Upscale Vintage Chic: Must-Learn Techniques for Restoration
, by Gene Howard,
6 min reading time
Have you ever seen a beautiful piece of wood furniture that just screamed for some TLC? Amy is showing you just how to rescue and restore those pieces this week on Finish Friday. In this video, she shows you how to use Toscana Milk Paint, Antiquing Glaze, and wax to pull out the rich wood grains while giving your furniture or accents a beautiful pop of color that looks vintage, chic, and oh-so-gorgeous.
Have you ever seen a beautiful piece of wood furniture that just screamed for some TLC? Amy is showing you just how to rescue and restore those pieces this week on Finish Friday. In this video, she shows you how to use Toscana Milk Paint, Antiquing Glaze, and wax to pull out the rich wood grains while giving your furniture or accents a beautiful pop of color that looks vintage, chic, and oh-so-gorgeous.
Of course, she’s also sharing the new Vintage Chic Bundle, which you can use to get started on your next raw wood refinishing project. Order your bundle today and check out the video to learn how to create an upscale vintage chic finish on your favorite wood pieces.
How to Give Raw Wood a Vintage Finish
On this week’s Finish Friday video, Amy is working on reclaimed oak wood, but you can always find a wood piece and sand it down, or contract out your neighborhood woodworker for a raw wood piece. She uses Toscana Milk Paint in three different colors to demonstrate the different depths and pigments you can find, but you can pick your favorite color!
Our Toscana Milk Paint is from all natural quarries in Italy, and they’re 100% natural. This gives the paint more depth, richness, and authenticity, which is why we’re so committed to sourcing these materials. To mix your milk paint before use, measure 1 part paint to 1 part warm water.
Bonus tip: Make your paint mix the night before so that the powder has the ability to soak up the water. It will help get all the clumps out!
To get the best finish with your Toscana Milk Paint, Amy’s first tip is: Don’t use a brush to apply your milk paint. You’ll have brush marks. If you want an authentic, aged, textured finish, you’ll need to use a natural sea sponge (no other sponge will do, so make sure to get your sea sponges before you start!). Use a methodical application, getting consistent coverage without obvious lines or strokes. Set your piece aside to dry, waiting about 30-45 minutes depending on the amount of paint you applied. Once it’s totally dry to the touch, you can get ready to apply your Antiquing Glaze, which is included in this week’s bundle.
Pour out your Antiquing Glaze in a bowl or glass, and soak your sponge. Squeeze out the excess and dab your sponge across the entire surface of your wood. Once you’ve completed your first pass, you can go back over the piece, applying more pressure to strategic spots to get an aged, layered look. This is a good spot to return to the video to see firsthand how Amy does it. As you pull some paint up, make sure to clean your sponge with two separate water baths.
Perfecting That Vintage Look
Not sure how much Antiquing Glaze to apply, or where to apply pressure? Think about where pieces of furniture naturally wear: the legs, the handles, the edges. That’s where you pull more with your Antiquing Glaze. Once you’ve applied the glaze to your satisfaction, dab your surface with a lint-free rag to make sure there are no pools of glaze left behind. Set it aside to dry.
And last but not least, Amy talks about the importance of wax finishes to protect your pieces. The Light Wax has carnauba and beeswax, which has a more natural, clear finish. This allows you to keep your pigment true, and to not dull down the finish. Using your light wax chip brush, offload the excess wax on a piece of cardboard and then apply your wax in a cross-hatch motion. Don’t press too hard; lightly apply it and go back and forth on your piece in a quick motion. Allow it to come to tack before you apply your dark wax (if you want it).
Want to create even more depth or age? You can use another Toscana Milk Paint color or even our cracked patina to really make your piece pop. You can find tips on how to do just that in our Finish Friday library on Facebook!
Explore Other Aging Techniques
In this week’s Finish Friday video, Amy answers a ton of great questions from viewers about how to best use Toscana Milk Paint, what surfaces they can use it on, and how to perfect their Antiquing Glaze technique. Make sure to tune in to get the most guidance before you embark on your vintage chic journey.
Can’t wait to try out this vintage chic look? Join the Before and After Facebook group so we can see your project! You can also learn from others who are perfecting their technique as well. Don’t forget to buy our Vintage Chic Bundle, which includes a Toscana Milk Paint and our Antiquing Glaze. It’s the perfect starter kit for your next wood restoration project. Amy uses a new blue Toscana Milk Paint in this week’s Finish Friday, so stay tuned! It’s coming to the site soon.
We’ll see you on Finish Friday next week (and every week) at 12 noon Central on the Amy Howard at Home Facebook page, where Amy shows you a new rescue and restore technique each week.
