How to Antique Furniture with Paint

I am sure that many of you have an old piece of furniture that could use a makeover - an armoire, a dresser, a table... You can makeover just about anything as long as you can paint it.

I found this great article on Ehow.com called How to Transform Furniture with an Easy Faux Finish. Check this out! I love the aged and antiqued look of the paint finish. So, do you want to learn how to do it?

First of all, let me say that a great way to change the look of an old furniture piece is by changing the knobs or handles. You can even use wooden knobs and just paint them with a contrasting color to whatever paint finish you plan on doing.


Now for the faux paint finish part:

• Prepare the surfaces for painting. For proper paint adhesion, the surface should be free of any dirt, film, or oily substances. You may want to give the surface a light sanding. This technique is especially good at masking severe damage, so perfection isn't necessary. Scratches don't matter and even major repairs will be masked by the new finish. Just be sure the piece is sound and that the surface is relatively smooth.

• Remove all hardware and take doors off hinges. It's much easier to work with a flat piece of wood than working around hinges and knobs. Use masking tape to label each hinge so you can replace hardware in the same spot when finishes
  

• If you want to shield parts of the furniture from the process such as the interior of drawers, take the time to mask those parts off with paper and/or tape. Mask off any hardware that you couldn't remove, or any surface that you want to shield from paint

• Use drop cloths to protect the area while you are painting. Paint in a well-ventilated area free from sparks or flame. Use painting gloves, mask, etc. to protect yourself and your clothing.

• Use a dark colored spray paint as the base coat and paint all surfaces. In the picture above, they used an Espresso Brown. Use one or two coats to make sure the surfaces are completely and evenly covered. Allow the paint to dry thoroughly based on instructions on can. If you want contrasting knobs with the dark color, paint them now. You can screw them on a scrap piece of wood to keep from handling them while painting.
  

• After the base coat is thoroughly dry, load the brush and apply one coat of enamel trim paint (they used a creamy tone). Allow to dry for about 15 minutes. The paint should be partially adhered, but not dry. Wipe off excess with a rag or paper towel. You want an uneven look...not solid. Allow this coat to dry completely.

• Brush on a second coat of the enamel paint and allow to dry completely overnight (no wiping on this step).

• Using the coarse sandpaper sparingly and lightly, begin to sand off some of the outer paint layer. Switch to the medium and then the fine paper to sand the surfaces until you begin to see the base coat. Don't sand beyond the base coat. Let the dark color show through such as wear and use would expose it. The goal is not an even, uniform surface, but a patina that adds visual interest to the piece.

• The final finish is the stain (they uses a walnut color). The stain gives the piece a beautifully aged appearance. I like to apply the stain with steel wool and then wipe off with a cloth. The longer you leave the stain before wiping, the darker the color. Be careful not to leave on too long or it will be sticky and hard to remove. If the resulting color is too dark, remove excess with clean, dry steel wool.

The surface should look naturally aged and is ready to put the hardware and knobs back on. Not too hard right? I just love the look of a distressed or antiqued piece of furniture!