Can You Distress White Painted Wood

When it comes to furniture, the shabby, distressed look is big correct now.

It gives off a relaxed, vintage vibe, and the great thing near this look is that it can exist achieved hands through a little DIY.

A lick of white paint on your old furniture will not only give it a new lease of life, but information technology'south perfect for achieving that chalky, slightly distressed wait that is huge in the decor world right at present.

However, you might find yourself wondering how to reach a 'distressed' look with white paint?

In this article, we'll show you to 'distress' your furniture with white pigment, and how to apply a rustic whitewash.

How to distress furniture

This is one of the nearly pop methods for distressing your article of furniture.

For this, you'll need the post-obit:

Materials and Tools

Sandpaper
Paint
Paint brushes or rollers
Polyurethane
Candle
Steel wool
Stain (optional)
Driblet cloths
Rags or tack cloths

Before you kickoff, lay out the drop cloths and ready the surface area where you'll be painting. It'southward a good thought to remove any metal hardware or knobs from the furniture so they don't get marked with paint.

Sand/ clean your slice

You'll want to work on a make clean, sanded piece of furniture. If the furniture is unfinished, you can sand it lightly, whereas pieces that take been previously painted or treated volition need to be sanded more than thoroughly.

This is too a proficient fourth dimension to soften any sharp edges or corners, and be sure to give the piece a skilful wipe down in one case yous're finished sanding.

Apply the paint

Next you lot'll want to paint your piece of furniture.

How you desire the finished piece to look depends on your paint application method.

For a distressed look with the wood peeking through, one pigment color will suffice, whereas some people utilise ii colors of paint to brand it look as though the piece has been painted before – this way the base of operations color peeks through.

Paint the piece all over, and apply a 2nd glaze if necessary. And so wait for the paint to dry completely.

Apply wax and summit layer of paint (optional)

If you want a second color to show through, you can rub a wax candle over the painted piece once it's dry. The adjacent coat of paint won't adhere to the wax, and y'all'll exist able to peel information technology abroad for that distressed expect.

After applying the wax, pigment over the entire piece with your second color, including the waxed areas.

If yous're not using two colors, skip to the next step .

Use sandpaper and steel wool to distress the pigment

Once your piece is fully dry, you tin can utilise sandpaper and steel wool to distress the paint.

If yous applied wax, use steel wool over these areas to uncover the base color.

If yous used just white pigment or one color, use the steel wool and sandpaper to rough upwardly the edges and corners and add signs of 'wear' and 'distress.'

In one case y'all're happy with the await, dust away any chips with a rag before moving on to the next stride.

Apply a stain (optional)

You can apply a stain on summit of the dried paint if you want to requite the slice of article of furniture a polished, blowsy look.

Apply one coat of the stain and and then use a rag to wipe off the excess – focus on using a straight motion, rather than rubbing in a circle. Then let the stain to dry.

Protect with polyurethane

It's a skilful idea to cease your piece by applying a coat of clear polyurethane to seal and protect the paint.

Await for the piece to dry out completely, and then y'all can reinstall any knobs or hardware.

How do yous pigment white rustic?

There are numerous techniques to utilise white paint in a 'rustic' way.

By rustic we mean not pristinely painted – a trivial 'roughed up' and distressed rather than shiny and brand-new looking.

You can achieve this wait using the wax, steel wool and sandpaper methods mentioned to a higher place, though if yous adopt a 'white-launder' effect, here's how to achieve it:

Y'all'll need:

White paint
Paintbrush
Saucepan
Paint stirrer
Sandpaper
Rag
Wood furnishing or surface
Dropcloth

Sand your furniture

Every bit with the first method, begin by thoroughly sanding the woods article of furniture slice to ensure the paint will adhere to the wood, equally information technology's harder for the paint to do this when information technology's watered downwards.

Attempt to remove all traces of sealant or previous pigment and wipe the item downward with a rag.

Mix the whitewash

Mix white paint and h2o together to create your whitewash.

You can experiment with the ratio, just a ane:1 ratio will give you a more opaque await, while a 3:ii (water to paint) ratio volition give you a streakier, chalkier look.

Apply your whitewash

Once y'all're happy with your whitewash ratio yous can apply it to your furniture. How you apply it is upwards to yous; a brush volition permit the grain to testify, a rag will provide a smoothen await, or pouring it on directly will provide an all-over glaze.

Merely be aware that the whitewash is much, much thinner than pigment, so apply with caution and brand sure you've covered surrounding items and the floor.

You can add a second coat if you lot wish, in one case the first glaze is dry.

Leave to dry out

Permit the whitewash dry for a few hours before touching. Fifty-fifty though whitewash will dry quicker than regular paint, information technology's best left overnight before using.

And voila! – yous're done — savour your new rustic-looking whitewash piece.

Terminal Say

Today we've shown you lot 2 methods you tin can do at home to achieve a rustic or distressed white paint application.

These techniques are a neat way to revive vintage furniture without ending upwardly with pieces that can await also jarring or pristine. The 'shabby chic' wait is perfect for providing your home with a cosy, lived-in vibe, while remaining on-trend and original.