Salt Wash Style Painting

Overview

The hottest new paint treatment adds a vintage seaside finish to almost any surface. Matthew Mead shows us his best insider tips and tricks.

Sitting pretty

A mish-mash of furnishings are united with a spray of paint and Saltwash. Sea glass shades in saltwater-kissed finishes. Saltwash provides an authentic seaside finish in this outdoor great room. Tables, chairs, even shutters and screen doors can all have that “by the sea” look.

Step 1

Authentic-looking vintage finish

Furniture painters are always looking for a real, authentic-looking vintage finish. While steel wool and sand paper do well to add years of age, until now the only way to get that beach-like salt finish was to use a watered-down white paint. But that often changes the color intensity of the paint. Enter Saltwash finish, a powdery salt additive that can be added directly to paint or washed over a finish when mixed with water and a scant amount of white acrylic.

Step 2

Spray on depth using saltwash

Now, with a paint sprayer, you can add this subtle and powdery finish to any piece of furniture including intricate wicker and cane material. Saltwash in the paint allows the powdery finish to rise to the surface.

Step 3

Recipe for success

Saltwash can be applied in several ways. Traditional application is to add three cups of Saltwash to a quart of paint to make a thick cake-like batter. Apply to furniture and let dry. Top coat with untreated paint applied with a sprayer over salt mixture. For best results, the top coat should be a different color. Distress to show off both shades and a crumbly salt finish.

Step 4

Using saltwash in a sprayer

HOW TO USE SALTWASH IN A SPRAYER: Dissolve one even scoop of Saltwash in 8 oz of water. Stir to combine and add 2 oz of white acrylic paint. Stir and spray on as topcoat over a painted finish. Let dry and distress. Be sure to keep finished pieces out of the rain. TIP: Keep shaking the sprayer paint bowl to keep the salt additive dissolved.

Step 5