How do whitewash furniture

To create the whitewash furniture paint, thin down latex water-based white paint with water; about two parts paint to one part water. As with all paint projects , you should never dive in without doing a quick swatch first. Use a leftover scrap of wood to check your paint's consistency—if it's going on too thin, add more paint to the solution and repeat. Or, if you prefer a more opaque finished product, throw in a bit more water. Once you get the consistency to your liking, use a small dense foam roller to roll the thinned-down paint onto the dresser.

A paintbrush would work well too. For larger surfaces, know that you'll need to wipe away all the paint before it dries, so work fast. Quickly use a sponge to wipe the paint off in the direction of the wood grain. Despite the photo, we eventually found it easier if you paint the entire length of your surface and wipe off that entire strip, rather than do short chunks.

Let the first coat dry. Pro tip: Since the whitewash is much thinner than paint out of the can, it will splash and drip MUCH more than regular paint. Be prepared! Depending on how opaque you want the whitewash and how watered down your paint mixture is , you may want to add a second coat. Let the whitewash dry. This will likely be quicker than with normal paint, since whitewash is thinner, but give it at least a few hours before touching. And let it sit overnight before using.

You have a pretty new piece, ready for styling. Us too! Follow House Beautiful on Instagram. After the first coat has dried completely, then determine whether a second or third coat is desired. So long as the whitewash is dry allow several hours , you can use fine-grit sandpaper to play down any coverage that you think seems thicker than ideal. Bring the project to completion by coating it with a clear polyurethane sealer, applied with a brush as evenly as possible over the surface.

Once sealed, your whitewashing should look fresh for years to come. Disclosure: BobVila. You agree that BobVila. All rights reserved. When you sand down the original finish, be sure you keep working until the surface is completely smooth. If you whitewash a rough surface, the finished product will look splotchy, uneven, and rough.

Starting with 80 grit and work your way up to grit for a super smooth surface. A basic whitewash mixture is one-part latex paint and one-part water. However, that mixture can change drastically based on the look you are going for. If you want a hint of white, you can use mostly water. If you want basically solid, you can use a mixture closer to three parts paint and one-part water. This is what makes white washing so much fun.

The key is to text your paint mixture before you start painting. Before you start, play with the mixture on a piece of spare wood. Another option for creating the perfect stain is to simply buy it as is. Today you can actually find white stains available that take the guesswork out of staining wood white. White stains are widely available in water-based or oil-based forms, but they are more expensive than a paint-and-water mixture. Before you start whitewashing, you need to have a clear understanding of the look you are going for.

Whitewashing is meant to brighten a wood surface without hiding the grain pattern. If your whitewash is so thick that you conceal the natural grain of the wood, you should switch techniques and simply paint your furniture instead. Whitewashing should be done using a staining process, not a painting process. These two things are very different.

After you apply the white stain with a brush, allow it to set for no more than minutes and then work it into the stain using a rag.