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    Home » Painted Furniture » How To Make Latex Painted Furniture Look Old And Worn

    How To Make Latex Painted Furniture Look Old And Worn

    This post may contain affiliate links

    I painted this chest of drawers about 6 weeks ago and just now got everything together for this post. It’s been a lazy Summer around here or a busy Summer depending on how you look at it. I  chose off-white latex paint for the chest then distressed the paint and applied a light coat of wax to the distressed wood.

    How To Make Latex Painted Furniture Look Old And Worn

    How To Make Latex Painted Furniture Look Old And Worn

    This piece had the full set of French Provincial drawer pulls. Not a one missing. It’s always nice when all of the original furniture hardware is intact.

    old chest of drawers to be painted

    I bought the chest of drawers from an online auction and I believe the price was somewhere between $75 and $85. Not a steal but an okay deal.

    how to remove veneer

    The top of the chest of drawers was a mess. The veneer was missing……mostly. Where the veneer had peeled off there was still bits and pieces of wood and glue. I was able to scrape a lot of it off with a putty knife then I used a sander to smooth the rest of the area. (photos 1 and 3) The detail piece on the back of the top still had the veneer under it. I pulled that detail piece up and peeled the rest of the veneer off. (photos 2, 4, 5) Then I nailed the piece back in place.

    reparing loose veneer on a furniture drawer

    There was a bit of loose veneer on one drawer front. I put wood glue in between the veneer and the drawer front using a toothpick . Then I found a short piece of wood and placed it flat against the glued area holding it tight with clamps. I learned this trick from the hubby. The piece of wood holds down the whole glued area and I don’t have to use 10 clamps, lol.

     

    prepping furniture for painting

    I remove all furniture pulls and hardware before painting a piece of furniture. I also clean the piece inside and out first using a vacuum cleaner then Simple Green on all surfaces. TIP: Cover the drawer pull screw holes with painter’s tape on the inside of the drawer. This keeps paint from leaking inside the drawer.

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    Behr paint custom color from Petticoat Junktion

    I chose a custom mixed off-white paint for the chest. I really like the Behr Scuff Defense Paint. It sticks like glue!

    painting furniture

    When I started painting the first drawer front I noticed how much gunk was still on the drawer where a small strip of molding was missing.

    removing detailed wood trim from old furniture

    So, I removed the remaining molding on the other drawer fronts then….

    how to sand furniture before painting

    I distressed the areas where the molding strips were removed and also I sanded over the gunky area on the first  painted drawer front to smooth it out before applying another coat of paint.

    painting wood furniture

    I started painting the top of the chest when I ran into another problem.

    holes in wood furniture

    I really thought those two holes would be okay because you guys know how I like rough or detailed surfaces when distressing paint. But these holes were just too big and obvious.

    how to putty holes in furniture

    I pulled out my wood putty and filled the holes. Once the putty dried I sanded it level with the surface around it.

    how to use furniture wax on distressed paint

    To distress the paint I first started sanding by hand with a small piece of sandpaper. Well, as I mentioned earlier that scuff defense paint really sticks. I pulled out my battery powered sander and distressing the paint was much easier. After I distressed the paint I used Howard’s Wax, neutral color, to get rid of the raw wood look caused by sanding. I just rub the wax on the wood areas using a lint free rag.

     

    painted and distressed with one leg waxed and and one leg not waxed

    I took photos of both front legs so you can see how the wax makes a big difference. The photo on the left shows how the wood looks after distressing. The photo on the right shows how the wood looks after a coat of Howard’s wax. The wood now has a deep color and a more natural look. (find the wax here on Amazon)

    how to paint French Provincial Drawer Pulls

    It took a while and a couple of changes before I figured out the perfect color for the drawer pulls. I first painted them a light brownish color so they would stand out against the painted chest. I put one of the pulls on the chest and didn’t like it at all. Next I painted over the brownish paint with the same paint I used on the chest. Then I distressed the paint lightly.

    how to paint French Provincial drawer pulls white with latex paint (2)

    That seemed to be the best paint finish for the pulls. You can see the French Provincial pulls are all distressed differently so they are not matchy-matchy and too fake looking.

    Since I didn't have a photo showing how I used the power sander to distress the paint I added a video below showing the sanding technique I used on an earlier piece....

    How To Distress Paint Using A Power Sander

    How To Make Latex Painted Furniture Look Old And Worn

    How To Make Latex Painted Furniture Look Old And Worn

    I’m really happy with the way the chest of drawers looks now. Glad I finally got this one ready to post. It takes a while to take the photos, edit them, and write the blog post.

    paint old furniture white and distress the paint" src="https://petticoatjunktion.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Old-furniture-painted-white-with-spray-painted-knobs_thumb.jpg.webp" alt="how to paint old furniture white and distress the paint" width="700" height="700" /> how to paint old furniture white and distress the paint

    The distressed paint gives the chest of drawers depth and character.

    how to distress white paint with a power sander

    The raised detailed wood pieces really shine with that wax coating.

    Read all about distressing paint here.....What You Should Know About Distressing Painted Furniture And Home Decor

     

    before and after painted furniture chest of drawers or dresserThanks for being here and if you have time leave a short note telling me what you think of this makeover. Kathy

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Lynda

      July 23, 2022 at 8:18 am

      I really love the chest!! So beautiful, I always watch your blog, I can never find pieces like u do. .ur the best..thank you

      Reply
      • Kathy Owen

        July 23, 2022 at 9:20 am

        Thank you Lynda! It's really hard to find furniture to paint these days. I'm on continuous lookout.

    2. gail

      July 21, 2022 at 2:33 pm

      Kathy,

      I use the same method when gluing (clamping). BUT! I coat my scrap wood with painter's tape to make sure the scrap doesn't accidentally get attached to the repair. 🙂

      I love, love, love the new look of this dresser.

      Reply
      • Kathy Owen

        July 22, 2022 at 8:00 pm

        Great tip about the tape! Thanks!

    3. CC

      July 21, 2022 at 8:13 am

      Love the new look for the chest! Thanks for all the tips - saving this one for reference!!

      Reply
    4. MARGIE BRAMER

      July 21, 2022 at 7:44 am

      I have used latex paint for ever to paint furniture.
      It was what I always had around. Long before all the chalk type paints were around. It is still my favorite.

      Reply
    5. Debbie

      July 21, 2022 at 6:54 am

      This piece looks amazing. I love your content.

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Kathy!

    The creator at Petticoat Junktion and I love decorating my home. My decor is an eclectic mix......

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