How to Paint a Table & Make It Look Distressed

Find a well-ventilated area to complete your project. A garage or outdoors is ideal.

Lay a drop cloth or newspaper sheets underneath your table to protect the flooring below.

Clean your table completely using a warm washcloth and mild soap.

Apply a single coat of latex paint, which will be the color that shows through once your project is complete.

Apply a coat of the second color once the first coat of paint has fully dried. In some cases, the drying process can take up to 24 hours. If necessary, apply an additional coat of the second color to achieve even coverage.

Select the areas you plan to distress on your table. Typically, the parts that become naturally distressed with age and wear include corners, feet, handles and knobs.

Buff the areas lightly in a circular motion with steel wool or sandpaper until you reach your desired level of undercoat exposure.

Use optional faux finish techniques, or move on to Step 9. Saturate a piece of cheesecloth with glaze and apply it using a blotting motion to simulate accumulated dirt. To create the look of insect burrows, dip a toothbrush in glaze and flick it in to make random spatter patterns. Make punctures with an ice pick to simulate "wormholes."

Apply your choice of paste wax with a stain or shellac in the direction of the wood grain using a short, coarse-bristle paintbrush. Shellac will have a more brilliant finish.

Buff the paste wax with a towel after a few hours. For shellac top coats, allow at least 24 hours of drying time.