Distress before OR after waxing, that is the question.

You can distress prior to waxing or after. There are reasons on when you might want to distress after, however, I typically distress before. >br>

If you sand before waxing- it will be less work since you are not sanding through the wax application. If you sand before waxing though- the Chalk Paint® that you are removing with the sand paper will turn into a fine powder and settle down on the floor…put a drop cloth down to save on mess. AND never- use a damp mop to clean up the particles! The moisture will turn the powder into a wash and you will get the color all over your floor.

If you sand AFTER waxing- it takes a bit more elbow grease, and you will probably want to add another layer of clear wax to protect the raw areas you sanded…but if this is your first time ever painting and distressing…by having a wax application on the painted piece first- you won’t accidentally take off too much paint, as you learn how to finesse the sand paper with the right amount of pressure.

Also-(and for example) if you painted a piece in Graphite while it is sitting in an all white room that has white carpet, I would still put a drop cloth down and distress after waxing. If you sand after waxing, you will see you have less dust since the wax and paint removed seem to stick more onto your sandpaper.