What Is White Washing & Dry Brushing
And, how do I tell the difference??? Honestly, to me, it’s the kind of the same thing. 2 different painting techniques that give you basically…
And, how do I tell the difference??? Honestly, to me, it’s the kind of the same thing. 2 different painting techniques that give you basically the same end result. Today, I’ll show you how I “dry brushed” this plant stand to achieve a “looks like I washed it in white paint” look.
Pop of Color
I wish I would have thought to take a before, before picture. A “before I painted this at all picture” that is. I painted it this fun blue. A cool pop of color on a vintage piece. When I was done, I thought it looked too pop of colorish. By the way, don’t you LOVE fall? I love my yard this time of year!
I digress…Only the color was “popping” and none of the great detailing was. My next idea was to sand it, aka distress it.
Dry Brush Technique
I was happy to see that I had some white paint that I hadn’t taken to the mill. This is my very favorite paint right now. Rustoleum Ultra Cover. It’s $8 folks and works on anything. Also, you can buy it just about anywhere. Check out the fall leaf that landed next to the can.
Gosh, I’m easily distracted today! (You’re getting a little glimpse into my brain). You want to dip your brush into the paint, and then basically wipe it back off again. Hence, an (almost) dry brush
Now, the beauty of this technique is, that you really can’t mess it up. You just start dragging your brush across your piece with abandon.
Start out lightly, and see what you think. You can add paint wherever you want to get the effect you want. (did I use the right effect?? effect/affect was always confusing to me)
Can you see what I see now? I know it was hard to tell the difference between the initial Before & After pictures. The white paint is really toning down the bright teal, but it still looks teal. Which is good, this is what I was going for. Oh, and there’s that awesome leaf again
So now, I’m pretty happy with how this is looking. The detailing is really showing up. I also love the way the original dark wood color is also coming through. This is my desired look (I’m not taking a chance on the effect/affect word again) for the entire piece now.
Sanding the Furniture
No painting project is complete without a sanding block. You can tell how well-loved this one is. They are super easy to work with and you can buy them anywhere that sells paint usually. This one is a “fine grit” block. Just take the block in your hand and treat it like a washcloth. That’s right, just act like you are giving your furniture a good scrub down.
Your sanding block will know what to do. See where there’s detailing? The paint will come right off. If you keep going, more and more paint will come off as well. Again, this isn’t a test. There is no right or wrong answer. Just keep scrubbing away until you like what you see. Also, there is no need to seal anything with anything. The sanding will do the trick! Sand the top until you get a nice, smooth finish.
Ta Dah! What do you think?? I hope that you learned a little something. The main thing that I really want you to learn is that being creative is meant to be fun. It’s meant to make YOU happy. There are no painting or decorating police.
