Steps To Paint Furniture Shabby Chic Distressed
Shabby Chic is a style option that gives an antique appearance. Shabby Chic Distressed is a technique used to give the new furniture an aged or antique appearance. The user can paint his furniture shabby chic by following the below-given steps;
- Prepare Furniture: The first step will be to wash the entire furniture with warm soapy water and allow it to dry thoroughly. It has been recommended to remove drawers & other hardware from the furniture before washing it all over. Besides that, the user needs to make necessary repairs in the furniture followed by sanding it all over with fine-grit sandpaper.
- Rub Wax Over Furniture: The user can give his furniture a peeling or cracking paint look by rubbing candle wax over it. It has been recommended to rub the wax at places where the user wants to achieve peeling or cracking look because the paint will roll over waxed places.
- Apply Paint: The next step will be to apply a decent coat of paint all over the furniture and let it dry as per label instructions. Using a primer before paint is not recommended in the process because showing wood instead of primer is a part of the shabby-chic look. The user can apply a second coat of paint once the first coat of paint dries completely.
For a two-tone look, the user needs to apply one color coat first and let it dry completely. After that, the user needs to rub more wax over the furniture before applying second different color coat paint. The second coat of paint will come off at the waxed places to show the under color and give the furniture a worn look. Note: Mostly, shabby-chic furniture is painted with a satin or flat paint as high gloss paint is not liked by many.- Distress Furniture: Once the paint dries over the furniture, the user needs to start distressing it with steel wool or sandpaper. Before starting the distressing process, it is necessary to know the distress areas if the furniture was used for generations. Chairs mostly get wear at the edges of arms & seat whereas chest of drawers gets wear & tear around the handles or knobs and at the front edge. Besides that, the user can give the furniture a more distressed look by gouging its surface with chain, screws, or screwdriver. The gouges can be darkened by rubbing tinted wax into the areas.
- Apply Sealer: The last step will be to seal the furniture with one or two coats of satin or matte polyurethane finish. It has been recommended to let the first coat of sealer dry as per label instructions before applying the second coat of sealer. The second coat of sealer should be allowed to dry overnight before putting the furniture to use.