Faux Marble Table How-To

Clean previously painted pieces with a damp cloth. Fill nail holes with wood filler, and lightly sand the entire surface. Reclean with cloth.

For table legs, apply 2 coats of primer; let dry. Apply 2 coats of off-white paint. For tabletop, apply 2 coats of primer; let dry. Apply 2 coats of white flat paint; let dry.

With an artist's brush, paint flat surfaces of the legs with mauve paint, leaving the carved section the lighter color; let dry.

In a plastic container, combine 4 ounces alkyd glaze, 1/2 teaspoon black artist's oil paint, and 4 ounces mineral spirits. Mix well. Apply with natural-bristle brush, working glaze into recesses.

Wipe away excess glaze from raised areas with rag and remove excess from crevices with dry brush.

In 3 plastic containers, mix glazes by combining the following: 4 ounces gray, beige, or light-gray latex paint (1 pigment per container); 4 ounces latex glaze; and 8 ounces water. With a balled-up cotton rag, apply gray glaze in dabs, making each a different weight and size and overlapping them. Rotate your hand and wrist to alter the angle, creating a stonelike texture.

While gray glaze is still wet, dab on beige glaze with a clean rag in the same manner so that the colors blend together. Let dry.

Repeat with light-gray glaze, this time following a more uniform pattern; lightly cover most of the surface to unify and lighten the texture. Let dry overnight. Apply coat of waterbased polyurethane with a synthetic brush.