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Thread: Distressing

  1. #61
    I saw a painted hanging cupboard at an antique store Wednesday It was from the early 19th century. The paint was old and discolored, but there were no places where it was worn through and I don't recall any chipped places even. If someone had reproduced this they likely would have felt the need to remove paint completely at the high wear locations. There was also a very nice 18th century Windsor chair which was not worn through on every edge the way most reproductions are.

    Here is a cabinet for which I wonder if fake wear has been added. It really is over 200 years old., but the wear pattern seems just too predictable, too much like a furniture doctor would make it. The dents all seem to have paint at the bottom, like they all occurred before the wear took place. Also note the vertical line on the bottom rail, like where a belt sander stopped. I can't remember all that I noted when I saw it in person. This cabinet could have been stripped in 1965 and repainted in 1995. Or it could be the the original paint and somebody thought it would look more fashionable with more wear.
    painted corner cpbd.jpg

  2. #62
    Warren, I know much less about this stuff than you, but our antique and used furniture (I shouldn't say our, it belongs to my parents) is as you describe. On 6 chairs, I don't recall seeing a significant amount of wear on any of the corner surfaces. In fact, the only significant issue of concern that I can remember is the condition of the paint on the backs of the chairs (it was painted with some kind of fruit scene or something at the top of each). I don't know what the right term for the chairs is, but we referred to them as "plank bottom chairs". Not elaborate chairs, but not cheap junk, either.

    I'm not sure we (again, I guess not we) have any other furniture that has not been repaired or refinished. My parents do have numerous things like walnut wardrobes, and other than showing evidence of some quickness (drawknifed backsides on the raised panels, etc), they also show no significant damage and never did. Someone has finished them with modern finish, though, which is a shame.

    The corner cupboard built in our house, now 100 years old, shows no wear, just paint that looks old. The style is is almost identical to that one.

    People took too good of care of things and had too much pride to allow something like that cupboard above to look like that. It would've been a significant outlay to purchase such a thing, and folks who didn't go out in public without dressing well wouldn't have allowed themselves to be associated with something that conveyed they were reckless and didn't take care of their things.

  3. #63
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    That cupboard looks very artificial.

    I just walked around the house. Our antiques are nothing special, mostly farmers pine cabinets and tables. Some have been in the lye baths of the 1970's, something I wouldn't do now, but back then it was all the rage. Anyway, what I see is that none of the edges are sharp, All the corners are quite rounded. There is tearout in some spots. The high wear areas are mostly dirty, not bare. A footstool has considerable wear on edges and corners. Tabletops have scratches. Dings are rare. The single most important aspect of these items looking old is the color of the wood.

    When I look around in the house of my mother in law, who has really valuable antiques, I see a lot of immaculate furniture. It's a style that I don't like at all, but I can see that it is very well cared for. I need to have a closer look some day, not easy because she isn't herself the last couple of years and visits are a bit stressy.

    Of course, in the wild you can find antiques in all stages of decline, from well cared for to falling apart, just like old tools in fact.
    Last edited by Kees Heiden; 10-25-2014 at 2:15 AM.

  4. #64
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    That cupboard is a very nice design, but I agree the wear is very fake. I never understood the whole distressed look thing; restore something, then make it look old again.

  5. #65
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    Quote Originally Posted by David Weaver View Post
    I'm sure in a factory that manufactures screws and packages them by dropping them on a table and then shooting hammers out of a cannon toward the packing area, such a thing would happen!

    I'm so closed minded by now that I don't like anything!! that's getting to be true!!
    Seems logical.

    I have screws and hammers in my shop, maybe they go all 'sorcerer's apprentice' when I'm not around.
    Bumbling forward into the unknown.

  6. #66
    There is a small wall cabinet I made with similar intentions. The only thing I did was paint it with a paint that would be vulnerable to use patterns itself, some lime or milk paint I mixed up, I don't know it now. It has been hanging in the kitchen for 15 years and now it looks distressed. What is my secret to getting that authentic distressed look? Patience.

  7. #67
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    As you may know, I catch a lot of guff from fellow woodworkers for making my pieces look old. Be forewarned on this. Also, there is much, much more to making a piece look old than just the finish. That is the lazy (and ineffectual) way to try this. If you are interested, PM me and I will tell you more.

    Now I will slowly sneak out again and try not to offend anyone with my work
    Your endgrain is like your bellybutton. Yes, I know you have it. No, I don't want to see it.

  8. #68
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    Don't worry Zach. I know that this is a controversial topic, and I really don't mind when people have a different opinion or when they express that opinion. The world would be a boring place when everone is the same.

    I send you a PM.

  9. #69
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    Apologies for my comment. It wasn't meant in disrespect. I have seen it done really well, like in kitchen cabinets in an old kitchen.

  10. #70
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    No reason for an apology Malcolm. I respect your opinion. I can only hope I will succeed.

  11. #71
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    Quote Originally Posted by Warren Mickley View Post
    When some months ago Sean Hughto first showed the picture of the table he copied, my first reaction was that it had added wear. I have been looking at this kind of stuff all my life; it looks like someone sanded the appropriate edges in order to make it look more like fake wear.
    Take it up with Albert Sack.
    ~ Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought.

  12. #72
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    By the way, here's what old Albert had to say about it. Begging your pardon, but I think I'll take his assessment over yours.
    ~ Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought.

  13. #73
    As long as we are voicing opinion and not answering your question I will offer my 2cents. Pieces in different period styles require different finishing strategies. Nothing looks more amateurish to me than a Queen Anne piece with nothing but a clear coat of gloss polyurethane. Likewise Midcentury modern looks silly distressed. It is wrong to believe that period finishers did not use stains ,dyes, caustics, even paint. In some cases time alone cannot recreate the look of an antique. As to your question, the hardest part is to age the wood, each wood requires a different technique. The reason commercially aged pieces usually look wrong is that the are using stain or dye which doesn't work. In my experience chemical aging works the best but is dangerous and not used commercially. There is a long list of chemicals that can be used but there is little good information written on the subject. " Classic Finishing Techniques " by Sam Allen is the best I have found.

  14. #74
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    I just looked over all the furniture in our house. There aren't many pieces less than a hundred years old. A lot came out of my Grandfather's house. Others passed on from family members who have passed on. A lot of it most likely served daily use for a long time. One piece in particular, I remember my Grandmother using in her bedroom, a faux grained armoire, with a small porcelain knob, is still in absolutely perfect condition.

    The only pieces I can find any wear patterns on are a couple of pie safes. One in the kitchen that my Wife has used for 34 years, and another in a bathroom. I remember my Aunt, who left them to us, had them refinished in the sixties. Both of them do show dirt from hands, and wear patterns from keepers that turn from opening and closing, but it's all into, and through whatever finish the restorers used in the sixties. I expect the original finish would have shown similar patterns. All the hardware is original.

  15. #75
    I don't have to look far for an example. My computer sits on an antique tansu as I type this. It definitely shows it has been used, ink stains criss-crosses, burns, dents, bug holes in the sapwood, stain worn through at the front edge, scratches behind the bails and pulls, burnished edges at the front of the top where I rest my hand to type, just great.

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