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Easy Driftwood Paint Finish for Outdoor Furniture

Here is an easy-to-follow tutorial on how to create an outdoor driftwood finish on your furniture!

In just a few steps, you can transform not only a painted porch swing, but any outdoor painted furniture to a coastal driftwood finish like you see in the Pottery Barn or Restoration Hardware catalogs!

It’s any easy 3 layer paint process that will completely makeover your outdoor furniture.

Of course I am “Porch Daydreamer” so I made over my porch swing 🙂 The good news is that any beginner can follow this tutorial.

My outdoor driftwood paint finish on the swing has lasted 4 years without issue!

In one weekend, you can completely transform your furniture with a faux outdoor driftwood paint finish.

Outdoor Driftwood Paint Finish 

First, I must disclose that I can only say this paint finish is safe for a covered area like my front porch.

My best guess is this will work on more exposed furniture because the base layer is an exterior paint.

To keep my furniture clean, it’s hosed down 2 to 3 times per month and so far the porch swing finish is holding strong with regular use and upkeep!

In order to understand how to achieve this finish, I’ll detail the layers you will be applying.

This is a very different process than the driftwood indoor finish I’ve created and is definitely simpler!

The inspiration for this finish was a piece of natural driftwood that doesn’t have much of a grain pattern to it.

I wanted the finish to look like it rolled in with the waves of the ocean 🙂

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My Swing Painted with the Outdoor Driftwood

Layers of Paint for the outdoor driftwood finish

  1. Solid Paint Base Color
  2. Custom Color Wash
  3. Dry Brushed Antiquing Glaze

Each layer only took about 30 minutes, so not a lot of time to devote to get the driftwood gray finish!

Just the dry time will slow down the process.

Here is what the porch swing looked like before the paint makeover. The black paint was faded after 8 years of use and starting to peel.

If you like the upholstered seat, it was an easy DIY upgrade. For the full tutorial, CLICK HERE.  

Hard to Believe this was my swing BEFORE

It is hard to believe how much the paint finish transformed my swing into the perfect coastal vibe! 

Post contains hand selected products, with some affiliate marketing links {full disclosure here} 

How-To Paint the Outdoor Driftwood Finish

Make sure you pick a time where it won’t rain for a couple of days.

There are overnight dry times in between coats and you don’t want the rain to ruin your hard work!

paint Supplies

  1. 220 Grit Sanding Block
  2. Prepaint Cleaner
  3. Wooster Paint Brush
  4. Quart Valspar Duramax Exterior Paint in Ivory Brown 6006-1C / Semi-Gloss Finish
  5. Water
  6. Rags – I find old cut up t-shirts are the best
  7. Fine Grit Sanding Sponge
  8. Antiquing Glaze

Step 1: Sand smooth any peeling areas

If the old paint finish on the furniture or swing is peeling, sand over those areas to remove excess paint.

Wipe down with a damp rag to remove ALL sanding dust. 

step 2: clean the surface

Liberally spray prepaint cleaner onto all surfaces and wipe clean with a microfiber rag.

Let dry 10 minutes prior to painting.

Step 3: paint the solid paint color

Apply base coat of paint. Because Duramax Exterior paint is SO thick (spans a 1/4 inch gap) I was able to apply only one coat!

If you need or want to apply 2 coats, allow the 1st coat to dry overnight before applying the 2nd coat.

In my situation, I had to mask off the upholstered seat with garbage bags. 

This is what the Ivory Brown base coat looked like, before the color wash. 

Base coat of valspar duramax in ivory brown

Step 4: create the color wash

Mix the antiquing glaze with water as shown below. The ratio is a a spoonful of antiquing glaze and a 1/4 cup of water.

Mix thoroughly together with a spoon. It’s a very thin mixture, so you have more time to work with the glaze.

3 steps to create an antique wash for outdoor driftwood finish

Step 5: apply the color wash

This is the base layer to create more depth to the original solid paint finish.

Saturate your brush with mixing glaze and dry brush it into the surface.

Work in sections top to bottom and side to side.Make sure to run the brush with the direction of the wood: horizontal and vertical.

antiquing glaze applied over base paint before wiping off

You can see my brush strokes how I moved with the direction of the sections.

Let the wash sit for about 5 minutes per section and RUB into the paint using your rag.

wiping off antiquing glaze

Work the paint into all of the crevices of the paint. You want to enhance the texture work the glaze into the surface. 

Let the color wash dry overnight!

step 6: mix the dry brushing glaze

You will now become an artist! This is called a DRY BRUSH technique because you barely have any paint or glaze on your brush.

You will be WORKING the antiquing glaze into the surface to create what looks like wood grain.

I’d suggest first practicing on a piece of cardboard first, so you get the feel of it.

Glazing Technique

Fill the bottom of a wide mouthed bowl with antiquing glaze. DO NOT ADD WATER.

Dip just the tips of your brush into the glaze and blot on the sides of the bowl.

antiquing glaze in bowl
dry brush technique

This is what my brush and glaze bowl looked like after working the antiquing glaze.

When I say very little glaze I mean it! Your brush should fan out like this, from working the glaze back and forth on the wood.

You can see I was blotting the brush every time I added glaze on the side of the bowl.

Step 7: Dry brush the antiquing glaze

Working in small sections one at a time to create the faux wood grain effect.

Work your brush back and forth, back and forth in the direction of the wood: horizontal or vertical to create lines.

Keep working an area until there isn’t glaze coming off of the brush and you need to re-load it with glaze.

