‘When does a block of old wood become a painting tool?

When you’re searching for a simple technique that creates a worn, chippy finish on a piece of wood or furniture! Recently, Coach presented me with a reclaimed primitive pine bench that he thought would “look great with a whale on it!” It had most definitely seen better days…the top was scratched and gouged and the finish was non-existent, but it was solid and had no musty odors, which is always a plus. (Sorry, I hadn’t planned on writing about this project until I tried the brilliant block painting trial, so no before pics) Wanting to hurry along the transformation process, he sanded it down for me and painted the base black. Typically, his next line will be “OK, I’ll paint a whale on it”…which he knows will then trigger my response “Don’t touch it, I’ll do it.” OK, so I stained, then painted the bench, first with blue, then white chalk paint, then sanded it for a distressed look.

Usually, when I do that, the top coat will sand down and expose the under color- but this time it didn’t work very well and the bench was primarily white and black. So, I thought, hmmm, what can I use to create the multi-layer effect I want…wait for it…a block of wood?! Recently, I had been binge-watching old episodes of Flea Market Flip-I have seen them all so many times, but each one is full of fun transformational tips! I recalled seeing their DIY geniuses use the wood block-painting technique successfully…why not give it a try?! So, at 4:45 AM this morning, BEFORE I even had my morning jolt of caffeine…I was grabbing a block of wood and dipping it into paint and scraping it across the bench and voila! Chippy, distressed look in about 5 minutes time! (OK, well that noise is pretty annoying and grating, but the results are worth it, I promise!) The reason this technique works so well is that, unlike a paint brush, which smooths paint into the contours and ridges, the wood block scrapes over those and only leaves paint on the textured areas.

There are a couple of tips to share- the block of wood works better if it is a little rough. And make sure you blot the wood on paper after you dip it in the paint, otherwise it will leave globs of paint behind.

Other than that, its pretty simple and fun…and the results are pretty much exactly what I had tried to achieve!

Now its time for the whale : ) Stay tuned… Susan