How to Distress a Finish

Create Distressed Areas

• 1

  Sand the corners and edges and anywhere else on the furniture or woodwork that you want to appear worn or distressed. Experiment with different grits for different appearances. Think about where normal furniture wears, usually the legs and edges more than the top, and sand those places more.

• 2

  Hammer lightly with the craft hammer to make dents and "accident" places. Think about where common accidents would occur, like banging the legs of a piece or kicking the side of it by accident and focus on those areas.

• 3

  Hit the top and sides with the small cloth sack filled with varying nuts, screws and bolts to make a unique pattern of indents in the finish.

• 4

  Drill holes with your awl of varying sizes partially or all the way through the piece to create the appearance of worm holes. An awl will make a more rough hole than an electric drill.

• 5

  Take the putty knife and make scratches and ruts in the piece in different places.

Apply a Contrasting Stain

• 6

  Wipe all flaking paint, finish and wood off with a towel.

• 7

  Rub a small amount of darker or lighter stain to a towel and wipe onto any exposed wood. Alternately, you can skip this step and go straight to finishing.

• 8

  Wipe any excess stain off of the wood or paint with a damp cloth and allow to dry.

Finishing

• 9

  Place a small amount of finishing wax paste on a towel and rub it into the piece for a more flat finishing. Alternatively, see step 2.

• 10

  Apply a finishing coat with a paint brush thinly to seal the piece. Allow to dry completely.

• 11

  Apply only a basic furniture polish on a cloth if no sealing is desired.