– Carve a text, a simple visualization or a symbol out of wood, then, finish with 800 grit sand paper. Wax the surfaces with a polishing compound and assemble a mold with roughly the same size as the carved piece of wood. Put the carved wood into the mold with an upward facing carved part, then, fill with a special sand casting compound. Beat gently the sand to harden and to form a flat surface on top. Then, reverse the mold and carefully remove the wooden carved piece by screwing a screw and using it as a handle. Melt and cast your favorite metal, take the new homemade detail and dry sand it to restore its original texture. Then, you can always use this piece of metal to stamp all your DIY wooden projects with your favorite stamp. It`s enough to heat the metal stamp and to apply it right on a wood surface by pressing it for a while. The burned layer of the stamp ensures an unmatched and truly beautiful natural highlight to the natural texture or paint of the wood.
– Putty your favorite textures and forms right onto a newly sanded piece of wood. This tip works best on already assembled wooden furnishings, but without a final polish. Apply plenty of forms with the putty just to add texture and a more dynamic look to the flat wooden surfaces. Make also sure to leave flat areas as a part of the texture. Then, leave the putty to dry naturally for an hour or so, according to how much you are mixing. A quick cleaning of the residues with a stiff brush should be enough to leave ready to paint surfaces. Mix your favorite paint and apply it thoroughly onto the textured wooden surfaces. The true forms of the relief will pop up immediately. Don`t forget to finish the surface when the paint dries via clear coat of sealer, varnish or wax.
– Paint dots, stripes or other tiny little forms to create a whole pattern onto the flat wooden surfaces. A great tip for this technique is to use a couple or more brushes – each for a different paint. Just spread out drops evenly and let them dry for a couple of hours. Meanwhile, do some upholstery cleaning if you plan to upholster partially the furniture for a final look. When the paint is dry, a quick polishing touch with a 1000 grit sand paper should be enough to transform the tiny little drops of paint from tiny little spheres or half spheres rising from the wood, into tiny little flat circles with different colors. They will become a part of the wooden texture and the wooden texture will become a part of the colorful drops.
– Use some weathering techniques. For example – apply sea salt with different sized particles liberally onto the wooden surface and spray a thin layer of cold water. Let the water barely to dissolve the salt particles for a minute or so, then spray or brush the real paint. After drying, brush out the dried salt particles via stiff brush, spatula, paper towels or another common tool. Another great weathering technique is to scrape freshly dried paint from a flat wood surface. The scrapes and the chips may require a little bit of house cleaning after the task, however – the variety and shapes of the scrapes will form a unique pattern. What better way to add a more weathered vintage look to your DIY furniture! Not to mention that this is one of the quickest and easiest ways for home repairs of old furniture.
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