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How to Use Dust of Ages and Wax to Age Furniture

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In my last blog post I asked if painted furniture was dead.

I think we can all agree it ain’t goin’ nowhere no time soon. 😉

But with that said, most of us are a little tired of seeing the same thing everywhere and are looking for something to take our furniture to the next level, to create more quality pieces that will be timeless.

 

That’s where this post comes in, hopefully.

As I mentioned in my last post, I was one of several bloggers invited to Amy Howard’s house and painting workshop (fun, fun fun!). She’s the creator of a whole line of awesome products called Amy Howard at Home. I had heard of it but hadn’t tried it until this workshop. And even if I had, I probably would have done it all wrong.

I’ll let Amy explain to you better than I ever could:

Using Dust of Ages

I had heard of Dust of Ages, but I didn’t really know what it was. Not until Amy’s workshop. And I had to admit, I loved using it! The way it transformed a flat painted piece into something special was obvious:

How to Use Dust of Ages by Amy Howard at Home - Thrift Diving

 

How many times do we find pretty pieces with tons of detail, and when we paint it, it just falls flat?

You could use glazing and dark wax, but Dust of Ages is another option.

Do NOT Use Sandpaper to Age Furniture

You could use sandpaper on Annie Sloan chalk paint, but as Amy says during the workshop, the One Step paint isn’t made for sandpaper. The texture really comes from the waxes, the dust, and even her antiquing solution (which I didn’t capture video for–sorry! I’ll show you that later).

Where to Buy Dust of Ages

You can buy it on Amazon from a 3rd party seller, but it may be a little more expensive than if you get it from Ace Hardware. Not every store sells it, but you can buy it online from Ace.

Pretty sweet, right?

Some things you can find on Amazon, like her One-Step Paint or you can buy it online from Ace Hardware, which is probably going to be cheaper.

Serena at Amy Howard Workshop

I’m Excited!

I can’t wait to start building my arsenal of Amy Howard products! I will still use Annie Sloan chalk paint just because I have so much of it. :). And I have some other favorite paints that I like to use. But it’s always good to build a library of favorites!

So do you think the Dust of Ages is something you’d like to use on your projects?

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8 Comments

  1. Chalk paint and milk paint STILL require sanding first if you have a glossy finish to cover up! This is a myth that you don’t need to sand the gloss off first. Sick of this!

    1. Wow, you feel that strongly about chalk paint, Steve? LOL And no, they don’t need to be sanded down first. If you choose to sand down first, that may be just how you prefer to do it.

  2. Dear Serena, it was such a pleasure to get to know you a bit during our two days in Memphis!

    It’s hard to decide which one of Amy’s paints I love the most, but I told her I think it’s this one!

    I can’t wait to use her paint on my large hutch!

  3. Guess I’ve been doing too much sanding! Appreciate the info on Dust of Ages.
    I know that I could paint over it – but the DOA paints are either graphite or black.
    I don’t want such dark background colors on my furniture. I wonder how the waxes and dust would look over my flat white furniture. I think the steps are Paint, Gesso, DOA waxes and dust. The Gesso step was not covered and I wonder if a finish to protect the waxes and dust needs to be applied over the finished product?

  4. I think I’d like to try her products. They look wonderful – really wonderful and I’m SO tired of sanding! I wonder if it’s possible to begin with an already chalk-painted piece that has no finish on it It’s plain white with sanded distressed parts. I just never got around to waxing it! Still perfect after over 10 years… Are there any white based colors in her line for the base coat?
    Thanks for showing this to everyone – always great to learn something new!

    1. Hey, Mintchip! With all these chalky paints and milk paints, you shouldn’t have to sand. What I like about her one-step is that it’s non-toxic. Annie Sloan chalk paint says it’s non-toxic, too, but recently I researched their MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) and her paint has methanol. See it here:

      http://www.materialsafetydatasheets.info/annie-sloan.html

      The Amy Howard paint doesn’t have methanol, which I like.

      I was going to do a post on being safe and choosing quality products and safe products, but I haven’t done enough research on it yet to post about it. I have a ton of Annie Sloan paint I’ll finish using since I don’t want to waste it. But yeah, that’s one difference. But as for the sanding–you shouldn’t have to sand with any of the chalk-based paints.

      And to answer your questions, you should be able to paint right over the other piece you started!

  5. Patricia B says:

    Hey Serena, I love the effect given by the Dust of Ages! Although, I think I have that effect naturally….lol I can hardly wait to see one of your projects done with this incredible paint and “accessories”. Love ya’ Patricia B

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