Learn how to use liming wax to create a beautiful lime washed finish. I’ve shared this with a coffee table makeover.
Do you ever wonder how to get that white washed light wood furniture finish? Have you ever stopped your scroll through Pinterest when you landed on a beautiful “white oak” looking piece of furniture? A simple way to achieve this look is with LIMING WAX! I have a solid wood Ethan Allen coffee table sitting in my garage that is screaming for a makeover! Come along and I’ll share my tutorial about how to use lime wax with a lime washed coffee table makeover.

I scored this coffee table from a friend who sells antiques for $30. She needed to get rid of it and I happened to need a coffee table (like I needed a hole in the head, lol). If you’ve been around here long enough you know I don’t pass up solid wood furniture!


I loved the lines in this coffee table. It’s big, it’s heavy and it was screaming to get rid of that dark wood!
Let’s talk about Lime Wax for a minute.
Liming wax is meant to set in the open grain of the wood. This is what gives it that cerused finish.
Unlike regular furniture wax, which is meant to highlight the moldings, liming wax highlights the wood grain to give it that white wash finish or weathered wood finish.
Table of Contents
What is the difference between whitewash and lime wash?
Simply put; whitewash uses latex paint to cover the surface while lime wash is meant to seep through the grain of the wood to highlight it.
How do you lime wash wood?
Liming wax has to penetrate the wood to the grain so before you apply it you need to remove the top layer of sealer. Since lime wax sits in the wood grain and not on top, it works (or shows up) best on wood with a heavy or large wood grain.
If you are looking for a very prominent lime wash finish, make sure you use this liming wax on oak wood.
Disclosure; this post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This does not affect the price you pay. This disclosure statement refers to the rest of the Amazon links in this post. See more on my disclosure page.

I had my CitriStrip paint stripper, paint brush and gloves and I was ready to go!


I won’t go into too many details on how to strip the finish off of this coffee table because this post is mainly about my lime washed wood coffee table.
Below is what the coffee table looked like after I stripped at least the top layer off.


You will notice that I didn’t strip all of the stain from the coffee table. I liked the color of the wood once the top few layers were gone. All this to say, you can definitely use liming wax over stain. As a matter of fact, I think the contrast of the dark wood with the white lime wash is really nice.
Once you have removed any sealer, stain or paint from your furniture piece you can then start the liming process by adding lime wax.

For this project I decided to use the Amy Howard Liming Wax.
I’ve heard great things about it so I knew I had to try it out.
Materials used:
- Liming Wax
- Gloves
- Lint free cloth
- Chip brush
- Drop cloth
- Furniture piece to refinish
There are a ton of ways to apply the liming wax. I’ll share the way I did it.
How to use Lime wax for a cerused finish
- Dip a lint free rag into the wax and pull out a dime size portion
- Apply the wax IN THE direction of the grain
- Apply to small areas at a time and continue until you have coated the entire piece with liming wax
- Let the wax sit for about 30 minutes
- Buff the surface with a clean lint free rag (Be careful not to buff too much because you don’t want to remove the finish. You want to buff just enough to give it a small shine)



That’s it! No need for a top coat because the wax acts as one.
Liming wax is best used on an unfinished open grain piece of wood like Oak to highlight the wood grain. This coffee table has been heavily stained, and even though I removed the first layer of varnish and stain, the wax will not penetrate the wood grain. Because of this, I’m using the liming wax to lighten or “white wash” the table and cover up some of the red tones.
Video on how to Lime wash wood
Ready to see the coffee table makeover with liming wax?

I love my new limewashed coffee table look. The best part about the lime wax is that it gives it a new whitewash look and protects the wood.




I’m so pleased with how this coffee table makeover turned out!
If you enjoyed this post feel free to pin the image below to Pinterest.


How to use Lime wax and Liming wax

Learn how to use Lime wax or liming wax for a lime washed wood makeover. I've transformed the wood on a coffee table with Liming wax.
Materials
- Liming Wax
- Gloves
- Lint free cloth
- Chip brush
- Drop cloth
- Furniture piece to refinish
Instructions
- Clean and strip (if necessary) your furniture piece
- Dip the rag into the wax and pull out a dime size portion and then started to apply the wax IN THE direction of the grain
- Let the wax sit for about 30 minutes
- Then "buff the surface" with a clean lint free rag. Be careful not to buff too much because you don't want to remove the finish. You want to buff just enough to give it a small shine.
Want to see more furniture flipping inspiration? Come check out my super talented blogger friends and their furniture flips below.

- Upcycled Chest to New Coffee Table by Houseful of Handmade
- How to Build Easy Built Ins from IKEA Bookcases by Lovely Etc.
- Lime Washed Coffee Table Makeover with Liming Wax by Repurpose and Upcycle
- How to Use Gel Stain to Change the Color of Stained and Finished Wood by Refresh Living
Thanks for following along guys!
Lindsey**
Learn how to use LIME WAX for a lime washed finish! Liming wax is also a great product to lighten a | Dadne
Thursday 9th of April 2020
[…] Original Source […]
Kelly
Wednesday 19th of February 2020
One day when I finally get around to upcycling our coffee table I am going to use this technique. At the moment it is naturally distressed ha! I have featured it in our article (with a link back), Amazing Coffee Table Upcycles. I hope you are happy for me to do so, if not let me know. You can view the article here if you like, https://www.diythought.com/amazing-coffee-table-upcycles/ Thanks!
[email protected]
Thursday 20th of February 2020
That is just fine! Glad you like it.
Amy Johnson
Wednesday 23rd of October 2019
I love it! What a difference!
What's Up With Furniture Wax and Why Do You Use It?
Thursday 10th of January 2019
[…] appearance of a piece of furniture or highlight the wood grain. You can see an example of how I lime waxed an old coffee table below.You can see a list of Lime waxes […]
Totally Terrific Tuesday #202 • Sweet Parrish Place
Monday 29th of October 2018
[…] this DIY limewashed coffee table from Repurpose and Upcycle makes me want to try this on some of my own furniture. I have several things that need a […]