Can I salvage this failed dry brushing attempt?
by
Barb Verbos
+9
I recently sanded down a kitchen table, applied a weathered gray stain and then when that didn't look great, tried dry brushing with white. (man at Woodworking store recommended this.) I hate it! Every wipe off I made, every schmear of paper towel, etc. shows. Do I just give up and chalk paint the top or can I keep at it? Part of me thinks I have nothing to lose by trying an additional technique. Thanks for any help!
do you like the white on it? if you like the look of it, you can put a sealer of some description (polycrylic or wax) to have a more secure finish. if you don't like the white, wipe it off and try again with a different colour stain or chalk paint,
If its too white, I would dry brush it with the darker color. When you dry brush you don't wipe it off. Practice on some newspaper or poster board, Dip just the tip of the brush, pounce it on a piece of paper, drag it lightly on the surface.
Sand out any bumps in the paint, then paint right over the surface with another color. If you didn't like the drybrushing, try stenciling a simple border or an all over design. Don't be afraid to use an unusual color for the tabletop or the trim or stencil, if it will bring you joy. If you don't like the next process, get out your sander and try something else. Best wishes 😇
Hi Barb, Try sanding it lightly with 120 grit or higher sandpaper, going with the grain of the wood. (Never sand against the grain) If you don't get the look you're going for, keep sanding until you can start over. Apply your stain (again, staining with the grain of the wood) then wipe it off as you go. While it's still wet, add your white paint. Use very little at a time on your brush then drag it gently through the gray in short strokes here and long strokes there. (Again, with the grain of the wood) If you feel the white is to heavy in spots, you can gently drag your towel over it. This will take longer to dry but is worth it in the end. Just remember, always go with the grain! Just a side note, wiping some of the stain off will let the natural wood grain show through, giving it a realistic aged look! :)
Hope this helps!
Try sanding it in the areas that are most noticeable to you. Then maybe stain over it again to blend.
Sand the whole top of the table, you may like the result once you get sanding even if you take it down to just grey and the original wood color. Once you get it sanded down to that point you can go from there. Start completely over with a base coat of grey or just add some white. I would suggest you use some glaze to thin the white so that you can do a wiping off of the dry brush if it is too streaky for you. Do not put a poly finish on it until you love what you have done. Also you can use a wet on wet approach. While the grey is still wet do your white dry brush, this way the streaks will not be as harsh. Good luck and let us know how you made out.
IF you like how this looks, let me know. I'll give you the really easy step by step. It was done with homemade chalk paint and homemade wax paint. You wouldn't need to resand, you could do it right over the paint job that you don't like. It would take you about 2 hrs to finish a table with this. Easy peasy. I did this china cabinet myself, for a friend. These were both a dark wood and now they look like driftwood.