Gray Washing

I've been working on this gorgeous old swivel top stool that my husband rescued from the corn crib at the farm. My plan is to save this old stool and give it to my father-in-law for Christmas. This is what the stool looked like when it came to me.

It was covered chipping paint that I decide to strip and I discovered it has MANY more layers of paint than I had originally thought. So, I got off as much as I could.

First I painted it this dusty blue but the stool looked too new and it didn't look right with the beat up metal.

Then, I decided to do a gray wash over the blue to give the stool a more old time feel. I got a bowl with a little water and mixed in a little gray chalk paint.

Working in small sections, I brushed on the gray and immediately wiped it off with a rag. The gray soaked into the wood grain and have my blue a deeper hue that perfectly complemented the metal too. Here is the stool top while I was painting. The lighting isn't the best here.

Yes, I am leaving that weathered crack there to keep the worn look. Here are some after shots of the gray washing. I still have to add a protective coat, I have to decide if I want a wax or poly coat. What do you think of the stool so far?

I decided to use polyurthane and here is the finished project.