How to Distress a Rocker

Distressing a wooden rocker is an excellent way to give it an antique-looking finish. Although you can give a rocking chair a distressed look just with painting techniques, the best way to distress it is to use various tools to actually dent and scratch it a bit. When distressing wood, a little goes a long way, so while you may have a good time hitting your rocking chair with a hammer, don't overdo it -- or you might accidentally break something.

Cloth
Sandpaper
Tack cloth
Wood file
Hammer
Ice pick
Wire brush
Black ink
Toothbrush
Paint
Paintbrush
Paper towels

Instructions

- 1
  Clean your rocker with a damp cloth to remove any dust or debris.
- 2
  Remove some of the finish from the top of the arms, along the sides of the rockers and on the seat using a piece of fine-grit sandpaper. Sand with the grain of the chair and don't take off a lot of wood. The idea is to make it look worn, not to damage the chair.
- 3
  Wipe the dust off the chair with a tack cloth.
- 4
  File down the ends of the rockers and the arms using a wood file. Go with the grain of the wood and use long strokes to make a curve over the ends.
- 5
  Knock a few chips off here and there, using a hammer, on the rockers, the edges of the seat and anywhere else you feel would be interesting. Don't break off a lot of wood; you don't want the chair to break.
- 6
  Simulate wormholes in the wood using an ice pick. Usually these holes are clustered in one particular area.
- 7
  Scratch the wood with a wire brush in different places.
- 8
  Splatter black ink on the chair with a toothbrush to simulate flyspecks. Make sure you protect the surrounding area to avoid splattering ink on other furniture or the floor.
- 9
  Paint over your work and then wipe down the paint coat with a paper towel or rag to allow the distressing to show through.

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