How to Make a Distressed Paint Finish
I had a challenge, to match a the finish on a clients painted and distressed table. This was a first for me but I’d say I nailed it. But I couldn’t have done it without following the most important rule when approaching a new technical skill you do not currently possess.
Practice.
That’s right, I tested and practiced before I touched the final piece.
I took a scrap piece of wood, applied a sealer coat of poly, shellac, and acrylic. I painted over those three sealers so I could scrape and see which looked the best.
Turns out they were all the same, so I went with the water based polyurethane because I like to keep my mediums the same, in this case water based paint over water based poly.
With a technique test done, it was time to match color, which meant bringing my test piece and paint chips to the client’s house to eyeball with them and let them make the final paint decision. This is critical because if it’s off, they were invested in the selection just as much as I was.
And with the final paint color chosen it was time to go pick up a product. I knew I wanted to use Sherwin-Williams Emerald Urethane. It’s a cabinet grade paint which cures super hard, but that curing takes time. 21 days to be exact.
Painted and scraped with a card scraper. This was hard on the scrapers, burning them out quickly which required sharpening often. I rotated between three scrapers to keep working longer between sharpening bouts.
I also knew I wanted to top coat the paint which would apply a full layer of protection. In my scraping there were areas I burned right through the paint and base coat of poly, exposing raw wood which was a no-no for a finished product.
Plus the paint itself was compromised. Distressing meant the paint no longer had a full bond and could peel off, especially if water penetrated under the edge of the paint causing it to release.
I spoke with Sherwin-Williams and they recommended a water based poly to go over the top, which was the same product I had used for the base coat, but they warned me to wait until the paint was cured, otherwise it could cause the polyurethane to get cloudy as the poly trapped the paint’s off gasses.
I decided to be safe and waited 28 days. I only had one shot at this and didn’t want to mess anything up.
My preferred application method for water based poly is to spray it. I have an HVLP I hook up to my air compressor. Usually I’ll spray in my garage with the door open and a fan venting fumes and particles out, but I had a project in progress and the space was taken, so I opted to spray outside.
My back yard is usually very shady from all of our trees, but I was caught in a moment of sun which caused the poly to dry too quickly. The sun heated up the Lazy Susan and as the poly hit the surface it dried immediately, leaving a rough surface.
This was coat 2. When I started the side yard was nicely shaded, but the sun came around and I had no choice but to keep going and clean up the problem later.
Usually the poly will hit and sit for a few minutes. Before the water evaporates the poly self levels, smoothing out as it dries.
No big deal. That meant I needed to spray additional layers so I had a good film built up so I could come back and sand it smooth with a combination of 320, 400, and synthetic steel wool. When working with water based product always use a synthetic wool rather than real steel wool. The steel fibers can embed themselves in the poly and rust as the last remaining water evaporates out.
Using synthetic steel wool. I like these white pads, but they come in other colors signifying different grits
And with that the project was complete. A distressed Lazy Susan. I hope you found my experience helpful, I couldn’t find anywhere on the internet with a guide or process to produce such a product.