How to Distress Furniture: Step by Step Tutorial

Try out these four different ways to distress furniture to give any piece a time-worn, aged look.

Looking to create a piece of furniture with patina? There are a few different ways to give a furniture piece a distressed look.

how to distress furniture tutorial with three methods compared using oil, vaseline, and wax
  1. Dry Distressing (to reveal bare wood)
  2. Wet Distressing (to reveal a base color under a second color)
  3. Use a Resist (offers more control over the distressing)
  4. Dry Brushing (to add subtle color)

All of these different techniques can be used to reveal different colors of paint in layers or to show the natural wood finish of the piece of furniture under the paint.

Supplies Needed to Distress Furniture

  • paint color #1 – this will be your base color
  • paint color #2 – this will be your top color and the main color of your piece
  • wax OR hemp oil OR petroleum jelly (if using a resist)
  • 220 grit sandpaper OR fine mesh steel wool
  • lint-free cloth or tack cloth
  • clear acrylic topcoat
vintage cabinet with distressed paint to show blue, red, and original black paint of the piece

steps to Follow Before Distressing

Clean and Prepare Furniture for Painting

It’s important to clean your piece of furniture and then lightly hand sand with 220 grit sandpaper. I have a full post on how to clean and prep furniture before painting. Following these steps ensures that your first coat of paint adheres well to the wood furniture.

Paint the Piece

When choosing the kind of paint for distressing furniture, it’s important to keep in mind the characteristics of different furniture paints. Some paints work better for distressing that others.

If you’d like a full breakdown of the five major types of paint that can be used to paint furniture, I would highly recommend checking out my post on the Best Paint for Furniture.

In short, make sure to use a water-based paint when distressing. Specifically, chalk paint and milk paint work the best for creating a distressed look because they sand away very naturally. Acrylic paint, All in One paint, or latex paint can work when using a resist or dry brushing technique.

I would not recommend alkyd paint nor oil-based paint when distressing.

For a two-color distressed finish: The first step is to paint the entire piece with a base color of paint and then to let it dry completely (at least 24 hours is ideal). Then, use the wet distress or resist distress techniques described below.

For a one-color with natural wood distressed finish: If you want to create a distressed look that uses only one color of paint and shows the natural wood underneath, you will not use a base coat of paint. You can use any of the distressing techniques described in this post to create this look.

Dry Distressing Furniture

This technique uses fine-grit sandpaper (220 grit or higher) to remove some of the paint to reveal the natural wood. Run a sanding block or piece of sandpaper along edges, corners and raises surfaces to knock off some of the paint.

Some people recommend uses an electric sander for this. I would advise against it unless you are trying to remove a lot of paint. You also look control over the distressing and may end up taking off more than you desire.

Wet Distressing Furniture

Wet distressing uses a little water to aid in removing the paint. This technique works to reveal a little bit of the base color under a second coat of paint. Or, it can be used to reveal natural wood as well.

First, be sure to use this technique about an hour after applying the paint you want to distress. It works best on paint that hasn’t had time to cure or dry completely.

Simply dampen a lint-free cloth, sponge or piece of 320 grit sandpaper and rub it against the paint. The damp cloth will slightly remove some of the topcoat of paint to reveal the color underneath or the original wood.

Using a Resist to Distress Furniture

This step is what allows for easy distressing of the paint and gives you far more control to create beautiful patina.

Basically, applying a resisting agent (wax, oil, or vaseline) to the piece in the areas that would naturally age over time (corners, edges, near drawer pulls, etc.) allows you to easily remove the paint in those places.

There are a few different items you can use to resist the paint, and each one gives a slightly different look.

Wax

how to distress furniture with wax to show second color of paint or natural wood

This is the most common item used when distressing furniture. You can use any type of wax here including candle wax, white crayon wax, or parrafin wax (used in candle making and canning).

Rub the wax in the areas where you would like the paint or wood to show through.

Using wax gives a light distress. If you want a heavy distress, be sure to liberally apply the wax in large areas.

Oil

use oil to distress furniture to lightly show bottom color of paint

It’s best to use a type of oil that won’t spoil or go rancid over time. My favorite is hemp oil (and I use it for a variety of purposes on furniture) but coconut oil will also work well.

Rub a thin layer of the oil on the surface. Then, paint over it immediately for the best results when distressing later. (I’ve found that if I let the oil sit for more than a day, it starts to absorb into the paint and it’s much harder to sand away later.

You can see that using oil gives a light distressing that looks natural to fading and worn paint.

Vaseline

rub vaseline on furniture to distress and chip the paint a chippy look

Vaseline gives the highest amount of resist, so it’s important to use very small amounts if you plan to use it.

Vaseline creates a very chipping look on furniture. On this piece, the paint was flaking away in the places I used vaseline.

