Beautiful DIY Pottery Barn Black Paint Finish (Distressed Black Paint Look)

Get a beautiful Pottery Barn Black Paint Finish on unfinished or finished wood with the EASY steps & video for a distressed black paint look.

DIY Pottery Barn Black Paint Finish

I’ve tried a LOT of different chalk paint looks and techniques over the years. But, I think that distressing black chalk paint over stain is my new favorite.

In fact, my bedroom furniture and kitchen island are starting to look rough. So, they both will likely get this look soon.

Image of a DIY Distressed Black Chalk Paint Finish on a table. Text says How To Paint a Distressed Black Paint Finish on furniture. — See more of my DIY Furniture Painting tutorials here.

Here’s the easy to follow steps to get this beautiful DIY Pottery Barn black paint finish on unfinished wood, painted furniture, and stained furniture. Good luck!

How To Do This Distressed Black Paint Look (Video)

If any of the written steps below are confusing, watch this short video to see how I went from unfinished Pine Wood to this beautiful distressed black chalk paint finish.

Beautiful Distressed Black Paint Look On Furniture #diytips #furnituremakeover #chalkpaint

Watch this video on YouTube

Steps For This Knock-Off Pottery Barn Black Finish

If you are starting with bare wood, follow all of the steps below.

If your furniture is already stained, you can clean your furniture with a degreaser and cleaner, like TSP. Then scuff sand (lightly sand) your furniture with 120 grit or 150 grit sandpaper. After the entire surface has been scuff sanded, clean it off with a tack cloth, then skip to step 4.

If your furniture has been painted, you can follow these steps for Stripping Paint from Wood Furniture With Citristrip. After stripping the paint finish off, sand the wood smooth, dust off, then follow all steps below.

Image of a DIY Distressed Black Paint Finish on a table. Text says How To Paint a Pottery Barn Black Paint Finish.

Materials Needed

1. Apply Wood Conditioner

Start by applying wood conditioner everywhere. Follow the directions on your wood conditioner to get the best results. Wood conditioner helps stain apply evenly across the wood.

2. Apply Gel Stain

After the wood conditioner has time to soak in, I applied 1 coat of Gel Stain. I used Old Master’s gel stain in the stain color Provincial.

Gel stain applies a thicker amount of a rich stain color that will be harder to accidentally sand away.

Pine with wood conditioner, Provincial Gel Stain, and Natural Danish Oil. — This is what my pine wood looked like after using the wood conditioner, Provincial Gel Stain, and Natural Danish Oil.

3. Apply Danish Oil

After the gel stain dried (according to the directions on the container), I applied Watco’s Danish Oil to seal and prime the furniture.

Danish Oil provides a nice surface for paint and it can actually be used as a primer under paint. It helps the paint bond to your furniture. See 12 more tips about Danish Oil here.

Mixing black chalk paint with water for a black paint wash. — I used 2/3rd’s chalk paint and 1/3rd water for this black paint wash.

4. Apply A Black Chalk Paint Wash

I mixed up a paint wash using 2/3rd’s Amy Howard’s Black Chalk Paint and 1/3rd water. Then I used a Nylon Paint Brush to apply 2 coats of the paint wash. You could also use a foam brush.

Using a black paint wash on furniture. — Apply 2 coats of the black paint wash. Be sure to let it dry for a few hours between coats.

Furniture with two coats of a black paint wash. — After applying 2 coats, you shouldn’t be able to see the wood through the paint anywhere. If you still can, apply another coat.

5. Wet Sand

Once the last coat of the black paint wash has dried, I wet a fine grit sanding sponge. Use a sanding sponge that is around 200 grit. Lightly sand any areas that you want the stain finish to show through.

I sanded raised areas, curves, and hard edges. You could definitely remove even more of the paint if you prefer a more distressed Pottery Barn black paint finish.

As you’re distressing, be sure to rinse the sponge as needed to remove paint build up.

How to distress and wet sand painted furniture with a wet sanding sponge. — Lightly sanding with a fine grit, wet sanding sponge removes the paint in spots, leaving the stain to show through.

6. Clean Off Paint Residue & Lint

After I’ve finished distressing the paint finish, I use a lint free, wet rag to wipe all of the leftover paint residue off of the furniture. Be sure to get everything off before you start waxing.

You don’t want to seal the residue in under the wax. After wiping the furniture down with a clean, wet rag, I let it dry. Then I go over it with a tack cloth, just to be sure to remove any bits of lint or anything else.

Cleaning paint residue off furniture. — Using a clean wet rag to wipe all of the paint residue off of the table.

7. Apply Dark Wax

The final step gives your beautiful DIY Pottery Barn Black Paint Finish a rich color and nice shine. Apply 1 or 2 coats of Dark Wax to seal and protect your furniture.

Follow the directions on the container for the best results. Buff with a clean cloth the next day to even out the sheen.

For Dining Table tops and kitchen cabinets, use a water-based matte finish poly instead of wax. Wax isn’t hard enough to protect heavy use items, like kitchen cabinets.

Using Dark Wax over black chalk paint. — Applying Dark Wax over black chalk paint gives the paint a nice shine and a warm finish. Be sure to buff the wax until it’s smooth.

Pictures Of This DIY Distressed Black Paint Finish

Here’s a look at the finished Pottery Barn Knock Off Black Paint Finish.

DIY Knock Off Pottery Barn Black Paint Finish on a table. — You can distress your furniture more or less than I did to get the look you love.

This table looks great with that long white tray and carved bowl on top. You can find the steps to make that DIY Long Wooden Table Runner Tray in a previous post.