How do I distress kitchen cabinets?
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I am redoing a kitchen and need to lighten up the wood cabinets to a distressed painted look- the house is a cabin theme...What exactly is the technique? Do I paint and then slightly sand off the edges? Top coat with polyurethane? Help?
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Here is a tutorial https://www.hometalk.com/diy/kitchen-dining/kitchen-cabinets/distressed-kitchen-cabinets-39683868
How to Transform Your Space With DIY Distressed Kitchen Cabinets
Take a door front or drawer to the home improvement store paint department and ask for their advice on paints, stains, trim and more.
Yes. Paint the cabinets, run sandpaper (I like 220 grit) along the edges. Don't touch the fronts of the cabinets with sandpaper. They would never naturally wear there. Pay attention to raised details and edges only. Top coat with polyCRYLIC. It's water-based and won't yellow over time.
My question to you is do you want to paint them and make them look slightly worn, or do you want to distress them like we use to a while back? These are two very different techniques with different looks. The first requires painting different layers of color then sanding them away to give them an aged look. The other requires beating the wood to give it "character".
You will want to sand, clean and repair before you get started - you can use just about any paint - but I prefer General Finishes for cabinetry. I personally don't like using sand paper to distress, too many scratches in the finish - try Denatured Alcohol, it works great! I may show the technique in this video or if not, also check out my YouTube Channel under Artistic Painting Studio - https://www.hometalk.com/diy/living-room/furniture/don-t-hate-your-old-coffee-table-do-this-instead--25036142
Don't Hate Your Old Coffee Table - Do THIS Instead!!!