Thursday, April 2, 2009

Peeling Paint Technique

One of my blogging goals this year was to show you more tutorials. I haven't been very good about that goal. I thought I'd share the technique I use to make wood furniture look like there are layers of paint on it. Here is a basic wooden stool, picked up at the thrift store for $2. It did not have any kind of finish, so I didn't need to sand or prime it.

I started with a coat of cream paint, slapping it on quickly. It is best to use acryclic craft paints for this technique. Latex can end up peeling off in big pieces.


When cream was dry, I used an old candle and rubbed it in different spots on the cream, in long strokes. in the summer, the wax can melt if it is too hot. This time of year, I have to press harder to get more wax on the piece, because it is cold.
I then slapped on a coat of blue (sorry-fuzzy picture, but the only I took).
Lather, rinse, and repeat (which means I repeated the waxing process when the blue was dry).
I then painted my final coat, green. I have done up to five colors before. When the green was dry, I used a paint scraper to scrape the paint off, from where the wax was.
When I had finished scraping, I sanded to smooth out the paint finish. You do not want to skip the paint scraping and go directly to sanding--it totally gums up your sandpaper.
After wiping the piece clean, I used minwax gel stain in aged oak over the paint. The gel stain will sit on top of the paint nicely, and doesn't need bare wood to soak into.
And here is the finished stool after a coat of polyacrylic. I am liking the fresh spring green (especially since I see white out the window!).




125 comments:

  1. Love this technique! New to old!!

    You said not to use use latex, where do you get acrylic craft paint in large quantities?

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  2. Oh what a great technique! My sister-n-law and I are making wooden word signs for a craft show and this would be such a great idea for depth on the signs. Great tutorial.

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  3. Awesome!! Thank you for the lesson!!

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  4. Minwax is a girl's best friend. Don't you love what it does? The stool turned out great. Thanks for the process. ~Mindy

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  5. You are good! Thanks for the information, I will have to remember this for next time :)

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  6. Bec I love this technique can't wait to try this on my table for the porch
    julie

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  7. Love this look! I'll have to see if I am patient enough to try it!

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  8. That is exactly how I do it, though I tend to just stick to two colours...I love those colours, it looks kind of rustic, perfect for my home!I love finishing off with wax, it gives things a nice natural sheen! Thanks for sharing!
    Sue

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  9. Super technique.
    It's a great look.
    Thanks for the tutorial.
    You are a talented girlie
    God Bless
    T

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  10. This is such a fun project! I can't wait to try it with so many layers. It really gives it an authentic look.

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  11. I love this! Great tutorial too!
    I once had to match a distressed cabinet for a client. It was so much work trying to figure out what colors they used. I wish I would have known about your wax candle idea it would have been perfect for what I was doing.
    I have a table that I have to finish. I may give your technique a try!
    Thank you for sharing,
    Cindy

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  12. I love that green stool. I have been holding off on painting some items because I didn't want to mess them up. Now thanks to your tutorial I'm up to giving it a try. I have a large supply of tempura paints. Can they be used for this technique?

    Thanks again for the tutorial.

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  13. I LOVE what you have done with the green stool- adorable!!!

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  14. This is great! It looks so old and shabby!

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  15. Well done! This looks great!

    Happy SITS day.

    LBM Xxx

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  16. That looks amazing. Great tutorial...I'll have to try it sometime!

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  17. WOW! This is great! I'm gonna have to try it with our table that I hate so much! Happy SITS day!

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  18. What a cool way to have unique looking furniture! Congrats on your day as FB :)

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  19. Great instructions but don't really get why you would want to make something look old.

    Congrats on your SITS day!

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  20. Happy SITS day! That's a great idea, although I think I'd have to try a much smaller project...

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  21. Love the shabby look! But I do not have the patience to took on such a project!

    Stopping by from SITS

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  22. I don't normally like this kind of thing but this looks awesome! Happy SITS day!

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  23. Hi www.greedygirlsguide.com checking in from SITS

    This is a great Technique and so simple I love it

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  24. Ooo, wonderful tutorial!! :)

    Be sure and pop by & follow!

