I am often asked how to easily and affordably create a painted finish with all of the depth, graininess and color contrast of real wood. Though many other tutorials might claim they will help you create that authentic appeal,  I have created a finish that will give you the graininess you desire while keeping the depth of color you wish to expose.

Supplies I used:
Amy Howard at Home® Liming Wax
Amy Howard at Home® Dark Antique Wax
Amy Howard at Home® One Step Paint
Amy Howard at Home® 1.5” Brushes

Step 1:
Thoroughly clean your surface with simple green. Be sure to rinse that same surface down with water to completely remove any residue the simple green might have left behind.

Step 2:
I am working with an already painted surface here, I chose  A good man is hard to find in our One Step™ paint line. Make sure your painted surface has completely dried before you begin the waxing steps.

Step 3:
Using an Amy Howard at Home ® natural bristle brush, apply a medium to full coat of liming wax to your chalk-based paint. You want these strokes to look deep to maintain the linear “wood grain” line.
*Continue to feather out the wax with your brush until the Liming Wax is evenly distributed over your piece.

Step 4:
After the wax has cured about 15-20 minutes, it’s time to accent the surface with your Amy Howard at Home ® Dark Antique Wax™. With soft, feather like motions apply a light application of dark wax directly over the limed wax. You don’t want it to be too dark.

Step 5:
After the dark wax has dried, around 30 minutes Come back and buff with a clean lint free rag. The sheen will start to come through. Be careful not to buff too much of the graininess out of our finish. That is what gives the grainy wood look!

Pro Tip: If you see that you applied too much dark wax, simply buff the surface with 0000 steel wool. Lightly go back and forth in the same direction as you did the liming and dark wax. 

This technique can be used for end tables, kitchen cabinets, dining tables, headboards, picture frames…the possibilities are really quite endless! You can now add the warmth and depth of wood grain to any surface you desire. So, be fearless and go for it!

And don’t forget, enjoy the bragging rights!
Amy Howard