How to Do a Weathered Wood Finish on Furniture
by
Pamela Field
Here's one way of turning furniture in poor condition into a lovely addition to your home. I quit fighting all her flaws and she showed me who she is. A beauty, with many more years to offer.
Sometimes you just have to go with what you've got. I quit fighting all her imperfections and celebrated them instead. With a little tlc, she's got many good years to go
veneer was removed off the drawers and top
One of the drawers was falling apart and wouldn't fit back together. The others were bowed and stuck. After removing about 3 dozen nails, I realized a board had been installed backwards. I glued and clamped all the boards so they would slide easily.
After removing the veneer, I still had problems to deal with. I sanded and patched and cleaned her up. After looking at this top, I decided to go with it, and make it a driftwood, weathered look.
I used steel wool and vinegar mixture to stain the wood, rubbing with the grain.
Getting these drawers in shape to fit in the chest was the hardest part. They also did not stain the same color as the top did with the vinegar and steel wool.
Even with the wood filler showing, I was beginning to like the look. I added pickling stain to highlight the wood grain and imperfections more.
I used a little gray and antique white paint to blend in the places where the wood filler was obvious.
I lined the drawers up in order (not this pic) and added an all over stencil. After it dried, I sanded the painted stencil so it would look more aged.
I painted the inside and lined the drawers with fabric.
I applied 4 coats of top coat and sealed the finish. Painted and installed the knobs and keyholes.
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4 of 158 comments
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It looks beautiful weathered and rustic. Don't care for the stenciling........THE wood grain in this piece is beautiful.........I know!! We have all different tastes and opinions, but people need to recognize that grain in the wood and decide what is going to stand out and beautify the piece of furniture.
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I agree. If the grain on the drawer fronts looked good, I would have left it without the stencil.
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That looks amazing
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thank you so much!
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