Easy Layered Chippy Paint Finish

Are you looking for an easy layered chippy paint finish for a thrifted piece of furniture? Then you will love this technique! Let’s get started!

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Pinterest graphic with text overlay "easy layered chippy paint finish with Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral Paint www.ReinventedDelaware.com showing stool in back ground and lady painting it.

how to prep for layered chippy paint finish

This sweet chair that turns into a step stool was staring at me when I walked into my local thrift store. Dark brown, not attractive to regular people, looking all lonely…..it spoke to me!

As soon as I got this step stool home, I cleaned it. The shop owner had wiped it down but I wanted to be sure it was clean. Dixie Belle White Lightning has been my go-to cleaner lately so I gave it a good scrubbing with a solution of the cleaner and hot water.

The next step in prepping for a layered chippy paint finish on a piece like this is to create a resist. Beeswax is the perfect solution for a resist in my opinion. You can see below that I applied it with a heavy hand all over the step stool.

how to mix Dixie Belle paint

My workshop shelving is full of paint but of course, I didn’t have exactly the color I was going for as far as blue is concerned.

So I decided to mix what I had on hand. Dixie Belle Blueberry and In the Navy mixed beautifully together to create a medium blue tone I was looking for.

***BTW, sorry for the blurry images in this post! I filmed the video for you but totally forgot to get still shots! These are all screenshots from the video 🤪 Be sure to watch the YouTube video below!

Container with Dixie Belle paint in Blueberry and In the Navy being mixed together.

Of course, I am getting ahead of myself! My mouth often moves before my mind!!😊

Let’s go over the supplies I used for this project – excluding the adorable flip step stool/chair!

list of supplies:

You can purchase Dixie Belle supplies by clicking the graphic below or in the supplies list above! Thank you!

how to apply Dixie Belle paint

This paint is sooooo easy to use!. Remember when I used it on this Wooden Tool Chest Upcycle? You will see in that post that I used three different colors of Dixie Belle to create a layered chippy paint finish.

Give it a good stir and start to paint! My current favorite brush to use is the Dixie Belle Mini Angle brush because it is easy to hold and the paint just glides on with it!

You can see in the image below how great this paint covers the dark wood. And I just painted right over the beeswaxed areas with no problems.

Lady painting a custom blue color using Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral Paint as the first step of creating a layered chippy paint finish on a flip chair-step stool piece of furniture

While the first coat of paint dried, I added more In the Navy to the container to create a darker shade of blue.

I had to wait for the first coat of paint to dry and as luck would have it, I heard the combine in the field behind our house. I grabbed my camera so I could share the corn cutting experience with you! You’ll see it in the YouTube video below. Just a little bit of country livin’ for you to enjoy!

After the exciting walk to the cornfield, I walked back to our patio and saw that the first coat of paint was dry. I added a layer of beeswax over the first coat of paint so that I would have two different colors of paint that would create the layered chippy paint finish.

Lady painting a flip step stool that converts to a chair. She is painting the stool using a custom blue color of Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral Paint as the second coat of paint to create a layered chippy paint finish.

how to create layered chippy paint

The next step in this process is fun and kinda weird. I grabbed my flat edge small chef’s knife and my putty knife and started scraping off the paint in the areas where I had applied the beeswax.

The paint just comes right off in those areas because the wax is a resist. You can see sections of the original dark wood finish and the first coat of light blue peeking through. That’s because we added beeswax to the dark finish and then again to the light blue paint.

Pretty cool isn’t it? And sooo easy!

Lady using flat edge of a putty knife to scrape off bits of paint in the easy layered chippy paint finish tutorial.

I like to smooth out the whole piece with a fine sanding sponge. A worn-out sanding sponge works well too and since I always have a few of those in my workshop, they are easy to find!

Don’t skip this step in creating the layered chippy paint finish on your piece – the sanding helps to remove any marks the putty knife might have created.

Lady sanding the surface of the painted step stool that flips to a chair to smooth out marks created in this layered chippy paint finish tutorial.

shop vac the mess!

Be sure to have a shop vac handy! The flecks of paint will be all over the floor! I vacuumed the stool, the floor, the bottoms of my shoes…. every little spot where the paint flecks might have landed!

Lady using a shop vac to clean up flecks of paint leftover from chipping in the easy layered chippy paint finish tutorial.

does Dixie Belle paint need wax?

Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral paint should be waxed. At least one layer of protection is best plus the wax enhances the color, especially after sanding with the sponge!

The wax leaves a soft luster – not shiny at all! The wax brush is easy to use and creates a thin layer of wax. This wax completely cures in only seven days too! But the piece can be used within an hour of waxing.

In fact, you’ll see me using the wax in the YouTube video. Also, you will see the process to create the layered chippy paint finish in action!

Painted blue foot stool with easy layered chippy paint finish ready to be waxed with furniture wax and wax brush sitting on the stool that is flipped to the chair side.

YouTube video

flip footstool and chair makeover

And there ya’ have it! Isn’t this flip step stool/chair perfect for my laundry room?

We gave our laundry room a refresh a few months ago and I have been looking for the cutest step stool for the space. The cabinet area above the washer and dryer is hard to reach so this step stool will be perfect! And it looks cute too 😉

You can see the process for our Laundry Room Refresh in the posts below. Just click the image and head over to see the step-by-step of this little room makeover!

Painted blue foot stool and ladder that converts to a chair sitting in the corner near a window with a blue rug and a brown door.

layered chippy paint finish on a step stool

I didn’t grab a shot of this step stool flipped to the chair configuration but you can imagine how good it looks. For the most part, I will use this as a step stool.

It matches the rug in my laundry room perfectly too, don’t you think? In fact, here are a couple of rugs you might like:

Blue painted flip foot stool sitting in the corner near a large window with a blue rug.

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you found this post helpful in learning how to create a layered chippy paint finish for your project!

Hey, if you use this technique for your project, tag me on Instagram so I can see it! I would love to know how it went for you!

Flip foot stool/ladder with blue runner rug, washer and dryer, large window in a laundry room.

Pin the image below to your home decor and furniture boards! Just click the pin button at the top left corner!

Pinterest graphic with text overlay "easy layered chippy paint finish with Dixie belle Chalk Mineral paint www.ReinventedDelaware.com and an arrow pointing at painted step stool.

Join the Thrift Store Decor Tour with my blogging friends!

Each month some of my blogging buddies get together and share their latest thrifted and upcycle projects. This post is included in the round-up. Be sure to check out the amazing projects my friends did on their blogs! All the links are below the image. 😊

Thanks for joining our journey!

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Until next time…

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19 Comments

    1. Thanks Carlene! It’s such an easy technique with Dixie Belle paint!

  1. I have got to try Dixie Belle. Those colors are fabulous. And that little ladder chair is my fav! Beautiful transformation my friend.

    1. Suzanne, you will love Dixie Belle products! Let me know if I answer any of your questions about any of it!

  2. This turned out to be so beautiful, I really love the look after you applied the wax! It is in the perfect spot with the sun shining on it! pinned

    1. Thanks, Kristin! I have looked for months for the perfect step stool and I finally found it!

  3. Cute look for that stool! I love a good chippy finish!

    1. Me too!! Yay for all the chippy goodness! Thanks for stopping by Pam 😊

  4. You did a great job on the step stool. I like the chippy finish too. On a side note, I love the rug in your laundry room!

    1. Isn’t that rug amazing?? Walmart of the win!

  5. Paint does change everything. This would be super cute in a laundry room now or steps for the Grands to brush their teeth after all those sugary snacks. 🙂 I would never DO that!

    1. Great ideas for this step stool and I especially like the grands getting sugar! I would most definitely Do that!!

  6. What a cool piece of furniture. I love the blueberry color you chose! It really does go perfectly with your laundry room rug. Gorgeous!

    1. Thanks Stacey! Dixie Belle is really an amazing paint and it mixes beautifully!

  7. The power of paint never ceases to amaze me, Cindy, this piece looks fabulous! I love the custom blue you mixed and how you used the beeswax to give it a chippy patina too. You definitely have such a great eye when it comes to finding special pieces! I could have never known it was a step stool. Hugs, CoCo

    1. Back in the ’80s, craftsmen would build these sorts of pieces for the country decor that was popular. I think I spotted it because I was definitely in the 80’s country look! Thanks for stopping by CoCo!

  8. I love all your tips. I have a ton of those sanding sponges too. 🙂

    The color is great, blue is my favorite color. Perfect chippy finish.

    pinning!
    gail

    1. Thanks Gail! Blue is one of my favorite colors too!