Painting Furniture for a Weathered Look

Wet a sponge with warm water, and use the sponge to remove dirt and other debris from the furniture. Dry the furniture as well as you can with a soft cloth, and allow the furniture to air-dry completely. Remove all pieces of the furniture that you do not want to paint, such as drawer hardware or an upholstered seat.

Sand or scrape the furniture to remove old paint and/or sealant. Remove excess dust and other debris with a soft cloth.

Paint the furniture with one coat of a base color paint. Skip this step if you want some bare wood to show. Otherwise, the base color will show. Allow the paint to dry.

Apply a thin coat of crackle medium using a foam paintbrush. Allow the medium to dry for two to four hours.

Paint over the crackle medium with a paint color different from the base coat if you applied a base coat. Use a foam paintbrush and a thin coat of paint for small cracks in the surface; a bristle paintbrush generally creates a larger cracks. Avoid going over the areas that you already painted with a second coat of paint because doing so will fill the cracks.

Distress the furniture with sandpaper if desired. Rub fine-grit sandpaper along the edges of the piece or in areas that normally receive wear.