How to Antique Furniture With Colored Wax

Antique finishes require some practice to apply successfully.

Antiquing furniture with wax is a process that not only gives the furniture a deep, richly antique look, but also serves to protect the wood from damage due to scuff marks, cup rings and other forms of abuse. The wax you need to use is not typical candle wax, but rather beeswax that has been tinted. This type of wax is available from specialty woodworking stores and catalogs.

Things You'll Need

• Paintbrushes
• Yellow latex paint
• Gray latex paint
• Tinted beeswax
• Rag

Instructions

1. Paint the entire surface of the furniture piece with the yellow paint and a paintbrush. Apply two coats of this color, being careful to avoid letting the paint run, and then allow it to dry completely.

2. Clean out the paintbrush. When the yellow paint has dried, dip the brush into the gray paint and run the brush's bristles against the inside rim of the paint can to remove the excess paint.

3. Brush the furniture with the gray paint so that streaks of yellow show through the gray. You don't want to completely cover the yellow; you just want to make it look as though the yellow is beginning to wear through a top coat of gray. Allow this coat to dry before continuing.

4. Rub the beeswax over the painted surface of the furniture. You will find that it will darken the color of both the yellow and the gray, leaving behind an antiqued finish. Wipe away any excess chunks of beeswax that may break off of the main chunk with a clean rag.

Tips & Warnings

• Practice this process several times on scrap wood before attempting it on furniture. Learning to get just the right look can take a while.

References

• Antiquing Furniture: Antiquing Furniture Method 3