You can make your wood furniture look antique without keeping it around for a hundred years. Learn how to antique wood furniture with paint.
All You Need
- Piece of wooden furniture
- Dark stain
- 2 contrasting colors of paint (milk paint works great here)
- Sandpaper — coarse and fine
- Sanding sponge
- Fine steel wool
- Beeswax
- Tack cloth
Step-by-Step
1. Use a sanding sponge to round any hard edges or corners. Wipe off all sanding dust with the tack cloth.
2. Stain the wood and allow to dry. The stain ensures that wood showing through the paint looks old.
3. Rub beeswax on the wood in places that commonly show wear — handles or raised areas on a cabinet; arms, back and seat edges on a chair.
4. Paint the piece with the color you want to use as a base coat and allow it to dry.
5. Rub the waxed areas with steel wool. The paint peels off, revealing the wood.
6. Lightly sand the exposed wood to create a smooth surface between the painted and unpainted wood. Wipe with the tack cloth.
7. Rub wax over the same areas as before, overlapping areas slightly to include adjacent painted areas.
8. Apply the second color of paint and allow it to dry.
9. Rub the waxed areas with the steel wool to reveal the first layer of paint and the wood beneath. You can completely remove all the second layer, or leave some behind, depending on which look you like better.
10. Sand again to smooth all surfaces and wipe with the tack cloth.
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Sears Brands, LLC 2007. All rights reserved.