Faux Finishing a tabletop

[redlinda1]

I have painted my dining room table a burgundy color, and have stenciled it with a gold. I had seen once on a TV show that they took a darker color paint , probably a glaze and painted over the tabletop and then wiped it down to make it look aged or distressed before I put my polyurethane on it. I was just wonderingng if you know what i'm talking about and if you can give me specific directions or tips. I'm not exactly sure what color to use. a dark brown , or i saw something that mentioned a greenish brown? It only leaves a hue of color. Should I mix latex paint with glaze or water or both. HELP!!! thanks

[Annette]

i think there are a variety of products that could work for you. a dark brown paint would work, either full strength or diluted. or an actual brown stain would work. or a glaze. no matter which product you apply, you'll be wiping most of it off. i think for ease of clean-up, i'd go with the paint, instead of stain. unless you want a hint of green, i'd avoid the greenish-brown, and just go with brown. the point of mixing glaze with paint is to prolong the time you have to work with it before it dries, and to make the paint a bit more translucent.

could you do a test run on something else first? maybe the underside of the table? or do a scrap piece of wood. thats' what i'd do.