Dry Brush Painting Technique Tutorial

There have been several questions as to what I mean when I say I dry brush something.  So today, after cleaning the garage, and finding a quick item to redo I thought I'd show you.  Stay tuned next week for my huge garage undertaking :-)

My corner cabinet is dry brushed.... We did not use stain on top to prim it up.

OK, now let's get started.... I picked this UGLY cutting board at the Goodwill.  Cantaloupe anyone????  If there is something painted on your piece it is advisable to sand it before base coating.  I sanded mine a little.

First coat is your base coat.  This is the color that will show through.  You all know I like black. So.... Be aware this is after 2 coats of black.  If you look closely you can see the round shape.  I probably should've sanded better. Oh well :-) Let this coat dry completely before moving on.

The second color is your top coat.  I choose a grey so you could see it better. You will want to use a DRY brush with very little paint. Barely dip your brush in the paint then wipe it off on the side.

When you brush it on use very light strokes.

Use as much or as little paint as you want... if you work quickly you can always go back over and rebrush if it seems to heavy in spots. You can still see my circle if you look close... Anyway, brush lightly and quickly.

After this is dry completely you are welcome to go back and sand spots if you so desire for a more prim look.  I did not sand on this piece.

Last step for me is stain.  I like to use Minwax gel stain.  I buy the darkest color available.  I use an old sock and gloves on my hands to wipe my stain on.  This stain will not wash off right away if you don't use gloves!!!!  If you don't want to use stain you don't have to.  I personally like my pieces darker.

 
There you have it.  My dry brush technique :-)