Do you want a quick and easy beginner’s project to update a piece of furniture or home decor? I have an easy solution for you…..It’s called “Wet Distressing”. I am a Brand Ambassador for Dixie Belle paints, so this tutorial will be using all Dixie Belle products. Their paints are a chalk mineral paint. I you want to check out any of the products that I used in this project, the products will have my affiliate link that will take you directly to that product on their website. My affiliate link helps me be able to provide you with free videos and tutorials. I thank you in advance for all your support. OK….Now let’s get started.
If you’d also like to watch the video of this project…click here.
Here’s the look I will show you how to achieve: (It’s a technique to show texture and levels of colors, giving you an aged or farmhouse look)
Step 1: If you follow my blog, you already know what step 1 is…..clean, clean, clean. You can’t skip this process, even if your piece looks clean. Use a good strong cleaner (I use White Lightening: which is not for every day use…its for prepping your piece to paint). After you have cleaned your piece…You’re not done….. You need to take water and a rag and wipe down your piece to remove any cleaning residue. No matter what you use for a cleaner, you have to do this step. Cleaning products will leave a residue which will create a barrier between your furniture piece and the paint….which results in paint not adhering in areas.
Step 2: Choose a color that you want to have “peaking through” your final color. On my project, I used Dixie Belle’s Fluff (its a soft white). If you want to have some wood showing through as well (for a really aged look) you will only need to paint 1 coat of Fluff (or the color you choose). I did 2 coats because I didn’t want to have any wood showing when I do the distressing step.
Step 3: After your first color has dried completely, paint your final color (the color you will primarily seeing on your piece). I chose Dixie Belle’s Mint Julep (soft mint green) as my final color. I only used 1 coat of the Mint Julep. Let the paint dry for about 15-30 minutes and then proceed to the next step.
Step 4: Using a baby wipe or a damp link free rag, and wipe back the paint in areas you want to distress to show the first color you painted on (in my case, the Fluff / soft white). Do as much or as little distressing as you want. If you want your wood to show through in an area, apply more pressure when wiping back the paint to get past your first color. IMPORTANT TIP: If you wait too long (over night) your paint will be hard to do wet distressing because the paint will not want to “reactivate” and come off. This only works when using chalk based paints such as Dixie Belle’s Chalk Mineral Paint. If you wait too long and you’re paint won’t distress with a damp rag, you’ll need to get out the sand paper and do traditional distressing by rubbing sand paper on the area you want to reveal the underlying color.
Step 5: Protect and Seal your piece. You can use any sheen of clear coat you want or you can use a clear wax. I used Dixie Belle’s Easy Peasy Spray Wax because it so easy to use…. shake the bottle, spray it on, let it sit for a few minutes and then use a lint free cloth to smooth it in and evenly spread it out. It dries in 30 minutes and cures in 6 hours !
Whaaa Laaaa ….. you’ll all done !! This is a quick and easy project, I hope you enjoyed it.
Don’t forget to head over to my facebook page @ajsvintagedesigns and LIKE / FOLLOW me there because I do free video tutorials each week and I also have a crafting / sewing / painting Youtube channel called Fashion Toppings too ! I’m also in Instagram @ajsvintagedesigns
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