Last week I shared some of my favorite tips for adding personality to your home, and number three was all about thrifting and refinishing furniture. Today I wanted to share how to apply antiquing wax to age a piece of furniture, or an accessory piece like the old boxes in the tutorial.
If you have never painted furniture it can be really intimidating! What type of paint to use, do you need to strip and sand… should you prime? The list does on. I have tried many different types of paint, and chalk style paint works really well for an “aged” or distressed look. The best part is the little to no prep claims. However, the trunk that I made- aka the wood box– was painted using latex paint, and then I used this same waxing method to age it up.
Whatever type of piece you use, dark wax is best utilized to bring out hand carved details, dents and age. So- if you are starting with something new, and you want it to have some patina, ding it up a bit before painting it. This will give the antiquing wax a place to land.
Now that we’ve gone over those few details, let’s get started!
The first step is to paint your piece. I used Country Chic Paint in Rustic Charm.
Even though the boxes are old themselves, you can see the difference between painting without distressing, and light distressing with dark wax applied to bring out that old character hiding under the paint.
After you’ve painted, it’s time to lightly distress with sandpaper. Once you are happy with the amount of distressing it is time to pull out the wax. For this technique you will need a blend of dark antiquing wax, and clear wax. I use the clear to “dilute” the dark wax- as it is very dark upon initial application.
Wax on, Wax off. Apply the dark wax into the details using a brush so you can get into the dings and dents. I like to work in small sections.
Once you have applied the dark wax, apply clear wax using a rag. Use a rag not a brush for this step, as you want to leave the dark wax in the dents.
Continue applying dark wax in the details, and buffing with the light wax until you are happy with the finish!
Isn’t it amazing how authentically old and delightful that paint finish is- not to mention that color. My tip for dark wax is that less is more- you don’t want to go to crazy, a little goes a long way. I have used dark wax as a literal wood stain on unfinished wood- and it is nearly as dark as an espresso finish! So, if you are applying it to untreated wood, be prepared for it to go very dark.
I hope this has helped you get an idea of what you can accomplish with some of these fun refinishing products.
-Miss Ash
Very useful information to pass on !