Replies

1. 
   tck | Feb 03, 2003 06:01pm | #1

   A couple years ago there was an article in FWW about doing an antique painted finish. I followed that to create the finnish on a dry sink, and it turned out very nice and convincing. Basically what it involves is staining the piece, "wearing"it, then painting it a darker color, applying hide glue to create cracks in the final coat, the final paint coat in a lighter color and then scraping off spots to create more wear. Like I said, I fooled some people who saw the dry sink. They thought it was an actual antique. Jeff Jewitt also had an article in FW a while back on an antique stain finish. Good luck.

2. 
   jgaiennie | Feb 03, 2003 06:49pm | #2

   Woodchuck,

   It depends on what you're looking for, but what I'm looking for with artificial aging is to simulate the same thing that one would get in a few hundred years of use.  Here's a couple of thoughts.

   1.  Dents in the wood.  Plane and sand the wood first to get to a good starting point similar to that which any new piece would have.  Use a short piece of chain and make some dents.  Take a few heavy items from the shop - pipe clamps, hand planes, crow bar, mechanics tools etc and sorta bounce them around a bit, mostly on horizonal surfaces, down around the floor, and on prominant corners - places where the piece would be dented by normal use.  Various sizes and shapes of dents - you don't want them to look like someone intentionally beat the wood with an instrument to make it look old.  Don't use the head of a hammer - that shape is too easily recognizable and associated with a screw up in workmenship.  Then rework these dents with your scraper / sand paper to round them off.  If your piece is veneered or contains any plywood, be careful not to damage the veneer such that you bring up a raw edge.  That looks bad.

   2.  Stain or darker color in recesses.  Do the above denting before any staining or dying.  Perhaps some before and some during the finishing process.  Leave more darkness in the recesses, and leave the most outstanding edges brighter.

   3.  Patina - if there's a way, and the wood is responsive, expose it to lots of light before you finish it - the longer the better.  Look into other artificial patina methods.  Ammonia effects of the wood you're dealing with?  There's a thread in the Gallery? (I think) section about nitric acid on pine with photos.  Other chemicals?

   4.  Bug holes - I've seen very convincing artifically created bug holes that were made with a 1/16" drill bit laid over at a steep angle and at a low rpm rolled on the surface - not drilled into the wood, but creating a line of very small impressions simulating a bug trail of sorts.  I wouldn't want a lot of this, but perhaps just one or two or so.  An awl or an ice pick may produce a similar effect, but I'd experiment on a sample first.

   5.  Start off with old wood - recycled materials.

   6  This is not in my repetoire, but I read an article (might have been a letter to an editor) about distressing wood - the guy suggested putting peanut butter on it and letting his german shepard go at for a while.  Personally, I don't want that much distress.  There's a difference in distressed and destroyed.  You could also tie it behind the truck and drag it a couple of miles down a gravel road.  lol

   7  I've seen some incredible picture frames that were distressed beautifully.  I asked the guy how did he do it.  Tie a brick to it and throw it out in the lake for a couple of days was his response.  Wow.  Haven't tried that one either, but I definitely will someday.  He got some great worm holes in just two days so said - big worms - sorta like in wormy chestnut.  Obviously this much moisture could cause some problems in many cases.

   8.  Pickling the wood with a white or green paint or the like.  Or even paint it then strip it before you finish it.  If you do this, abuse it after you paint it and before you strip it so the paint will tend to remain in the dents.

   9.  There's tons of commerically available furniture (some pretty nice) that is lightly and faintly splattered with little specks of stain or dark paint during the finishing process.  Personally, I think this is too tell tale of artificial aging, and not real convincing.

   There's a rumor going on around here about this famous 90+ year old very talented architect that I and many of the locals tremendously respect.  He's renown for, among other things, using a lot of old materials in the very up scale houses he designs and for being very confident in his sense of asthetics.  While on the phone with this one rather particular and hard to please client, after she had moved into her new house, he asked her how she liked everything.  She was delighted with everything, only that she was a little concerned with how distressed her mantle was.  Being the fine fellow that he is, he told her that he'd come take a look at it.  Perhaps something could be done.  So he took a ride out to her place, walked in and said "Oh yeah.  I see what you mean about the distress."  Then he went out to his car returning with a short piece of chain and proceeded to beat the cr*p out of it.  I can only imagine her surprise.

   jdg

1. 
   Chuck | Feb 03, 2003 07:34pm | #3

   I got a kick out of the one about the lake. Ha! I have thought of using old barn wood, but images of joinery problems and integrity of the piece boggled my mind. To me there is just no substitute for true antiques. These guys on "antique roadshow" make a good living at determining just that. I recall "the furniture guys" using chain and what not to distress pieces. Besides wookworking, I do landscaping. I could bury the piece in the ground for a few years and see what I came up with(depending on the soil type) I do appreciate your response. Will have to do some experimentation(as if I dont experiment enough) Wish there was some patended, fool proof formula or instructions, but  I guess thats why the shelf products make money. Oh, I read somewhere, Tobacco juice works good. My wife really liked that idea. Ha!

1. 
   jgaiennie | Feb 03, 2003 08:23pm | #4

   >> I have thought of using old barn wood, but images of joinery problems and integrity of the piece boggled my mind.

   Joinery problems?  Integrity?  I don't get it.  Don't succumb to poorly founded fear of the unknown.  Some links to some new barnwood pieces - old look - I've made:

   http://forums.taunton.com/tp-knots/messages?msg=10017.1

   http://forums.taunton.com/tp-knots/messages?msg=10030.1

   http://forums.taunton.com/tp-knots/messages?msg=10210.1

   http://forums.taunton.com/tp-knots/messages?msg=10186.1

   Now you will have a bit of increased labor in culling, straightening and flattening lumber, no doubt.

   >> To me there is just no substitute for true antiques.

   True, with the exception that I'm not old enough to have had the pleasure of making one - lol.

   >> I could bury the piece in the ground for a few years

   Interesting - this actually does have an interesting effect on wood.  It can increase the spalting rate - which is beautiful in my opinion.  Common in magnolia and maple.   I was talking to a bowl turner just this week about that.  He cuts his log segments and puts some of them both underground and under piles of decaying leaves to enhance spalting.  Obviously this takes a while and will increase moisture so it's not something that can be done on wood that you want use anytime soon.  I don't think he ever buried it for a matter of years though - more like a few to several months.

   I sawed a large limb (20" or so) from a pecan tree that was downed about a year and turned a large salad bowl from it - beautiful spalting.  Soaking wet from the rain.

   I acknowledge that spalting and antiquing are not the same thing, but surely it is an interesting effect that's worth considering for some pieces.

   >> Tobacco juice?  - my dentist made me quit dipping, thank God.  I needed his nudge.

   I do think that if you continue your reading on the subject, you'll find a great deal of information.  One of our fellow forum participants (the poster formally known as Sgian Dubh = finishing expert) has an article in the current issue of "Woodworking" (cover story) in which he discusses a real good looking finish on an oak table that involves a green tinting process and white wood filler that looks great in the article.  To me it makes the table look more aged.  You may check that out.  I like it.  There's another finishing guy, Jeff Jewitt, that has a web page that's been referenced a time or two here.  I believe he's considered an authority and has a book out.

   Good luck,

   jdg

   Edited 2/3/2003 12:25:07 PM ET by jdg