Anyone know how to achieve this effect?


zeboim

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My wife and I went furniture shopping a few weeks ago and it looks like "distressing" wood is a big trend now.  By distressing, I don't mean beating the crap out of the wood, but rather making it look like the paint is old and worn.  I'm not a fan of this personally, but my wife is in love with it.  Does anyone have any ideas on how to achieve this effect with the paint?  I was thinking about hitting the painted surface with sand paper or steel wool, but my wife had mentioned watering down the paint.  I'll add a photo for reference.

11216822_10153611883323205_7403703497083991084_n.jpg

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I saw Charles Neil do similar things using milk paint.  If I remember correctly he put a base coat of one color on then sanded and then went over with second color and wiped it with a rag. This might also be some sort of glazing technique, but I am a complete novice when it comes to finishing, so I could be wrong.

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That effect is known as aged/distressed looking patina. Google that, several DIY videos are available. Essentially it's all about applying two coats of paint, each one a different color. Then you  sand the top coat in selected areas, revealing the background coat.

Thank you!  I tried looking for techniques on distressing and all I found were people hitting the wood with chains and poking holes in it and things like that.  I'll look into those search terms.

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Look at generalfinishes.com.  They have some instructions on how do that with their glaze effects paint, which is just thinned paint.   Usually you put a darker basecoat, glaze it with a lighter color, wait for it to dry, then strategically rub with steel wool.   After that a clear top coat will help protect your fake distressing :) 

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  • 1 month later...

My wife did something similar to a couple old cheap pieces we had.  I'm pretty sure she mixed the paint with plaster of paris and water.  Basically it's a DIY chalk paint.  Then do a light coat or two over the piece.  Just enough so that you could still kind of see the brush strokes.  Once it's dry hit it with some sandpaper to "distress" it.

If you have to mix multiple batches, write down your recipe or the batches won't match.

Dresser.jpg

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I saw Charles Neil do similar things using milk paint.  If I remember correctly he put a base coat of one color on then sanded and then went over with second color and wiped it with a rag. This might also be some sort of glazing technique, but I am a complete novice when it comes to finishing, so I could be wrong.

 

Charles Neil showed the technique on a Tommy Mac episode.

http://www.tommymac.us/blog/episode-505-simple-shaker-night-stand-and-finishes/

starting at 13:35

Edited by davewyo
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