"Make it look old"

[Dennis Ford]

I usually hang out in the turning section but occasionally do other work. This table is built to resemble an antique "primitive", I would like some tips on making it look old. It will not be represented as actually old, anyone knowledgeable about antiques would look underneath or inside a drawer and recognize that it is modern construction. It is all walnut except for the pulls, they are Cocobolo. Comments or critiques welcome.

[Todd Burch]

Nice looking table.

You have a few options.

1) Use it every day and in 30 years, you will have achieved what you want.

2) Round over the square corners, unevenly. Spill stuff on it, wipe most of it off. Knock a couple chips off and sand the sharp bits back to roundy. Drop a drawer on its front corner. Take a knife to the top. Leave it in the sun. Burn it with a magnifying glass in a few spots or a hot pan right off the stove. Or a cigarette. Paint it and then remove the paint. And on and on and on.

Todd

[Sam Murdoch]

Yes, a very nice piece. The thing with creating the look of age is that most people over do it. Restraint is a good thing. Do you want old and cared for or old like - "look what I found abandoned in an old barn"? Consider the kind of piece and how it might have been used. Harder to "antique" a clear finished piece than a painted piece.The wear should be considered and natural. Look at some old stuff and get a feel for what is normal wear.

Of course around the knobs after decades of being handled the knobs themselves will be buffed and the area around them will likely have lost the finish. The feet will have been kicked, scraped and dented but not necessarily the entire legs. The front legs or one side maybe more than the other but not all 4 equally. The top could have taken all sorts of abuse - again depending on if this was found in a barn or just used for a hundred years in someone's parlor. In the barn - among other abuse - it will have been dinged, dented, dropped upon, soaked, and shat upon by rodents. In the parlor it might have a stain from a wet vase, scratches from the lamp being moved across it, indentations from pressing too hard on the paper with a pencil or pen but still cleaned and waxed every spring.
Yes, the front edge or a corner might be chipped or have a long grain broken then sanded. And on and on...

I say study other pieces. Consider "the look" you want to achieve and then commence to recreate the wear results from that kind of use.
This could be fun . Enjoy.

[Aaron Berk]

Look of age? send it to me.
I'll let my kids use it for a wk and send it back! job done!

[Jason Roehl]

The question is, do you want it to look used-old, or distressed? Todd and Sam gave a good rundown on how to make it look well used and old, but if you really meant "distressed", there are other techniques to achieve that end. Stain it lightly to somewhat seal it, then beat it with various implements--chains are often used, for example, but use whatever you have laying around. Then, after you put a bunch of dents and nicks in it, touch those up with a much darker stain before you apply a finish to it. Like someone said, restraint is good.

[Prashun Patel]

It's harder to do this on walnut. It's easier on painted or light wood, where you can stain and sand away the stain.

On this, I would first use sandpaper to roundover corners.
You could use a curved scraper to create scallops on the top as well.

When you finish, I would apply a black glaze in between your topcoats. That will simulate patina and grime. Let it collect in the crevices.

I would also not apply a high gloss finish. An oil (or oil/varnish) finish will look the most primitive, but will make application of a glaze a tad trickier.

Last, (unsolicited), if you can avoid having to antique this, I'd just finish it as is; it looks beautiful as is.

[Michael Dunn]

I think the rodent droppings will really impress the client most. LOL!!! That's a nice touch.