How to Achieve the Perfect Authentic Chippy Finish

Do you love the look of chippy vintage furniture? Do you hate dealing with messy strippers? Learn how to get the perfect authentic chippy finish in a few easy steps!

The layers and character of naturally aged paint make chippy vintage furniture so beautiful and hard to resist.

Authentic vintage furniture is easy to love and now you can achieve the perfect chippy finish in just a few easy steps!

How to achieve the perfect authentic chippy finish

I recently bought an antique mantel from an auction that was full of character. It had been painted many times over and had aged and chipped beautifully, but I wasn't thrilled with the warm yellow color. Thankfully, there was a layer of white paint under the yellow, so I set out to remove the yellow paint while also keeping the character of the mantel.

Thanks to Down Home Chippy I learned that a simple household cleaner works wonders in easily removing old layers of paint for a beautiful chippy finish. I tested the method out on this antique mantel and it worked beautifully!

- SUPPLIES NEEDED TO GET THE PERFECT CHIPPY FINISH -

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- Easy-Off Professional Oven Cleaner

- Power Washer

- Clear Matte Sealer

- HOW TO GET THE PERFECT CHIPPY FINISH -

*** Disclaimer **** I started with an old and already chippy piece of furniture. My goal was to maintain the character and authenticity of the piece, while also giving it a more modern look. I have not tried this technique on new furniture or recently painted furniture. I would also not recommend this technique on furniture that is not solid wood.

Okay, now that that's out of the way......let's get workin' on this mantel!

The mantel was solid, had great character and was a perfect size, but the color had to go! Here are the super-easy steps I took to remove the yellow paint while still maintaining the original character.

STEP ONE:

Spray the entire piece of furniture (in my case the mantel) with a generous amount of Easy-Off Oven Cleaner. The more the better, so don't skimp on this step.

STEP TWO:

Go do something fun and let the cleaner sit for at least 20 mins. You will start to see the cleaner foam a little as it begins activating.

Let cleaner sit on furniture for 20 mins

STEP THREE:

Using a power washer (a hose may work too, but you may have to do a little scrubbing), spray off the cleaner from the entire piece of furniture.

STEP FIVE:

Seal your piece of furniture with water-based poly to protect the furniture and seal in any loose chippy paint. I also like to seal chippy vintage furniture because you never know if it's covered in lead paint and it's better to be safe than sorry.

How to achieve the perfect chippy finish

I was amazed at how well this cleaner stripped off the top layer of paint without any scraping or messy strippers. It left behind an authentic chippy finish that kept all the character and charm of this beautiful vintage mantel.