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How To Distress Furniture And What Grit Sandpaper To Use

How To Distress Furniture And What Grit Sandpaper To Use
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Distressed furniture is all the rage these days. It gives a piece of furniture an aged, rustic look that can add a lot of character to a room. And the best part is you can easily distress furniture yourself! If you’re looking to add a little bit of distressing to your furniture, here are the steps you need to take to achieve the perfect distressed look.

What Materials Will You Need

  • Satin latex paint
  • Wood stain
  • Candle wax
  • Steel wool
  • Sandpaper

What Grit Sandpaper Will You Use

Sandpaper grit is a measurement of the size of the abrasive on it. The lower the grit number, the bigger the abrasive bit size; the higher the number, the smaller the abrasive bit size.
Thus, a higher grit number results in finer and smoother sand on wood, whereas a lower grit number results in rougher sand that removes more substance more rapidly.

Choose a higher grit rating sandpaper grade for your distressing job, preferably in the 120-grit to 200-grit range. You want to remove part of the paint from the wood, but not all of it. A sandpaper with a lower grit level will remove too much wood with the paint.

Steel wool is another alternative that may be used in addition to sandpaper rather than as a substitute. For example, if you used two shades of paint and added wax over the top coat, you should use steel wool to remove the painted-over wax before finishing the area with a light sanding with a high-grit paper. The first coat will show through and give you the desired aging look.

How to Distress Furniture

  1. Sand the furniture you wish to distress lightly. Sand all surfaces thoroughly if the piece already has a finish, then wipe it down with a tack cloth.
  2. Use the base coat color of your choice to paint the whole piece.
  3. When the base coat is complete, begin sanding off spots that would naturally end up distressed — places where hands would have handled it, or corners that might easily be nicked — to get the bare-wood effect. Then rub candle wax over the spots where you want the color to shine through.
  4. To get the bare-wood effect, stop sanding before going too far, and then clean the whole piece with a tack cloth. Paint the base coat and cover everything thoroughly. After the paint has dried, wipe the steel wool over the waxed areas, then wipe it with the cloth.
  5. If desired, apply a finish.

Distressing furniture can be a fun, easy way to give your home a unique look. With just a few simple steps, you can create an antique or rustic piece of furniture that will add character to any room. Plus, when you finish distressing your own furniture, you’ll have a one-of-a-kind piece that nobody else in the world will have. How cool is that?