old bench needs new look

[renaej]

I want to give an old restaurant corner wood bench a new look w/o losing it's distressed appearance. The white paint is a very dirty dull color. There are also some milky blue patches showing through. I thought about a pickled country green color might be nice. This is a corner bench I hope to use as the seating to a computer/desk area. All help appreciated. I have never tackled any thing like this before. Thank you.

[marksr]

Welcome to the forums!

I'm not sure I fully understand what type of finish you want

Are you still wanting the worn thru places to show?

I'll move your post to the faux painting section, I believe you'll be better helped there

[renaej]

Yes, I would love for all the worn places to show through plus all the other dings and dents. Just not the cracking off of the paint & it's dull dirty color. If it needs to stay the same antique off white instead of adding a country green mixed in this would be ok also. HELP PLEASE

[renaej]

Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to add about the finish. Just something that is not to shiney. I believe the bench is rather old I can't find hardly any nails only where it looks to have been repaired or further braced from beneath. I just want to get rid of the peeling/cracking off & overall dirty look, if possible. Any ideas or help would be greatly appreciated.

[marksr]

There isn't a magic bullet that will lock down the existing paint. The only surefire cure is to remove any/all loose or degraded paint. A clear coat of poly would help protect the finish and while it can help loose paint to stay, it won't stop it from peeling if the old paint has no bond left with the wood. An oil base poly will amber the white so it would probably be better to use a water based poly. A satin sheen isn't real shiney.

I'm sure you could get the green you want with a glaze finish [not my specialty] but any adhesion problems with the original paint may still exist.