How to Make Distress Marks on Painted Wood

Create a vintage look by distressing painted wood.

As painted wood naturally ages, its finish fades, scuffs or even cracks and splinters. A piece of painted wood furniture can seem like a precious family heirloom or a rare vintage find. Distressed painted wood frames also give a wonderful impression of a painting being an antique. It's easy to apply a distressing technique to painted wood, whether you have a painted wood dresser or wooden frame of a painting. You can also distress painted wooden doors.

Things You'll Need

• Painted wood item
• Medium-grit sandpaper
• Hammer
• Nails
• Steel wool
• Coffee
• Paintbrush
• Lacquer sanding sealer
• Blowtorch (optional)

Instructions

1. Look at some examples of distressed painted wood, particularly furniture if you plan to distress a piece. This will inspire you and give you some ideas on what you can do to distress the painted wood. Distressed wood is faded and worn, but it often is slightly damaged. Nail holes and nicks add to the overall aesthetic of a distressed painted wood piece.

2. Rub sandpaper over the surface of painted wood in high-traffic areas, such as where people would touch the object. Sandpaper will be less abrasive and remove less paint than steel wool will. Use steel wool, though, to remove even more paint. How much paint you remove with each stroke depends on how many coats of paint on the wooden piece.

3. Brew some coffee and apply it with a paintbrush as a stain if you want certain areas to appear darker or slightly dirtier. You can also buy a professional furniture stain at home improvement stores.

4. Hammer gently at certain parts of the painted wood, particularly the corners or where the legs of a piece of furniture meet the floor. Your goal is to give the impression of damage, but not actually hurt the functionality of the piece. As you hammer, watch for paint cracking.

5. Hammer nails into the painted wood piece if you want to give it a pinhole effect. This can also be very effective for mimicking termite damage.

6. Scorch the edges of the wood with a blowtorch ,if you have one. This is particularly useful for the edges of a piece of furniture or cabinetry.

7. Apply a coat of lacquer sanding sealer to the painted wooden piece once you're done distressing it. This protects the furniture piece and keep any chipped or cracking paint from chipping off further. Allow to dry and apply a second coat.

References

• Paint Pro;: Faux Effects, Distressing Wood; Ester Brody
• RepairHome: How to Distress Wood