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Lolly Jane

how to distress furniture with spray paint and a sander

DIY Tips & Tricks· Furniture

2 Sep

One of the most asked questions I get from friends is how I get the perfect distressed, aged, vintage feel for furniture.  While there are tons of techniques out there, the easiest is way is so simple: spray paint and a sander.  Yes, that’s it.  Here is how to distress furniture with spray paint and a sander to get that awesome vintage look.

 

This technique works best for previously painted/stained dark wood.  Start by giving it a light sand allover using 60 grit paper. I didn’t sand heavily as my mouse sander did my work for me.  If you were going to prime your piece, sand it again with a 180-200 grit to smooth out the surface for your paint. Wipe it down and you’re ready to start painting.

Then spray paint the whole piece.  Lighter coats versus heavy spray will prevent the paint from dripping and runs.  After it’s painted, lightly rub with sandpaper.  I prefer my mouse sander since it’ll speed up the process but you can get the same look by hand.

Tip: When aging furniture, you want it to look natural.  You’ll rub it in the spots that would have naturally aged as if the paint rubbed away with time.  So the highest points of the legs where it’ll be touched the most, the front side of the chair where your back will rest when you’re sitting in it, etc.

It’s that easy.  If you’re starting with a piece that is a lighter wood shade, you won’t get this dark distress technique to pop out.  However, you can add some stain or glaze to darken it up afterward.  An example of that is my son’s dresser that was sky blue turned gray with dark distressing.

For more of our furniture tutorials, click here.

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23 Comments

About Lolly Jane

Meet Kelli & Kristi, twin sisters and authors of Lolly Jane. We are two busy wives + mommas who are makers of all things pretty. From signs to home decor and holiday crafts or redoing furniture in between soccer practices, we do it all all while armed with an ice cold Diet Coke. Join us in our DIY adventures! XOXO

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sandee says

    09/02/2012 at 6:40 pm

    Some girls don’t realize how easy peasy this really is. Good tutorial. and of course cute chair!

    Reply
  2. Steph @ The Silly Pearl says

    09/03/2012 at 10:20 pm

    Thanks for sharing, gals! You make it look so easy and not so intimidating.

    Reply
  3. Julia says

    09/03/2012 at 11:18 pm

    What is the color of the blue on the chair? Beautiful! Thanks for posting.

    Reply
  4. Vanessa @ See Vanessa Craft says

    09/04/2012 at 2:55 pm

    Love that chair! I need to do some thrifting to find something similiar that I can paint and distress for my porch.

    Reply
  5. Shannah @ Just Us Four says

    09/05/2012 at 8:37 am

    Great tips! Thank you so much for sharing this. It makes it less intimidating when thinking about working on a project like this.

    Reply
    • lollyjane says

      09/05/2012 at 10:16 am

      Glad you benefited, Shannah (:

      Reply
  6. Rachel says

    09/05/2012 at 1:18 pm

    That is really, really pretty! I do love the distressed look – and how easy 🙂 🙂

    Reply
  7. capturing joy with kristen duke photography says

    09/05/2012 at 10:20 pm

    expound on this: Lighter coats versus heavy spray will prevent the paint from dripping and runs

    Reply
  8. Thea says

    03/04/2013 at 8:34 am

    Any tips on doing this with “fake” pressed wood furniture?

    Reply
    • lollyjane says

      03/04/2013 at 12:48 pm

      Hi Thea, I just found this awesome tutorial that shows how to paint on prefinished furniture: http://www.gingerbreadgem.blogspot.be/2013/02/miss-mustard-seed-milk-paint-tutorial.html I would give it a try! If you don’t like the shabby look, just paint a few coats and seal without sanding (; Good luck!

      Reply
  9. Kendra says

    05/05/2013 at 12:49 pm

    I wold like to know what grit sand paper you use? Most tutorials seem to leave that out 🙁

    Reply
    • lollyjane says

      05/05/2013 at 4:34 pm

      You’re right, that’s something we’ve addressed and should include in each post! Here’s what I did and have updated the post too, thanks for the reminder, Kendra! (;

      Start by giving it a light sand allover using 60 grit paper. I didn’t sand heavily as my mouse sander did my work for me. If you were going to prime your piece, sand it again with a 180-200 grit to smooth out the surface for your paint. Wipe it down and you’re ready to start painting.

      Reply
  10. Becky says

    07/18/2013 at 10:26 am

    What color and brand spray paint did you use? And how many coats/cams did it take! Thanks!

    Reply
    • lollyjane says

      07/18/2013 at 10:34 am

      It was Blue Ocean Breeze by Krylon (available at Walmart), two light coats is all. (:

      Reply
  11. NissyRae says

    08/14/2013 at 8:54 am

    Hi what inspiration for a beginner like me! Can you recommend a sander for small furniture, chairs, bookshelves, etc? I would really appreciate your expertise! Loving your blog!

    Reply
    • lollyjane says

      08/14/2013 at 9:22 am

      A Black & Decker mouse sander. So light weight and gets the job done!! (:

      Reply
  12. Rose says

    07/18/2015 at 2:30 am

    I love what you’ve done with your pieces, they are so pretty and the photos are beautifully styled.

    Reply
  13. Brian says

    07/18/2016 at 11:25 pm

    really good job, the antiques looks so good now !

    Reply
    • Lolly Jane says

      07/18/2016 at 11:31 pm

      Thanks so much 😀

      Reply
  14. Carly @ Paint Sprayer Guide says

    11/19/2017 at 1:34 pm

    Well done girls! Looks great 😀

    Carly xx

    Reply
  15. Carrie says

    02/10/2018 at 5:41 pm

    This is awesome… Will this work on MDF that is currently painted a black semi gloss? Would I sand, prime and then paint?

    Reply
    • Lolly Jane says

      02/12/2018 at 4:10 pm

      You got it, Carrie!

      Reply
  16. Dorothy says

    02/20/2018 at 9:18 pm

    I used the pastel pink and I loved it so much that I also did a cupboard in the same color. Thank you

    Reply

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We're Kelli and Kristi, identical twin sister DIYers to love to create and spruce up our spaces on a budget. Our eclectic blog is where we share it all... from home decor, crafts, furniture revamps, awesome project roundups, tasty recipes and more...all while armed with an ice cold Diet Coke!

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