How to get the Perfect Chippy/Distressed Finish

Using Shabby Paints Chalk Acrylic Paint

I get messages all the time from customers that want a heavy chippy/distressed look on their pieces and have tried different brands and types of paint with no luck for one reason or another. Some have even tried Milk Paint with less than desirable results. (Don’t feel bad, I’m a milk paint flunky too) Luckily they didn’t let their bad experiences with other brands stop them from trying again. So don’t worry we can get a fabulous chippy finish with Shabby Paints using some very inexpensive tools.

Latex vs. Acrylic Note: This is where some people give up. Latex chalk type paints tend to peel and flake when you distress. Since we use 100% pure nontoxic acrylic, the final distressed or chippy look is much more natural because we use high quality resins to adhere to your furniture’s surface. This is great news for the life of your piece but could cause cussing if you are used to distressing with a wet paper towel. Stay strong a quality end result is always worth it.

What you will need: A few foam sanding blocks in medium and fine grit, a water bottle and some elbow grease.

Awesome tip: Wet sanding your entire piece after painting will give you a smooth glass like finish. I use a wet fine grit sanding block and lightly go over the entire piece for a sleek finish. This can also be done after VAX or Shabby Varnish for a shinier finish.

Getting Chippy– After you have painted your piece and given it plenty of time to dry, wet your sanding block and spray a small section of your piece with water. Start out using a light hand and remember while your piece is wet the paint is weaker than usual, as soon as it dries it will be back to normal. You will need to play with the amount of pressure that works for you. Use a wet rag to wipe away the pigments as you sand so you can see how much paint you have removed. You are in control of where you want it to be distressed, usually those places are heavy use areas like corners, edges, around knobs or pulls, but this is about you so do what makes you Chippin’ Happy!!

Another Awesome tip: Use an old nail brush and water to clean your sanding blocks before the paint dries. They will last longer.

Hannah the Hutch-For this piece, after cleaning I painted with two coats of Mojito, wet sanded, then went heavy on the “Chippy” distressing. On the inside back board I painted her with Texas rose, stenciled Mojito over that then wet sanded. Protected the entire piece with two coats of Sheer VAX using a VAX applicator sponge. Pretty awesome putting two coats of VAX on a large piece in under 15 min. Hard to believe some people are still using stinky waxes and buffing. 🙂