How to Make Paint Look Like Stain
Staining wood is a popular way to give furniture a rich, beautiful color. But do you know you can use paint to get the same effect? That’s right, you can learn how to make paint look like stain! Whether you want a rustic, weathered look or like the natural grain of wood, these refinishing furniture techniques will help you create that stain like finish with just paint.
So if you have some paint lying around and want to give your furniture a makeover by staining, keep reading to know the step by step process.
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See more AFTER photos below these printable instructions!
How to Make Paint Look Like Stain
Learn how to make paint look like stain with our easy step by step guide, perfect for achieving a weathered look or wood stain finish on any surface using simple painting techniques.
Materials
Instructions
- Take off any hardware or fixtures from the furniture for a smooth surface for painting and staining. Plus, it's a great opportunity to update the look with new hardware!
- Use a dry brush and paint wash technique with a cling on oval brush and your choice of latex paint to deepen the color of the wood. Get the brush wet with water then use it to dampen the furniture before slightly dipping it into the paint and applying in long strokes following the direction of the wood grain.
- If you accidentally apply too much paint in one area, just gently wipe it off with a paper towel while still following the direction of the grain to maintain a natural look. Continue this process until you get your desired color depth, whether lighter or darker.
- After letting it dry overnight, apply a waterbased polyurethane to protect your hard work and finish. This will also give it a polished, professional look.
- Once everything is set, reattach the old hardware or update with new pulls. And there you have it, your furniture now has a stunning stained look using just paint!
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More Before and After Makeovers
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Click any of these “before” photos below to view the “after” of that makeover.
These nightstands are from our how to whitewash wood makeover, where we transformed two plain, dark wooden nightstands into beautiful statement pieces with a whitewashed look.
After cleaning and sanding off the finish, we bleached the wood to start making it lighter. That’s with 1-2 coats of a mix of half bleach and half water. Then we neutralized the bleach by wiping everything down with a rag and household vinegar.
Before applying the whitewash, we made sure to seal the wood so that the whitewash wouldn’t soak in too heavily. For the whitewash, we mixed white glaze and white paint and let it sit for 30 seconds before wiping it off. And of course, we sealed these whitewashed nightstands with 3 coats of waterbased polyurethane to protect our hard work and finish.
These nightstands looked great with their whitewashed look, but after a few months, they still hadn’t sold, so we decided to switch up the finish a bit. Here’s how the transformation went!
Supplies Used to Make Paint Look Like Stain
- Electric Screwdriver
- Cling On Oval Brush
- Kindling Latex Paint
- Paper Towel
- Waterbased Polyurethane in Satin Finish
- Card Catalog Pulls
Remove Hardware from Furniture
To start, we took off the hardware from our whitewashed nightstands. It’s important to remove any hardware or fixtures because they can get in the way and make it difficult to get a consistent finish.
It’s also much easier to paint and stain when you have a smooth surface to work with. You can also take this as a chance to change up the hardware to more of your style or a trendy look. Just make sure to keep the old hardware in a safe place in case you want to switch back later on.
How to Make Wood Color Darker
The goal was to deepen the color of the whitewashed wood, so we used a dry brush and paint wash technique with a Cling on oval brush and Kindling latex paint. First, we lightly dampened the furniture with a small amount of water using the brush. Then, we dipped the brush into the paint, getting the smallest amount possible.
We applied the paint in long strokes, following the direction of the wood grain. This just added a thin layer of paint to mimic the natural lines of the grain and not completely cover it up. If we accidentally applied too much paint in one area, we just gently wiped it off with a paper towel, still following the direction of the grain.
We kept going with this process in small sections until we reached the color depth we wanted. Feel free to choose darker or lighter based on what you like. After that, we let it dry overnight to make sure everything set just right.
Seal Furniture Stained with Paint
So that’s how we used paint to create a stain like finish on our nightstands! But before we could sit back and admire the transformation, this one important step should not be skipped – sealing the furniture.
Letting the paint dry is not enough, especially if you want the furniture to have a longer lifespan. Sealing it with a topcoat will protect your hard work and preserve the stain like finish for years to come.
We recommend using waterbased polyurethane in satin finish. It’s easy to apply, dries quickly, and gives a beautiful, subtle sheen that enhances the stained look of the furniture. We did 3 coats to make sure it was fully protected – here’s more on how to apply polycrylic to painted furniture to help you out with this step.
Once the final coat of polyurethane was dry, we attached new card catalog pulls to update the look even more. If you’d like to try this yourself and are not sure how to go about it, our guide on how to change hardware on a dresser will walk you through the process.
See how the deeper, darker color gave the nightstands a more sophisticated and elegant look? Who would’ve thought that paint could create such a beautiful stained look on furniture? And yes, we did that with paint. It’s amazing how you can use paint to create different effects on furniture – from a whitewashed look to a stained finish!
And the best part is, you can customize it to your own liking and style. If you want a darker stain, just add more paint or use a darker shade. If you prefer a lighter stain, go with less paint or a lighter shade.
Just remember to add a topcoat over your painted stain to protect it from everyday wear and tear. You don’t want that beautiful stain effect of paint to start chipping or fading after a few months. So take that extra step to seal your hard work and enjoy the results for years!
What happens if I want to change the finish again?
If you decide in the future that you want to change up the finish again, don’t worry! You can easily sand down the topcoat and paint layer to reveal the original wood or previous finishes. This gives you a clean slate to start over and try out a new look. If you want to change it to a lighter stain here’s how to change dark wood stain to light!
There are many ways how to remove paint from wood furniture here, including sanding and also using a chemical paint stripper. So if you think you might want to update the existing look in the future, you’ll have options to do so without damaging the furniture.
More Refinishing Furniture Tips
- Can You Stain Over Paint
- How to Stain Wood with Watered Down Paint
- How to Stain Wood Furniture Darker
- How to Stain Over Stain
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