    -Laila
    www.randomweavings.blogspot.com

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  25. great tutorial! maybe now I can "fix up" some new things to match all of the old things I got from my Nana's barn!

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  26. Thanks for a great tutorial...that is great! Happy SITS day. x

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  27. You make that look so easy!

    Happy SITs day!

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  28. Wonderful tutorial. I must always be a day late at those thrift stores and flea markets. I never manage to find the treasures. :-) Maybe I need to open my eyes more.

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  29. What a great job you did on this! I'm going to bookmark this post for a future endeavor!

    Congrats on your SITS day!

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  30. That's cool! I like the colour you chose. What's the reddish colour, though? Is it the natural wood showing through?

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  31. What a great tutorial, but I think I'll leave that to the professionals...like you. :)

    Happy SITS day!

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  32. Very neat technique! :) I love tutorials, esp. with pictures. :)

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  33. This was really neat- thanks for this post!
    Happy SITS Day!

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  34. Love this technique! It turned out so cute. Great job!

    Happy SITS day!

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  35. Love all your before and after pictures! This one turned out beautiful.

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  36. wow! that is a great tutorial! you are very talented!

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  37. Visiting SITSa and I love this post! It really just looks aged! What a great way to turn junk into a piece of art really. Kudos!

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  38. Great tutorial - and I love how that stool looks now! I never head of using candle wax for something like this!

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  39. I love this technique! I like the way it looks best right after you sanded it. I wonder if I could stop at that point if I tried this?

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  40. You make it look so easy. I don't have enough patience to let the paint dry for more than one coat.

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  41. Love the wax method! Your stuff is beautiful!

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  42. amazing. I have always wanted to use this technique on my kitchen cabnets but with browns under neither and white on top

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  43. Very nice. It makes me laugh though to see so much work put into making something aged:-)

    Happy SITS day!

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  44. Awesome technique...thanks for sharing that! I'm going to have to try it soon.

    Jamie :)

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  45. I love all the layers and how they show through like a real aged piece. I've decided, you must open a store!

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  46. I love that! I will definitely have to try my hand at that! That stool would go perfectly in my kitchen!

    http://luckygirlblogdesign.com

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  47. That's really pretty. It looks like an American primitive antique.

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  48. That is gorgeous! What a fun technique! I am on my way over to the Goodwill now :)

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  49. thanks for the tutorial, so inspiring!!!

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  50. Wow - i only THOUGHT i was a crafter. You, my dear, are a TRUE CRAFTER... oh, and happy SITS day to you!

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  51. You did a good job on the stool. It turned out great.

    Stopping by from SITS

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  52. I am so trying this, that looks just too cute to NOT have!

    Stopping by from SITS, enjoy YOUR day!

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  53. Happy SITS day.
    Thanks for the lesson.

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  54. What a great technique! The results are great!

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  55. happy sits day!

    I love craft tutorials. That is a great process. Thanks.

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  56. Congrats on being Featured Blogger!
    This is a great technique! Thank you!

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  57. Thanks for sharing that!! See, I'm so uncreative. I'd see something like that in a thrift store and just walk by it without another thought. I wish I had that talent that you do...where you can just look at anything and find something amazing to transform it into!

    The stool looks amazing!!!

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  58. that is so cool.
    i always wondered how to get that look.
    i am typing while wrestling my baby. ack!!
    happy SiTS day

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  59. I am simply impressed!

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  60. Wow, this looks great! Thanks for the tutorial! I love it when people show lots of pictures!

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  61. I can think of so many fun ways to use this technique. Thanks for sharing, and for so many pictures to demonstrate the process.

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  62. What an awesome technique... :)

    Congrats on being the FB too, by the way!

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  63. Happy SITS day! Love your craftiness! :)

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  64. What a great technique! I love that look and it seems so easy!


    Happy SITS day!!

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  65. That looks so cool! Distressed furniture always looks so neat.

    Happy SITS day!

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  66. I love the look of distressed furniture, especially in a garden or outdoor room. Thanks for the tutorial!

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  67. thanks for sharing - you make it look easy peasy.

