How to Add a Distressed Finish to Cabinets

Weather and age your wood with painting and sanding techniques.

Giving your cabinets a distressed finish is easier and quicker than you might think. In just a few hours you can transform your boring cabinets into custom works of art.

Things You'll Need

• Painter's tape
• Screwdriver
• Rag
• Vacuum with brush attachment
• Spray primer
• Cream spray paint
• Gel stain
• 220-grit sandpaper
• Paintbrush
• Narrow piece of wood, 1 by 15 inches
• 2-inch-long screw or nail
• Lacquer

Instructions

1. Cover cabinet hardware with painter's tape. You can distress the cabinets while leaving the doors attached, or you can clear out the cabinets, take out the shelving and unscrew the cabinet hardware to treat the door faces and cabinet frames separately.

2. Sand the doors and frames to remove the current paint and stain, starting with rougher grades and progressing to finer ones. Wipe the wood with a dry rag to remove the sanding dust, or use a vacuum with a brush attachment.

3. Prime the cabinets, shelves and doors. Paint over the old look using as many coats of spray primer as necessary. Lightly spray over the wood with each coat to avoid leaving streaks or drips. Sand lightly between each spraying with 220-grit sandpaper.

4. Paint the cabinets, shelves and doors (both sides). Spray on the cream paint evenly. Apply two coats. Remember to be frugal with your paint. The more paint you spray, the greater the chance that the paint will drip and streak. Let the paint dry.

5. Run a screw or nail through the end of your narrow strip of wood piece so that it pokes through at least an inch.

6. Holding the tail end of the wood, hit the cabinets with the screwed or nailed end hard enough to leave little holes. Repeat distressing all the cabinets and doors. Groupings of three look good together, but keep away from making patterns. The idea is for the holes and dings to look random.

7. Apply a light glaze of gel stain by quickly brushing long streaks with your paintbrush that go with the grain of the wood, then gently wipe off the excess. If you don't have much experience with this technique, practice first on scrap wood. Do not apply too much glaze at either the beginning or the end of your stroke. The glaze will pool in the holes and be significantly darker, so don't be worried. Let it dry.

8. Apply two coats of lacquer, sanding lightly in between the coats. Sand deeper at the corners and other areas to give the doors a weathered and worn look. Again, make it look random and avoid patterns.

9. Remove the painter's tape. If you removed the doors, reinstall the shelving and rehang the doors. Add new hardware to further change the look. Choose antique-style hinges and door pulls to complete the distressed look.

Tips & Warnings

• You don't have to use a cream-colored base; the same technique applies to any color or stain.

• Never paint or stain without proper ventilation.

References

• Medallion Cabinetry: Finishes
• Archbold Furniture Co.: Decorative Finishing Tips for Unfinished Furniture