Winter storm Jonas hit, and left us house-bound for the better part of 2 days. These stars were the result. They’re built just like our Wood Stars, but with a different (read: way better!) finish. IMHO.
There are many techniques for creating a faux distressed look with paint. Usually, if I want to achieve the distressed look, I’ll use a dry brushing technique. But that technique can result in a streaky, mottled appearance, so I’ve been wanting to experiment with something different. I read about the Vaseline distressing technique and thought it sounded promising, so we tried that on these stars.
The Vaseline technique is simple…
- Apply a base coat of paint or stain, and allow to fully dry. We used Weathered Teak stain by Sherwin Williams.
- Dab on small amounts of Vaseline where you want the “distressing” to appear (football fans: this is different than “Dab on ’em”) 😉
- Don’t glob on the Vaseline, just put on a very light coat
- The areas that have Vaseline applied will show through once your 2nd coat is applied, so consider what areas should look distressed based on “normal wear”
- Typically, these areas are the corners and edges
- Apply a 2nd coat using paint in a contrasting color (this coat must be paint), and allow to fully dry. We used Muslin by Sherwin Williams.
- Using 120 grit sandpaper, lightly sand all areas. The areas that had Vaseline applied will very easily sand off to reveal the base coat underneath.
Pretty easy, right??
I’m definitely a big fan of this distressing technique. It’s easy and it results in a very natural-looking distressed finish. We couldn’t be happier with our constellation of stars!
