• Make Your Furniture Look Like Exotic Leather!	• Instant Architecture!	• Sanding 101

Make Your Furniture Look Like Exotic Leather!

Create a gorgeous antiqued, exotic leather finish on an end table, armoire, coffee table, headboard or even a decorative screen with Dynamic products and one of Jim and Peter’s fabulous faux finish techniques. This application suits traditional and modern decors and creates a signature piece for any room.

Preparation:
Remove any loose paint from previously painted surfaces and lightly sand with Dynamic 180 grit sandpaper. Clean with Trisodium Phosphate (TSP) to degrease. For unpainted furniture, lightly sand, clean with a Dynamic tack cloth and then prime with a tinted primer product.

Note: Allow project to dry completely before proceeding to Step 1.

Step 1 Using a Dynamic mohair mini roller, apply a basecoat of black latex eggshell paint. To ensure good coverage apply at least two coats. Allow to dry.
Step 2 Apply Modern Masters crackle medium using either a Dynamic brush or roller. The thicker the application, the larger the cracks will be. Allow to dry.
Step 3 Apply vibrant red latex flat paint in a cross-hatch fashion, and allow to dry. Again you can use a Dynamic brush or roller for this application - using a brush will give more natural looking cracks where a roller will create more uniform, consistent-looking cracks.
Step 4 Position a "faux panel" template in the centre. The template can be cut from bristol board in the shape of a traditional furniture panel (see photo). The size of the template should suit the scale of the project, as shown.
Step 5 Create a burnt umber glaze by mixing Paint Wizard Acrylic Glaze with Dynamic Burnt Umber Universal Tint – keep in mind that universal tints are very concentrated and a small amount goes a long way! Apply the burnt umber glaze to the surface of the project all around the template using a clean, soft rag in a circular motion. Apply a little at first and continue to add colour until you achieve the desired effect. Remove "faux panel" template and allow to dry.
Step 6 Lightly tape a Paint Wizard stencil (in this case a Chinese Dragon) to the centre of the "faux panel". Apply Modern Masters Venetian plaster gold topcoat through the Chinese Dragon stencil using a plastic putty knife. Carefully remove the stencil by gently lifting it from one corner and pulling towards you. Allow to dry and immediately wash the stencil so you can reuse.
Step 7 Create a teak glaze by mixing Paint Wizard Acrylic Glaze with a small amount of Dynamic Burnt Umber and Raw Sienna Universal Tint. To give your project an authentic look, antique it using a dry brush technique, removing most of the glaze from the brush and then rubbing it into the surface, ensuring you brush into all of the cracks. For an even more authentic look, create dimension by applying more glaze to the outer edges and corners so that they will appear darker.
Step 8 Let the project dry and cure for one week. Then, apply Old Masters furniture paste wax to protect your work and give it a lustrous sheen.

Jim Connelly and Peter De Sousa are the “Dynamic Designers” that own and operate Masterpieces Studio. Their decorative paint and plaster techniques transcend the ordinary and transform any surface into a lasting work of art! They also offer creative workshops where you can get hands-on instruction and complete your own projects using innovative decorative finishes and techniques! You can also meet Jim and Peter at IKEA locations in the Toronto area where they host “Designer for a Day” and “Dinner with a Designer” events.