How to Make Furniture Look Vintage

Prime the surface. Priming is followed by an undercoat and a thin top coat. The undercoat will show through the top coat once painting is complete. Painting should be done in an area that's well ventilated and all furniture should be thoroughly cleaned prior to any painting taking place.

Apply paste wax with a clean rag once the priming coat is dry. There are two ways to go about this: The first is to apply the wax over the whole surface or just in the areas where distressing will be present.

Apply the top coat with a 2-inch brush. This must be done after the wax has had at least one hour to dry and must be applied in the direction of the wood grain. The top coat is done with either paint or a wood glaze and needs to be dry before moving on, but should not be allowed to sit for more than 24 hours.

Sand the surface. Sanding should be done by hand for best results and in random spots to remove parts of the top coat to reveal the under coat, which gives a vintage appearance. Mix and match fine grit and coarse grit sandpaper to prevent the faux distressing from looking too uniform. Apply extra pressure on areas where natural wear and tear is greater, particularly corners and drawer handles.

Scrape the surface with a wire brush for a more realistic worn look. Gently hit with a hammer to add dents and dings. These features are naturally found on older pieces, making them ideal for this look. Clean away all loose paint and debris once painting is complete. Add a coat of polyurethane for extra protection.