How to make wood look weathered
I tried to achieve a weathered wood gray finish with paint and other products. I think it worked!
Weathered Wood Gray Finish
Today is tutorial day. I’m going to try to tell you how I created the weathered wood gray finish for the themed furniture project from last week. The process involved a lot of trial and error. I may recreate the finish on a small stool now that I know how to do it!
This is the table before painting. You can see how it looked before the two parts came together by clicking here. $2 Auction Table Gets A New Set Of Legs.
This is how the table looks now.
The metal legs received a coat of Rust-oleum Heirloom White Spray Paint. The paint was dry in 30 minutes.
I brushed a thin coat of Reclaim Beyond Paint Pewter color on the top. You notice I didn’t cover the wood in all areas.
Next I dry brushed a little black paint in random areas on the top.
Before the black paint completely dried I dry brushed watered down off-white paint in strategic areas. The secret is a dry brush.
Dry-brushing technique.
Immediately after applying the white paint I went over the table with a damp rag trying to blend the paint.
The paint didn’t blend very well and this is what the project looked like at the end of the day.
The next morning I decided I hated the look. I went over the top with dark wax. That didn’t work either. I then mixed more off-white Reclaim Beyond Paint with water to thin it about half and half. I brushed the paint on in a heavy coat and started wiping it off. Now we are getting somewhere. This look worked!
I finished the table top by applying a thin coat of Annie Sloan soft wax in neutral.
Watch my video below showing how to use special products made just for making new wood look weathered…
Weathered Barnwood Finish
And that was how I got the weathered wood gray finish. Even though I worked on the table for two days the whole paint process including drying time only took about 2 hours. Seriously. When working on a project don’t be afraid to experiment. That’s what I did. Keep working until you get the look you want or trash it and start over with a new vision.
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Rust-Oleum Heirloom Spray Paint
Reclaim Beyond Paint in Pewter
Have a great day!
Kathy Owen is the creative guru, content creator, photographer, and worker bee behind the popular Home Décor DIY Blog Petticoat Junktion. She focuses on reinventing found treasures and decorating her home Get all the nitty gritty on Kathy here.
Beverly says
Loved how your piece turned our – adorable. Love the color. Some of my best projects are the ones that I experiment on.
Bev
Amanda @ The Kolb Corner says
I love the weathered look of it. I have a side table that has been begging for a makeover for a long time now that this technique would look great on. Thanks for sharing!
Rose L. says
Love the licorice box! The gray finish is very nice.
Marie, The Interior Frugalista says
Thanks for the tutorial Kathy. Love that you, like me, aren’t afraid to “play” and experiment until you get the look you want. Your playing paid off because like I said in your project post, I couldn’t believe it was the same table!