playing with paint

In preparation for turning our dated second hand buffet into a super cool master bath vanity with a driftwood finish, I decided I had better play with some paint. I didn't want to practice on the buffet, so I used free hardwood flooring samples as my guinea pigs.

I started by using a liquid deglosser. Since the buffet has a wood veneer finish, I plan on sanding only very, very lightly. I think the deglosser will give the paint a little extra oomph to stick. Zinser primer will help as well!

I used three tones of paint: very pale gray, medium gray, and darker brown gray (official fancy names at the end of the post). For the first sample, I started with the darkest shade, painted in on, waited 20 seconds, and rubbed it off with a rag.

For the sample number 2, I used the darkest shade again, in one thin coat, and did not rub any of it off.

For sample number 3, I used the lightest shade in one thin coat, and did not rub any off.

Sample number one received a second coat, this time with the middle shade of gray. Again it was brushed on and rubbed off with a rag.

Samples two and three both received coats of the middle shade of paint.

Here's sample two with with second coat of paint rubbed off.

And here's sample three. Note that the paint was not sticking very well to this sample. It was very glossy to start with, and I should have used a second coat of deglosser on this one!

To finish sample one, I brushed on the lightest shade of gray and rubbed it off with a towel. The color was much lighter than what I wanted, so I took a tiny bit of the darkest paint on a dry brush and used that over the top. 

I did the exact same thing to sample number two.

For sample number three, I brushed on the darkest shade of gray and rubbed most of it off with a towel.

So what did I learn from my painting party? I love the "grain" of sample number one. Dry brushing with minimal paint is the way to go if you're looking for a rustic, weathered finish. However, I like the color tones of number three the best. So, my plan of attack for painting the buffet? 1. Sand, 2. degloss, 3. prime, 4. lightest shade of paint (valspar tempered gray), 4. medium shade of paint (valspar aspen gray), 5. darkest shade of paint ( valspar seine) (all dry brushed over the primer), and 5. a coat of clear sealer.

As soon as the summer humidity says goodbye, I'm going to throw on my painting clothes and get to work!

Have you every created a faux finish?

<3
Hattie