A quick guide to distressing Chalk Paint.
Distressing Chalk Paint to create a shabby chic look is a very popular technique and easy to do.
The most common way to distress or age furniture is to lightly remove the top coat of paint, once it is dry, to allow the wood or first layer of paint to show through.
Areas of natural wear and tear are usually distressed, such as raised areas, mouldings, edges, corners, around handles or hardware, chair arms and bottom of chair or table legs and the edges of tables or dresser tops.
Fine grit sandpaper can be used to sand the top coat of paint. The more pressure you apply, the more the paint will become distressed. Using a coarser sandpaper will result in a heavier distressing, regardless of the pressure.
The amount of distressing is down to personal choice and is best done slowly, stepping back to inspect your piece from time to time to consider the overall look. Distressing with sandpaper can be done before or after waxing. Distressing before waxing produces chalk like powder which needs cleaning away before waxing or lacquering the piece of furniture. If you distress your piece after waxing you will need to apply another thin coat of wax.
Another way to distress is by wet distressing where a damp cloth or damp sponge is used to distress and involves wiping away the paint once it has started to dry to create a softer distressed look before finishing with wax or lacquer.
