No Mess Way To Distress Furniture
Clean up is easy when you distress furniture using baby wipes. It’s another paint distressing technique I’ve heard of but never tried until now. It’s easy as pie and there is no mess. You know how the dust flies when using sandpaper. And as a bonus I made a new complete video tutorial on using Vaseline to distress furniture. It’s at the bottom of this post. Enjoy!
One tip you need to remember is to distress with the baby wipes just after the paint is dry. Don’t let the paint dry for too long or you’re in trouble. You have to keep a close watch.
Turquoise Table – Baby Wipe Distressing Technique
I’ve used this table in several rooms of my home. Now it’s moving on. That’s the thing with junkers. We can either have wall to wall junk or move something out when we find something we like better.
It’s last spot was in the back spare bedroom. I call this room the “Blue Room” or the “Grandsons Bedroom”. My son chose this color and painted the room when he was about 15. Now he’s 34. Yep, maybe time to repaint.
I decided the table had been dark long enough, time to lighten up. What better color than turquoise. Happy Color.
Table Before Painting
This project is on the Furniture Fixer Upper’s Tour today. Be sure and check out the other projects after reading my tutorial.
The finish on the table was not in great shape. That’s one reason I decided to paint it. The top had several rough parts and splotches of white paint in areas. I sanded the top lightly.
Then I applied my favorite Glidden Gripper Primer tinted gray to the top only. This gave me a solid color base for the top coat.
I’m still trying to use up all my leftover paint before buying more. I mixed three colors of Black Dog Salvage Furniture Paint together to make a beachy blue color.
The blue was really pretty but just ho-hum. I knew there were some pretty details along the top edge so on to the distressing.
I grabbed the pack of baby wipes and started rubbing the paint off of the raised details.
One thing I noticed is when I wiped the paint off and kept using the same baby wipe the blue paint that rubbed onto the baby wipe left a light layer of blue paint on the already distressed area. This is when I grabbed a new wipe to wipe off the light layer of paint. And I had to keep doing that. Once I had an area distressed I went over it with a fresh wipe to remove the leftover blue film. I didn’t have to grab a fresh wipe every time just use an area of the baby wipe that didn’t have blue paint on it.
My other concern with the baby wipes was distressing the paint before it set very long. You want the paint to be dry but JUST dry. I had Miss Sofi and her friend from across the street that afternoon and they of course needed a bit of attention. The paint dried a little longer than I would have liked. Just means I had to rub harder!
The original finish of the table was crackled in spots and those areas look soooooo good distressed.
That’s all it was to the process. Since the color gave off a beachy vibe I decorated the table using seashells and nautical décor. I’ll share the details on the bowl and my newly updated DIY Dollar Store Candle Holder later. And those pink flowers just keep showing up. I just love those flowers. They were a thrifty find at $1.50. I keep dropping them into different containers. They are actually in a milk glass looking container.
If you want to distress furniture using baby wipes you could work on a practice board before starting your project. Just paint a board of any type, wait for the paint to dry, and go to work.
Distress Furniture Using Baby Wipes
I guess I should mention why using baby wipes for distressing is a good thing. The original finish doesn’t get sanded off. You get to see the lovely dark finish and it’s a nice contrast to the turquoise blue.
Watch my video on how to make furniture look old here….
How To Make Furniture Look Old
Leave me a note and let me know how you like the table then head off on the tour. Just click the pink links below….
Furniture Makeover Wow Factor – Just The Woods
Thrift Store Hutch Makeover – Confessions of a Serial Diyer
China Cabinet Makeover With Shiplap – Girl In The Garage
Petticoat Junktion (you are here)
Thanks for being here and have a great day! Kathy
Doreen @ The Altered Flea says
So adorable. Thanks for the distressing tips. This is the first time I have read that someone has used Black Dog Paint. I bought two cans recently at the local Woodcraft store, but have yet to use them. Do you like this paint?
What do you use as a top coat, or do you not need one with this paint?
Cindy says
A wet rag works just as well if you don’t have any baby wipes.
Naomi S. says
We had that exact table when I was growing up. It was in my mom’s attic for a long time and when I wanted to get it out and use it, it wasn’t there! I have no idea what became of it. I always liked it, especially the size. It would be good for a plant stand–but alas, it is but a memory!
The blue looks good on it and I love the distressing on the carvings under the edge of the top. Ours had those same ones. I get all nostalgic just looking at it! If I ever see another one I’m going to snap it up!
Nice job, Marie!
Marie-The Interior Frugalista says
I love the table painted blue and even better distressed with the original finished peeking through. Distressing with baby wipes, eh – I must give this a try!
Jen @ Girl in the Garage says
I love this table in blue, seems meant to be! The distressing looks very natural – great tip about the baby wipes.
[email protected] of a Serial Do-it-Yourselfer says
What a beautiful color! Great idea to use baby wipes to distress! XO
kandice kullmann says
Im a huge fan of baby wipes! They are great for so many things. I need to try this
Christina in SW FL says
Oh I do like the idea of using baby wipes and I have a bunch. I’m going to try this on my next project, thank you!
Cindy says
I have almost the identical table, except mine does not have the decorative detail around the apron. My mom found two of them at a flea market, taken apart in pieces. My dad put one back together, refinished it, and they gave it to me for Christmas many years ago.