Hi! It’s Mandi here to share a simple crafty tip with you. Creating a weathered paint effect is a great way to add character to any DIY project. You can use this technique for furniture, picture frames, and yes—wooden letters! Check out how easy it is in the steps below.
Supplies:
-wooden object
-primer
-base layer paint color (I used a gold metallic)
-top layer paint color (I used white)*
-rubber cement
-fine and coarse sandpaper
*DO NOT use a paint + primer spray paint for your top coat.
Step One: Prime your wooden object to prepare for your base color. Then lightly sand with fine sandpaper to achieve a smooth finish.
Step Two: Paint the object with a generous amount of your base color. I did three coats of metallic paint.
Step Three: Brush the areas around the edge with rubber cement. Also brush any other areas you would like to distress, like a few vertical brushes across the surface of your object.
Step Four: After the rubber cement dries (this will happen quickly), spray with one coat of your top color.
Step Five: After the top layer of paint dries, take coarse sandpaper to the surface and rub it across the surface—do not rub it against the point of the corners, or you will risk taking off the bottom layer of paint. You only need to gently rub to get a little bit of the top layer of paint to brush away. Then, use your fingers or thumb to rub the top layer of paint, causing the areas atop the rubber cement to just peel away.
After I had peeled away a sufficient amount of the top paint layer, I brushed the coarse sandpaper across the surface in a few places to scratch off some more of the white to reveal the metallic paint below.
You may decide to seal the finish with a clear coat of sealer so the paint won’t continue to peel.
I love the mix of glamorous metallic paint with the weathered finish of the white paint. What a cute little home accessory this little letter E has become! Thanks to this special paint treatment, it’s going to make a great addition to my wedding gift for a dear friend this summer. –Mandi
Credits // Author and Photography: Mandi Johnson. Photos edited with Spring and Valentine of the Signature Collection.
can’t wait to try this!
Wow i loved this idea, i will have to give it ago. Its so effective!
love this!!
xxoo,
nikki
www.dreaminneon.blogspot.com
Awesome idea! Love how you used metallic paint and also rubber cement for easy rub-off. Must do!
I love the gold as the undercoat. So freaking adorable!!
xoxo
Taylor
This is SO cool.
http://juliettelaura.blogspot.com
Good call! That’d be great if you have vaseline in your medicine cabinet. I just so happen to ADORE rubber cement as a scrapbooking adhesive, so I always have some around, plus another huge jug of it for refills. 🙂 I’ve also heard of people using candle wax— just rub the candle right on there! I tried using candle wax, but personally didn’t find it to be as easy for the paint to gently rub off with my finger as it was when I used rubber cement. -Mandi
Love the effect!
Supercute!!!Great tutorial! 😉
I’ve distressed wood before, but using gold as an undercoat? Genius.
another way to create this look without buying another product is to use VASELINE.
Love the effect having the gold underneath gives.
Ahh it looks great! I was just thinking a couple of days ago that I wanted to make my own one of these. I actually think I would like the wood effect under the white paint though. 🙂
erin, http://www.beingerin.com
I’ve always wanted to try this but figured it would be a lot of work. Seems simple enough, so I think I’ll give it a try! 😉
So cute!
I did a similar tutorial on my blog!
Go check it out!
http://kasidybelle.blogspot.com/2014/06/diy-aging-furniture-with-paint.html
I just did something very similar! Except, after all of the sanding & such – I painted it with COFFEE! Crazy right? I had heard it did miracles, and it totally did! Never thought about the metallic middle layer though, must try this. Thanks for bringing this to my world!
Love this! I’m looking at a shelf and dreaming of a distressed “J” to put up there right now! Thanks for the easy tutorial.
Awesome! I am going to try this on some of my artwork.
Ah sandpaper to the rescue. It’s a resourceful tool with a multitude of uses. :] // http://www.itscarmen.com ☼
Whaaaaaattt? This looks awesome! I can’t believe how amazing it turned out! So many fun color possibilities…