How to Paint & Distress Kitchen Cabinets
Ugly old cabinets are the perfect surface for the distressed wood look. In fact, you might need to bash them about a bit to give them more character before you paint and sand them into cabinets of antiquity and importance. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Screwdriver
- Murphy's Oil Soap
- Cotton sack -- 8x10"
- Assortment of heavy jagged rocks
- Wood putty
- Sandpaper
- Paint
- Stain
- Gold leaf
- Paste wax
- Antique hinges, glass knobs and drawer handles
Instructions
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Remove Handles and Knobs, Clean then Distress Your Cabinets
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1
Use a screwdriver to remove all knobs and drawer pulls. If you are going to install new ones, use wood putty to fill the old holes, then sand lightly until the surface is even.
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2
Use a wood cleaner to remove built up grime. Murphy's Oil Soap works well to prepare the wood surface for new material.
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3
Remove cabinet faces: empty drawers and remove them.
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4
Fill a sturdy cotton sack with sharp edged rocks, or heavy nuts and bolts. Randomly swing the sack at the cabinets. Smash them more near areas that would receive extra wear, that is, the edges and bottom. Repeat with cabinet doors and drawer faces. The object is to nick and batter the wood as though it had been used hard for centuries.
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5
Put on three coats of paint, drying thoroughly between applications. Sand it with fine grain sandpaper in a random way so that it gives the appearance of the paint having worn off over the years. Make sure paint stays in the distressed nicks and grooves. Sand some edges back to bare wood --- be sure to rub away around knobs and handles.
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6
Paint on a light coat of stain over each section of cabinetry and immediately wipe it away so that the wood looks slightly aged. When this is dry, smear on a few accents of gold leaf, especially if you have any routed areas in your cabinet faces. Wipe away the excess so there is just a glimmer of old gold.
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7
Finish your cabinets by applying paste wax to further protect the finish while adding to the authentic distressed look. Rub it to a patina of age.
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1
Tips & Warnings
Replace modern hardware with antique hinges, knobs and drawer pulls for the perfect complement. Remember that old distressed wood is achieved by random bashes, smears of stain or gilt and dabs of wax finish. You cannot make a mistake and if you don't like the way an area looks, sand it down and repeat your process.
Your cabinets should be dull, never gleaming, so keep buffing the wax finish until it barely shines.