Try to avoid overlapping! This is WORK and yes you may sweat 🙂

Antiquing glaze applied

I worked the horizontal sections first trying to avoid the vertical slats. Make sure you get ALL surfaces. 

I did overlap on edges and left it because I liked the look!

If you overlap and it creates too dark of a finish, luckily glaze is forgiving and you can wipe it off with a damp paper towel before it dries.

Before adding pillows or cushions, wait for the glaze to dry overnight so the finish is as hard as possible!

beginners-guide-how-to-paint-furniture

You may be wondering if you have to protect the faux driftwood finish?

Here is a close up of the final driftwood finish! It’s the perfect coastal look I craved on the front porch.The good news is…this finish has been in place FOUR YEARS and I NEVER applied a clear coating.

Duramax is the BEST exterior paint and is durable. The glaze is worked into the paint, so it lasts.

Close-up-of-chain-wrapped-with-rope
maltese-on-upholstered-porch-swing-blue-and-white-striped-pillows
front-porch-furniture-small-space-arrangement-swing-sectional-chairs-rug
4 Years Later: Swing Driftwood Finish Still Looking Good

Like the look of the sectional sofa? I have a FULL PAINT TUTORIAL:

Last season I traded out the sofa for a smaller bench to create more room on the front porch.

Check out my tutorial linked to create the faux finish on the bench to PAINT MATCH TARGET OUTDOOR FURNITURE!

Bench Before
paint-furniture-to-match-target-tan-wicker-furniture
front-porch-target-wicker-painted-finish
Bench Painted to Look like Target Outdoor Furniture

Can I use this same driftwood paint technique on an indoor piece of furniture?

Luckily for you, I’ve create a Pottery Barn Seadrift finish for both cabinets and for furniture!

They are a little more complex than the exterior version, but I cover every step in detail.

Here are interior driftwood faux finishes you can try at your home:

Finishing Touch Rope Wrapped Chain

If you’ve made over the porch swing to driftwood, then you may want to create the total coastal effect by wrapping the chain in rope.

Of course I have a full tutorial on that as well, CLICK HERE. 

It’s a very inexpensive way to makeover a swing and give it so much more character

blue-white-rug-pink-pillows-white-dog-upholstered-swing

NOTE: My chains wrapped in rope have also been in place for 4 years! The rope does change color because it is exposed to the elements.

It has a more weathered look not, but I’ve NEVER had to touch it or wrap the rope again.

Mick and I sure do love it out here and the driftwood gray finished porch swing makes it feel like we are at the beach!

I think he’s pretending to be one of the pillows so I don’t move him 🙂

Pin It for Later!

How to create outdoor safe driftwood gray faux finish for porch swing or outdoor furniture

This front porch makeover was truly about capturing that sand in your toes feeling that feels like you are on vacation!

Please consider following me on Pinterest and Instagram for daily inspiration.

Until next time…

Porch Daydreamer

Tracey

20 Comments

  1. Holly Hanson says:

    I love this tutorial. Decided to try to use this on my interior entryway table. I started with a primer since the table was older and black. Then used a sample color of paint from Lowe’s. (wondering if that’s my downfall). Let each one dry overnight. Now I’m starting the color wash today. I put on for five minutes and went to wipe it away and all my base color paint wiped off. 🙁 I’m so bummed. Any ideas what I could do to salvage this? Thanks.

    1. Yes, samples are usually not as high quality as a regular quart of paint and lower sheen. I’d lightly sand everything and clean off ALL dust. Then invest in the Valspar Cabinet/Furniture Enamel in semi-gloss. That will dry to a harder finish (you must wait overnight for it to dry). Then the glazing/color wash will go on more easily without taking off the base coat of paint.

  2. This post came just on time! We recently moved and have a open cover porch in the back and I have been thinking of installing a porch swing for my grandkids. That is exactly the color I have in mind thanks for the tutorial! I’m glad for you and your mom your dad is stable and you guy’s are able to FaceTime with him. Wishing him a speedy recovery!

    1. Brigida, Hi! Oh good I’m glad this will work for you. I LOVE the new look because it is so much softer. Thank you for your kind wishes.

  3. The swing looks beautiful! I have a pine bedroom set that has turned orange over the last 18 years and I’d like to try this technique. Do you think it would work and what product do you suggest I used to prep the wood to hide the knots?

    Thanks so much for all your inspiring tutorials! 🙂

  4. Linda Fox says:

    Hi, I love the look of the porch swing, did you use a sealer? Also, would this work on an inside dining table?
    Thanks, Linda

  5. Thank you for such a detailed guide; some of the videos on YouTube are maddening with plenty of the “I love me some me” lead-ins followed by “moments” spent on the actual project with few, if any specifics.

    Many, many thanks for your excellent presentation!

    1. Mike, SO glad to hear that! YES, I so agree after trying to find painting tutorials on YouTube – even about chalk paint. Maddening. So I stared at some real driftwood and made up a faux finish 🙂 Then recorded my process just in case it turned out and it did!

      1. I’m not exactly doing the Sistine Chapel, just a few old corbels for a shelf but wish me well and give that dog a treat…

  6. Hi, just came across your posts! Love your home, what brand and Coler glaze did you use on the swing?

  7. Love this Tracey! The color is perfect I need to try this

    1. Thanks, Bethany! I’m eyeing a couple of pieces inside to makeover with this finish. It was so easy!

    1. Good, thank you Jessica! You do have a “house full of summer”, so it would be the perfect finish for you!

  8. Marty Oravetz says:

    Love it, great tutorial

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