How to Antique Over Painted Kitchen Cabinets

Painted kitchen cabinets can be colored to match any kitchen decor, blending into the rest of the interior decoration to help create the overall look that you’re going for. Unless that look is filled with antiques, in which case a freshly painted cabinet tends to stick out, disrupting the look of the rest of the room. Antiquing the cabinets can solve this problem, though. With a bit of glaze spread over the cabinets, you can age them years in a matter minutes. In the end, you’ll have the look you want, one of age without decay, with beautiful old-looking cabinets to match the rest of the antiquated look of your decor.

Phillips-head screwdriver
TSP (trisodium phosphate)
Bucket
Sponge
Rags
White glaze
Grey acrylic interior paint
Wooden stir stick
Paint pail
Sponge

Instructions

- 1
  Use a Philips-head screwdriver to remove the screws from the hinges holding the cabinet door in place, then remove the door from the cabinet body. Unscrew the hardware from the cabinet, and set it aside for reattachment after you complete the antiquing process.
- 2
  Clean the cabinet and the cabinet door thoroughly with a mix consisting of one-half cup TSP (trisodium phosphate) mixed with two gallons of warm water in a large bucket. Use a sponge for cleaning cabinet surfaces, taking care not to saturate the wood and cause warping. Rinse with clean water, and then pat the cabinet and door dry with a rag. Place the door onto a drop cloth for painting.
- 3
  Mix one part white glaze with one part gray paint using a wooden stir stick in a paint pail to create your antiquing mix. The glaze will appear white when mixing, but will dry clearly on the cabinet, leaving only the translucent gray of the paint behind.
- 4
  Dip a sponge into the glaze mixture and apply the glaze to the cabinet door Use a circular motion to apply the glaze in a light layer onto the door. The glaze, upon drying, will dull the paint on the cabinet door while making it appear slightly weathered by age as well.
- 5
  Wipe the majority of the glaze from the door immediately with a rag to leave behind only a light layer of the coating. Leave a bit more of the glaze in any recessed areas of the cabinet door, however, to help with the illusion of natural aging in the piece.
- 6
  Use the same process that you used to apply the glaze to the cabinet door to cover the cabinet body with a layer of glaze as well. Make certain that you get the face of the body of the cabinet as well as the sides, covering all surfaces that are visible to viewers.
- 7
  Allow the glaze to dry overnight before reattaching the fixtures to the cabinet door and rehanging the door back into place.

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