Do you guys remember the old rustic bench the JTS bought at an auction a few weeks ago? It was originally painted red and the red was worn off in places. Well, I painted over the red with white paint and distressed lightly so the red could show off. I did the distressing using a power sander but you can also distress paint using the wet distress method and I have a video of that for you in this post!
How to repaint an old rustic bench.
There's not much I like better than white distressed paint. Or maybe I should say off-white. I very seldom use white-white paint. It's too glaring.
In case you missed the earlier post about our auction buys, this piece was $25. I have a thing for benches and cedar chests. I can't pass them up unless the price is too outrageous.
You never know what you are going to find when you flip over a piece of furniture. Sometimes there are tons of spider eggs, cobwebs, mold and mildew or in this case.......a whole bunch of dirt dauber nests. Thankfully the dirt daubers were long gone.
I scrapped off all the nests with a putty knife then cleaned the bench with Simple Green.
The paint for the project is Beyond All-In-One Paint, color Off-White (or Bone). I like this paint for several reasons. It sticks to just about anything and as the name says it has the primer and sealer built into the paint. What I like best about the paint is the sheen. It's not flat and not satin, somewhere in between.
I applied one coat of paint and didn't really worry about covering all the dents, dings, and wood knots. When distressing a piece this rustic it's just a waste of paint. Plus it makes the imperfections and grain of the wood look awesome!
The paint dries fairly quickly and I used my Ryobi sander to distress the paint. The whole project was finished in 3 or 4 hours. I didn't really time it.
The bench is almost 6 feet long. Makes it hard to stage and photograph. I didn't bother bringing it in the house. The bench went straight to the shop after I took photos.
Sometimes after distressing paint of any color or brand I will apply a coat of wax to darken the wood in the distressed areas. I didn't apply any wax to the bench.
In some distressed areas the red paint was easy to see and in other areas of the bench where the red paint was worn the wood finish made a showing.
I almost kept the bench and if it doesn't sell at my booth pretty soon I may bring it home. What do you guys think? It's a great space filler and also comes in handy for indoor or outdoor seating.
There are several ways to distress furniture. I like using the wet distress technique because there is no "dust" mess. See my video below on how to wet distress furniture...
How To Wet Distress Furniture
One last look at the distressed paint. What do you think of the project? Did you like the worn red look of the old rustic bench better? Leave a note if you have a minute. Tomorrow I have a sweet, easy, inexpensive, home decor project. See you then, Kathy
Author: Kathy Owen (Petticoat Junktion)
Kathy is the founder of PetticoatJunktion.com, a home décor blog focused on repurposing and upcycling furniture, old hardware, rusty stuff, and thrifty finds into unique home décor. Kathy’s projects have been featured on the Home Depot Blog, Plaid Crafts, Behr Designer Series, and in numerous magazines. Read more about Kathy here.
Gracie Redfield
What a great find! I`m sure it will sell quickly.
I`m going to try "Beyond Paint". You`ve had such great results with it, so I`m going to try it!
Kathy Owen
It sold within a couple of days! I love Beyond Paint. The price may seem high but the paint goes a long way so it's worth it.
Cecilia from Georgia
Kathy, this looks old and I’m concerned about lead paint on older furniture. I have a children’s table and 2 chairs and the paint is chipping away badly. I love the look but don’t think it will sell in this condition. So, do you test for lead or what? I love your bench and my table set is the same primitive style. You should bring it home! Thanks
Kathy Owen
I don't test for lead paint and in this instance I'm pretty sure the red wasn't lead paint. It looks older than it is. I'm working on a piece now that I believe is lead based paint and it doesn't have any loose paint. I am applying primer and paint and will not distress it.
Cecilia from Georgia
Thanks for getting back to me. I don't see many (or any) furniture DIY makeovers talking about lead paint on furniture. Love your projects and glad you are feeling better.
CECILIA
I can not find the video on "wet distressing" as you said it is at the bottom. I have an 83 inch bench I would like to redo for my farm table.
Kathy Owen
Hi Cecilia. If you have an ad blocker on your browser you need to disable it to see the video. If that isn't the problem then I'm not sure. I am using Chrome browser and I see the video. Hope this helps. If not email me with more info at kathy@petticoatjunktion.com
Linda Young
I think you did a great job. Where do you buy the paint that you used? I’d like to try it.
Kathy Owen
You can buy the paint on Amazon by clicking here......Beyond Paint This is an Amazon link.
KreativeK
Fantastic bench! Impossible to find these in west Texas, so enjoy seeing yours.
Suzee B
Love it ... sometimes less is more and this is a great example! Now I have to look up “dirt dauber”!
Gracie Redfield
"Dirt Daubers" are wasps that make their nests out of mud.
Kathy Owen
Yep, if you live in the South you see a lot of dirt dauber nests.
Gina
I could use a smaller version of this near my front door. Very simple and sweet!
Angela Carrera
great job!!!!
Val
I love it!