Diy Limewashed Look With Dry Brush Painting Technique Tutorial

Firstly, let’s avoid splinters from getting into our fingers. Sand all the edges (I used 150-grit). Only the edges because we don’t want the surface of our board to get too soft.

Once the edges are done, let’s enhance the whitening effects of dry brushing by opening the wood pores with the brass-bristle scrub brush before applying it.

Work the brush along the wood grain to avoid unsightly cross-grain scratches.

Clean the sanding dust off thoroughly before applying the wood stain.

DIY Limewash. If you plan to use paint as stain then prepare your stain diluting 50-50 your dark chosen paint and water. Mix well.

With a brush, apply your stain all over your wood board.

It may take more than one application of stain to get the look you’re after. I wanted it slightly dark so it wouldn’t lighten much after dry brushing.

Let it dry completely. It may take a few hours.

Then dribble a very small amount of paint on the plastic or paper plate.

Now, very gently dab the tip of your dry paintbrush into the paint and dabbed it on a piece f paper or paper towel to remove any excess paint.

You want to keep the tip of your paintbrush “dry” and not saturated with paint, so I suggest starting off with just a tiny bit of paint and adding more as you get comfortable with the technique.

See how most of the bristles are still separated and not soaked in paint? This is what you are going for.

Use short, quick brush strokes in both directions (along the wood grain and across them) to give it a texture and accent the wood lines.

This allowed me to brighten up the wood without completely covering the whole design which gives it so much character.

There’s no right or wrong way to dry brush; so get creative with your painting, you might discover looks you didn’t even know you could love!

Let it dry once finished.

Then let’s do the same with another brush but with a dark color. But this time will be really short brush strokes here and there to create slightly darker (depth) spots.

When you are happy with the result, let it dry overnight.

Finally, when your piece is completely dry, spray your clear matte varnish to protect and finish your masterpiece.

Let it dry and you are done!