How to achieve an aged stain and varnish look.

As part of my slowly progressing kitchen island base project I'm to the point of determining the finish. The island is to look as if it were a pair of antique low chests or sideboards that have been positioned back to back to form the base of an island. These "reclaimed" pieces are being built in a Mexican version of Spanish Colonial in that they will be more simple than the more ornate Spanish Colonial in design as well as complexity of construction. The rural carpenters of the late 18th and early 19th century in Mexico had limited access to quality wood and tools used by the craftsmen in the cities. (Joinery was less complicated.) To achieve that part of the quality I will be using a combination of Alder and Knotty Alder in both the doors/drawer fronts as well as the frame. The piece is not to look damaged or worn to the point of deterioration of the wood but rather the dulling and darkening of the finish and perhaps nicks and dings through the top coat.

The only knowledgable source outside of the internet I have consulted has suggested a stain followed with a varnish (or shellac?) and then subsequent coats tinted with a darker color that is allowed to settle in places or removed from some.

I'm sorry about the length of this post when I'm sure the photo might give all the information needed but I'm excited about the potential of this project and hope some members here will understand where I'm going and offer either tips or even just encouragement.

Thanks for your time.

Stuart

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Are you going to refinish those?

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Originally Posted by Mike Dowell

Are you going to refinish those?

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Actually the picture is of an antique Mexican cabinet from the late 18th or early 19th century. I'm building new cabinets with alder and knotty alder fronts and frames. I'l love to achieve that look though.

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Originally Posted by Stuart Welsh

Actually the picture is of an antique Mexican cabinet from the late 18th or early 19th century. I'm building new cabinets with alder and knotty alder fronts and frames. I'l love to achieve that look though.

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Your options are, unfortunately, very limited. Of course, that's just my response. There may be pros on here that know of more options. What you're looking at there, are multiple years/coats of failed varnish, which has produced a particular patina. If it were me, I'd be experimenting a bunch, since I don't have any real, proven steps to get you where you want to be. I would probably start by sanding with different grit sandpapers in different spots. Remember, the coarser sanding scratches, the more stain will be absorbed there = darker. Maybe 180g on most of the flats, then 80g around many of the edges, and probably something in between on a narrow block to sort of make random areas of rougher sanded wood. I'd also distress by scratching, scraping, stabbing, chain beating, whatever, very randomly. Then I'd take a stain which is a fair amount *lighter* then what you want in the end, and rub it on(a pigmented stain, not dye). That's my base, and you'll have a pretty un-uniform color, which is what you want, also taking into consideration that Alder blotches up pretty good, so that will only help you. After that, I'd grab one of those "stain and varnish" combo products which is pretty close to the color you want and wipe on a coat of that. I'd reassess at that point.

Might sound like a really complicated project, and maybe it is, but it's definitely based on experimentation, and If I were building these for one of my customers, I would be experimenting just like anyone else. Probably advisable to use scrap for the tests though, and make sure you write down, step by step, everything you did and how you did it. That way, when you have a panel that turns out how you like, you can duplicate the process on the real boxes. Genuine patina is hard to reproduce, sometimes impossible. No greater tool than age.

Thanks for taking the time Mike, I'll start my experiments!

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Originally Posted by Mike Dowell

No greater tool than age.

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That's why my grown kids look at me with that "You're a tool!" look on their face when I come down on them with my 56 years of experience.