Wet Distressing Without Using Sandpaper

Kathy Cook shares with us why she loves wet distressing without using sandpaper. She is the owner of The Vintage Dames near Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania.

Her project truly shows that any piece is a diamond in the rough, because with a little TLC, something beautiful can be created.

Kathy did not need to prime her piece because she knows that Clay, Chalk and Mineral base paint can cover up normal scratches, scrapes or blemishes on the old furniture.

Wet Distressing Without Using Sandpaper

First, she painted the entire piece using the color Vintage Velvet.

Once dry, (which doesn’t take long) a second coat of paint was applied using the popular color Firework’s Red.

Next, Kathy used a wet cloth to rub away (distress) part of the top layer of paint (Firework’s Red) to reveal the Vintage Velvet color underneath.

Finally, she applied Clear Vintage Antiquing Wax to seal the project.

Using sandpaper is a common practice when distressing traditional paint but can often be messy and take a lot of elbow grease!

Wet distressing without using sandpaper is one of the key benefits to working with Clay, Chalk and Mineral base paint.

Adding Knobs for the Final Touch

Beauty is always found in the details, and in this piece the knobs are amazing!  She painted them black with the paint color Cannonball, then applied Mica Powder to add a little sparkle to the knobs.

Kathy chose the following colors for her project:

• – Fireworks Red a bright, fire engine color
• – Vintage Velvet (no longer available) to see our current line of colors click here.
• – Cannonball a rich, midnight black
• – Clear Vintage Antiquing Wax , our waxes leave more of a matte finish, rather than a shiny finish
• – Copper Mica which will add either a subtle hint of shimmer to your piece or it can be pounced on directly to your freshly waxed piece to give an intense Mica effect.

Kathy tells us she loves using American paint Company products because of the following reasons:

• – She often doesn’t have to prime because of the great coverage
• – The paint covers in two coats in most cases which speeds up the process
• – She enjoys wet distressing without using sandpaper because it’s less work
• – The variations in pigment add depth to the piece
• – The wax is easy to use and buffs to a beautiful buttery finish

If you would like to learn these techniques, then click this link to find a retailer close to you and pop by and say hi. They will be so happy to help you out. Many of our retailers do hold workshops on these various techniques as well.

Have any project ideas lined up? Be sure and tell us what they are in the comments below.

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