with steel wool, a wire brush, sandpaper and other scraping tools. Use different grades of sandpaper to make the furniture piece look as if it has aged naturally. Areas to distress on furniture pieces include the seats of chairs, rocking chair rungs, legs and feet of tables, chairs and dressers. Other areas to distress are edges, corners, around knobs or handles or just random areas. The goal is to make the furniture piece look like it has gone through normal wear and tear and not as if it should be tossed in the garbage.
- 5). Apply a paste wax that has a stain to the furniture piece, using a brush. Use a dark stain color if you used a dark paint for the base coat. The dark color will help the furniture piece look "dirty" and aged. Trim the bristles of your brush until they are about 3 inches long. It's easier to apply paste wax with a short-bristled brush. Allow the wax to dry for a few hours. Remove the wax with a cloth.
- 6). Apply a layer of clear varnish to the furniture piece to protect the look you have created.
- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -