Get the distressed look without costly products

Dear Sandi: I have a couple of pieces of furniture that are solid but in pretty bad shape paint-wise.

I would like to do some type of aged finish on them, but frankly when I go to the paint store and see all the different products (glazes, crackle mediums, etc.), it is hard to know what to do. Can you give me some advice? —Suze L., Salem

Dear Suze: The sheer number, to say nothing of the various types, of products available for changing the surface appearance of just about anything is a bit overwhelming.

Sandi Reinke used the “paint, sandpaper, paint, sandpaper, paint, sandpaper” process on a large exterior door using two different colors for a distressed look. The distress was added most heavily in areas where the most natural use would have occurred, along the door edge and along the bottom (where people might have pushed the heavy door shut with their foot). loose ends llc

There really are just a few basics that you need to understand. First, paint is opaque. That means that whatever you apply it to will be covered, to what degree depends on whether you are ragging, rolling, brushing, etc. Also, using your paint in full strength provides the highest degree of opaqueness, diluting it down will diminish it.

Glazing mediums are transparent. What you add to it will determine just how transparent it stays. Again, since paint is opaque, adding paint to the glaze will diminish the transparency of the glaze. Pure pigments (very strong with intense color) can be added to glaze mediums, adding color without losing the transparent quality.

Whether you're looking for handmade paper, furniture, fabric or accessories, you will find it at loose ends. If it is unusual, organic and fabulous, then loose ends is the place. Showroom hours are 8 am to 5 pm weekdays and the first Saturday of each month 10 am - 3pm at 2065 Madrona Ave. SE, Salem, or visit us online at www.looseends.com Questions? Give us a call at (503) 390-2348.

Obviously there is a great deal more to know about paints, glazes and all the other “aging” products that are available in craft and home-improvement centers, but if you understand these basics, you will have most of the battle won.

You mention that you want to add an aged surface to your furniture pieces. I suggest you first go to one of the paint centers and look at the various finishes that can be produced with these products. Some finishes, such as crackling, probably are best done using mediums that are specifically designed to produce that effect. However, many of the faux finishes you see can easily (and much less expensively) be reproduced without all different products.

Consider what aged means to you: A piece that has seen many years of loving use? Maybe it still looks good, but the edges have softened with age. Or it may have picked up a nick here or there. Or, are you thinking something a bit more dramatic? Maybe your piece has been the recipient of multiple coats of paint, each one reflecting the taste of past owners. Regardless of the degree of aging, the following process is one I have found to be the easiest and least complicated.

Sandi Reinke is an author, frequent television guest and lead designer for loose ends (www.loosends.com), a Salem-based interior décor, garden, and casual lifestyle company. To ask Reinke a decorating question, e-mail info@looseends.com or mail her at the showroom address, 2065 Madrona Ave. SE, Salem, OR 97302. Phone: 503-390-2348.

Fist of all, be sure your piece is in good repair. You don’t want to go to all the trouble of finishing that old table, then the first time someone bumps into it, that wobbly leg gives way. Also be sure the piece is clean so that your finish will stay on the surface. If the original finish is glossy, you can take down the slickness with some light sandpaper.

If you want some of the original paint color to show through, wax resists any work you may do. Simply use some paraffin (an old candle works just fine) on the spots that you don’t want to take on the new color. Remember to primarily work the areas that would get the most use in daily living to the feeling of authentic aging.

If you don’t want to work with wax, you can wait until the paint has dried, then, using different grades of sandpaper, start removing varying degrees of the paint. I like to do this between coats of paint so that there will be different degrees of “wear” as the coats build up.

Adding a second or third coat of color works in the same way. Sanding through the second color will reveal the first color, and you may want to apply more pressure and sand back down to the original finish in some places. When you have the effect that you like, you can seal the piece in anything from flat matte to high gloss.
May 20, 2005