Furniture, Wood and Cabinetry Finishing - Distressing

Anyone got any advise on how to distress a bookcase?

I'm no expert but I did this to a pine chest I bought - it was raw pine with no finishes, stains, or anything.

First I sanded the chest so that the paint would grip - if your bookcase has a finish - you'll have to sand it probably I'd say with a medium grit paper for wood.

I used a very light rich brownish color called worn glove...I used a lightly damp rag to apply it....it's a very thin coating when you do it like that...I did this three times.

I let it dry really well....this is important for the next part to work out.

After a day or two - depending on the humidity - I used a rough grit sand paper and a fine grit. I just started to strategically sand in places that would 'naturally' have gotten worn over time....like the edges and corners...OH and I rubbed sorta a 'butt' mark on top of the chest as if it had been used as a seat over the years....I even took a screw driver and made a few little tick/scar marks but it depends on what look you are going for.

THEN, I took a white candle and rubbed it on the roughed up spots so that some of the wax got transferred onto the part paint/part exposed wood...it made it look sorta old and neat.

And that is it...like I said...not sure if that is one of the ideal approaches but it came out great...all my neighbors loved it but I'll tell you - it took like 15 hours and I had to repaint some areas several times because I didn't like how the 'distressing' or sanding came out...in the end...it was worth it.

There are as many different ways to distress furniture as there are people to do it.

As Shelly points out, distressing can take two forms (usually both are used). Physically marking the wood, and owrking with the finish to create a worn appearance.

Here are some other approaches you may find helpful:

http://forum.doityourself.com/search.php?action=showresults&searchid=84737&sortby=lastpost&sortorder=descending

Thank you so much for those helpful hints