Step 1) Prepare your surface

If you’re working with a raw wood surface, start by using a metal brush to open the pores of the wood. This technique works best on raw wood that doesn’t have a finish on it. If you have a nice piece of oak furniture with a clear finish that you want to white wash, we recommend a good sanding with medium grit sandpaper to rough it up and open up the pores of the wood so that it can soak up the paint better.

Step 2) Apply your paint

This technique can be done with any paint color, but if you’re going for a traditional white washed look try our pure white, Simplicity.

You can apply the paint at full strength, or you can thin it with water (up to about 1 part of water to 2 parts of paint). Make sure to go in the same direction as the wood grain.

You don’t have to get perfect coverage, just get it on about 75% of your surface. With white washing, you want give the wood a light wash without getting fully opaque coverage because you want the wood grain to show through.

Step 3) Remove excess paint

Immediately after applying your paint, take a damp cloth and wipe away as much paint as you want to create the look you’re after.

Step 4) Build up in layers

If you realize you’ve taken off too much paint, simply go over it again with another coat of paint and wipe off the excess again. You can build up your coverage in layers.

That’s all there is to it! Pretty simple isn’t it?

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