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How to Distress Paint

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We get it, simply painting over your latest DIY piece with a solid color just isn’t exciting enough. You’ve been wanting a distressed look to match the design in your home, but you’re not quite sure how to get that look yourself. Thankfully, a distressed and rustic look can be quickly achieved using the two-color wet distress and single-color sand through processes! These are quick and simple ways to get the job done, so here’s how:

The Two Color Wet Distress

Begin by choosing which color you’d like to use for your base and paint it down the surface of your DIY item. The trick to this paint is not to overwork it. Just get it on the piece! Let your paint dry completely and then start thinking about the color you’d like to use for your next coat. Once you’ve selected your second color, paint a full coat across the base color.

Now, this next part is important! Don’t let the second color dry, you’ll want to take a damp rag that’s not dripping wet and remove however much of the second color you’d like in order to expose the underlying base color. If you rub a little harder, you’ll get down to the bare finish and have a beautiful distress that’ll make your piece look distinct and well worn. Check out our Quick Tip Tuesday tutorial below to watch the process in action!

The Single Color Sand-Through

For this process, you’ll want to begin by choosing the color of your preference. Simply paint it down the surface of your item just like you would for the base color in the two-color wet distress process. Once again, the trick here is not to overwork the paint, just get the piece covered. Once the piece has dried thoroughly, simply rub the surface of your piece with sandpaper to achieve a beautifully weathered look that’s design inspired. For a quick visual of this process, check out the following Quick Tip Tuesday video.

Remember – adding a topcoat to your work will preserve that beautifully distressed look for years to come. And be sure to use our Black Dog Salvage Furniture Paint so you can get the best finish possible in the color(s) of your choosing.