How to Distress Furniture With Red & Turquoise Paint

Distressing is a way to make newer items look like they have been aged over time. While there are several ways to distress your furniture, using two colors of paint will make your furniture appear as though you have painted it many times, and the top coat has worn off. Red and turquoise is a good color combination because these two colors appear on opposite sides of the color wheel, making them complementary colors.

Drop cloth
Sandpaper
Tack cloth
Oil-based paint in red and turquoise
Paintbrush approved for use with oil paint
Mineral spirits
Candle or paste wax
Sanding block
Spray-on clear coat

Instructions

- 1
  Place your furniture piece on a drop cloth. Paint in an area that is well ventilated, as oil paint has an odor.
- 2
  Sand the entire furniture piece to roughen the surface for proper paint adhesion. Wipe the dust away with a clean tack cloth.
- 3
  Use a paintbrush to apply a coat of oil-based paint in either red or turquoise. This will be the base coat and will not be the main color of the piece; this color will only show through where you distress. Let the paint dry and use mineral spirits to clean your paintbrush.
- 4
  Rub wax along the edges and face of the furniture where you want the base coat to show through. The wax will prevent the top coat from adhering well to the base coat.
- 5
  Paint the entire piece of furniture with the color you choose for your top coat. Allow the paint to dry completely.
- 6
  Use a sanding block to remove the top coat of paint in the areas you applied the wax. Rub until the base coat shows through. Wipe away any paint chips or dust with a clean tack cloth.
- 7
  Spray the entire furniture piece with a clear coat protectant approved for use with oil-based paint.

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