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  68. Awesome! It turned out so cute. You've got much more patience when it comes to stuff like that! There's reasons I don't try to change the look of furniture! Stopping by from SITS today to say Happy FB day!

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  69. Visiting from SITS. Love this project!

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  70. Perfect timing to read this post, I have an old little table I wanted to refurbish(sp) now I know how!

    Smooches,
    Sassy Chica

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  71. This is so cute! Happy SITS day!

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  72. Great post! Very helpful!!!

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  73. That was nice! You should be on HGTV and have your own show!

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  74. What a beautiful stool! Honestly, I am so afraid to try anything like that. I know I will mess up and it will look horrible. However, you have given me hope. I think I will try this next Spring.

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  75. I LOVE IT!!!!!!!!
    thanks for sharing!!!!!

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  76. Love it!!

    Happy SITS day! :)

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  77. Wow...very impressive. I love it.

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  78. That is so great! I wish I was more crafty. Happy SITS day!

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  79. Wow! That looks awesome! And it seems so simple to do. Now I have to go out to the thrift store and look for something to "redo"! Your page looks great also!

    Happy SITS DAY!

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  80. Love the wax idea.

    I just painted a table but didn't prime it right and the paint stuck to itself, but not the table. That is called blocking and it has something to do with humidity

    So am going to re-do it. maybe I will try this, but it is for a dining room. Ya think it would work? I could cover it with poly instead of wax.

    here is sort of picture of it. but you can see with the chairs, red vinyl and chrome, not sure if distressed is a good idea.

    http://isarose.wordpress.com/2009/07/03/day-2-di/

    love it. nice shots and not too many directions easy to follow.

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  81. I love how this turned out. Wonderful!

    Happy SITS day!

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  82. I am SO glad I found this!! I have a hutch I want to refinish and had this exact look in my head but wasn't sure how to accomplish it. Thanks!

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  83. I love that you use the word "slap" for paint. I thought I was the only one!

    Plus, your end product was super neat!

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  84. Love it! How much do you want?? ;)

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  85. This turned out SO well. Bravo.

    Happy SITS day.

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  86. What a COOL way to antique a table! Never heard about the wax between layers. Stopping by from SITS...Great blog!
    Kerri
    www.sickofmg.blogspot.com

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  87. Finished product was MUCH nicer than the original. Fantastic work!

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  88. I love photo tutorials! It would be nice if I had time to do this. :-)

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  89. Great finished product and really easy to follow tutorial. Thank you!

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  90. Luv the technique!

    Happy SITS day! When I was younger, did a lot of decopauge. Also refinished a lot of furniture for DD26 when she had her college apt.

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  91. Nice job!

    I'm catching up on things I've missed the past couple of days from SITS!

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  92. Fantastic! You are very creative with paint. Happy SITS day, too!

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  93. Very nice piece. Love the colors and the way it turned out. Thanks for sharing.

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  94. Oh thanks so much. I need to do some frames so I read this just in time! Have a great Tuesday! http://lafeshiddentreasures.blogspot.com/

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  95. what a great tutorial! Thanks for sharing - love this stool!

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  96. That is so cool!! Love this! Thank you so much for sharing this!

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  97. new follower here, thanks for sharing this, it is simply amazing!

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  98. Way to go Becky, this is a great project, I can't wait to try it on something!!

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  99. Just look at all the comments on this post! And no wonder, for that stool is just KILLER! Thank you so much for sharing your technique. I'm looking forward to trying this!

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  100. Great idea! I have a table that needs a coat of paint, this might do just the trick!!

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  101. Hola, me encanta esta tecnica y me gustaria saber se puedo usarla en pisos de madera de pino,estoy poniendo un bar en cordoba, argentina y esta tecnica me serviria para aplicarla a muchas cosa.si queres ver como esta quedando mi proyecto entra en facebook " La Miradora" cualquier idea me ayuda. gracias

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  102. I love this Becky! Why do you add polyacrylic if you waxed it?

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  103. You are so talented and creative! Thank you for taking the time to show us all of your painting techniques. Can't wait to try it all of them!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, I really appreciate your kind words!