Paint Top Color of Paint Over the Resist

After adding the resist to your piece of furniture, you will apply your top coat of color. Usually, you’ll only need to do one coat of paint here, because since the goal is to show some of the original color (or wood), it’s okay if some is slightly showing through.

Distress the Piece with Sandpaper or Steel Wool

After the top coat of paint has dried, use 220 grit sandpaper or fine mesh steel wool to lightly rub against the places where you applied the wax or oil.

The paint will more easily sand away to reveal some of that original color or the natural wood of the piece.

Using milk paint on antique furniture gives it an authentic and time worn painted look. This dark green is a mix of Miss Mustard Seed Boxwood and Artissimo.
Antique Baker’s Cabinet Desk – Click for final reveal

Dry Brushing Furniture

Instead of removing paint like in the techniques described above, dry brushing adds slight color over wood or a painted finish.

dry brush technique on furniture and wood
I dry brushed white paint over wood for the center of this frame. The outside was painted in a light blue and wet distressed after painting the dark blue. Then, I sanded in some places to reveal the original wood of the frame.

Dip the tip of your brush in a small amount of paint. Then, dab the excess paint off on a paper towel or piece of cardboard.

Quickly run your brush over the surface of your piece in a back and forth motion, barely skimming the surface. This will add a little bit of paint to the surface, especially to raised areas.

Apply a Topcoat to Protect the Distressed Finish

I recommend always applying a clear topcoat on a distressed piece of furniture. This ensures that the paint doesn’t continue to distress and keeps that patina look in tact for years to come.

When choosing a topcoat, I recommend a water based finish like clear acrylic topcoat, water-based polyurethane (don’t use oil-based as it will yellow over time), or furniture wax.

A clear acrylic topcoat or water-based polyurethane will keep the level of distressing in tact. Furniture wax isn’t as strong of a topcoat, so heavy levels of distressing could progress with time.

My Favorite Paint Combination for Two-Toned Distressing

When I want to create a distressed finish on a piece of furniture, my favorite products to use are milk paint with hemp oil. I personally love the natural way that milk paint distresses and the hemp oil gives extra help in letting that base color show through.

I like to use bonding agent for the first coat of color. This ensures that the base color doesn’t chip and flake away over time, which will also chip away the top layer as well.

For the second layer, I use milk paint without the bonding agent. This makes it easier to sand away that top color layer of color.

I always use a topcoat to protect the distressed finish. My favorite topcoat for distressed furniture is furniture wax, as it creates a durable finish that has minimal shine and gives a hand-rubbed appearance.

However, if the finish is highly distressed and easily chips, I always use a clear acrylic top coat to preserve the finish and eliminate further chipping.

distressed furniture to show layers of paint on antique bakers cabinet repurposed with a countertop

This antique baker’s cabinet was already painted black and chipping away to show some white paint underneath, so I worked with the chipping and added more layers to make it look more intentional.

I know the distressed furniture look isn’t for everyone, but every once in awhile I find a piece that I think it works perfectly on.

Let me know if you’ve used any of these techniques on how to distress furniture on any pieces you’ve refinished. Or, feel free to share any other furniture distressing tips in the comments below!

Jenny at Refresh Living (dev.refreshliving.com)

Post by Jenny Leads

Jenny is the voice behind Refresh Living. She has a passion for helping people to create a home they love without spending a lot of money.

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6 Comments

  1. I enjoyed this post but could you tell me where you apply the resist product? ie: how much area do you put it on? Thanks.

    1. Thanks! I just put the resist (wax, hemp oil, or vaseline) in the areas where I want the bottom paint color to show through. The amount you put on and where depends on the look you are going for. I hope this helps!

  2. I know this is an old post. I hope you don’t mind revisiting!!

    I’m making a milk crate wall shelf. My first one! I painted the wood navy blue, which I plan to cover with white and then distress so that the blue shows through. I really like the look of the hemp oil example you have above. Did you apply the hemp oil all over the whole piece … or just some areas?

    Thank you!

    1. Great! I’m so glad you found it! I only use hemp oil in the places I want the bottom color of paint to show through. I have a couple of things I’ve learned along the way that seem to help me now when I do this. I usually take a picture right after I apply the hemp oil, because I sometimes forget where I added it and then I know exactly where to take the sand paper to. Also, be sure to apply the paint right after you put on the hemp oil. I’ve found that if I let it sit, it’s much harder to distress to get that bottom layer of paint to show. Also, start with a fine grit (like 220) and see if that takes off the top layer of paint enough. Sometimes, depending on the type of paint I’m using, I need to go to a larger grit (like 120) to get down to that second layer, but if you start with that one, you might end up going right through both layers down to the wood. I hope that helps! Good luck on your shelf – it sounds like it’s going to look awesome!

  3. Haven’t done any distressing in a while. Helping a niece do her mantel. I learned a lot from reading your tips. Thanks and hope what I’ve learned will look as good!