Distressing

[Sean Hughto]

You're right, George, if I was trying to be completely accurate. I could certainly see such wear in the picture of the original. I ended up liking the shiny blueberry feet too much to ding them up/sand them back that much. There's more than you can see from this angle in real life, but I (perhaps perversely) consciously chose to leave the feet in better shape than the world likely would have. Mind you, no one would see mine and think for a second it was an antique. I was attracted to the asthetic qualities that the wear had brought o the original - the way the bare wood spots accentuated edges or invited one to put their feet on the rails and so forth. I was trying to recreate that moreso than trying to make it look authentically old.

[Richard Moran]

I like antiques, natural wear and tear and the old finishes. But I can't stand that Shabby Chic white stuff that is so popular nowadays.

[Kees Heiden]

What you don't like this?

[Kees Heiden]

Distressing is not the best title for this thread I think. Ageing or patinating would be better. But this title sure atracks attention....

I want to thank again for all the tips. The SAPF link is a good one too and I am going to have a look.

[george wilson]

Many years ago I had to go to Philadelphia along with some other craftsmen to set up exhibits of our work. There was a man there from the company which used to make reproduction furniture for the museum to sell. This fellow had various tools such as bronze chains nailed across a short block of 2 x 4". He was the "distresser". I have never seen a more arrogant ,self assured guy in my life! He thought his skill was way beyond any of the actual museum's craftsmen who were there. He happily beat and banged to their delight upon samples of furniture tops that he'd brought along. With immense skill did he damage,dent and scratch. Oh,and fling bits of stain also. Regardless of what he did though,lacquer still glinted like lacquer,and not like varnish. Specks of stain remained unconvincing. Similar looking dents revealed themselves to the careful eye. He banked upon customers not having careful eyes,though !

His female audiences thought he was a God!!!

But,alas,even he played second fiddle to the fellow who was the head flower arranger for the museum!!! His female audience was totally enthralled with him,though I am sure he had no real interest in them !

[Jim Koepke]

One of my favorite videos on YouTube is "Make a five board bench with Charles Neil."

He distresses his boards by laying them on the gravel driveway and jiggling around on them.

jtk

[Warren Mickley]

When I look at distressed or aged furniture, it often has a sameness and predictability about it that is somewhat tiresome. Like guys are using a formula for aging. I think a guy who studied up on it might be able to look at a piece and name the decade in which it was made. I don't think guys are using chains as much as they used to on the 1980's.

The funny thing is that genuine old pieces are now being doctored, gunk and wear added, so they look more like the artificially aged new pieces. So they meet customer expectations. 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.

[Moses Yoder]

I doubt you will be happy with the result. For myself, I would do something to compliment the antiques and still look new. A crackle paint finish is relatively easy to do and while it does not look old it has a certain style to it.

[Jim Matthews]

Me, too.

It's not as if original furniture looked worn.
Pure artifice chaps my hide.

[Kees Heiden]

Ha ha, not too many supporting voices.

But I'm not giving up so easilly. Are there books available about ageing or patinating wood?

[Shawn Pixley]

I am against distressing. The only times I went close was when repairing an antique piece of furniture and had to replace a piece. I added just enough patina so the piece wouldn't stand out.

[ernest dubois]

I think I have an idea of what you want Kees. It's sort of an ideal and might explain partly what is so appealing to some people in those old pieces.

In my mind I have mulled over an idea, maybe its applicable, maybe not but it is certainly not a finishing technique applied to a completed piece. Still, it is somewhat related and I throw it out. It would be to try and make up some component, for example a panel for a door in elm wood, and then strapping it on the roof of my woodshed for one year, touching it up where needed after that and putting in its place. The idea comes from somewhere between what that Bennet guy does and my liking for old wood.

[Prashun Patel]

Every now and then this place gets a little snobby.

Kees is asking how, not whether.

Maybe this only rubs me the wrong way because as a blanket opinion i am distressed at the blanket opinions about distressing. Ask your question on the finishers forum or to jeff jewitt and i think you will get more tips on how instead of poo poos.

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Kees

What is it that you wish to emulate - a well looked after vintage piece, a poorly looked after vintage piece, or something that resembles shabby chic? .....

Frankly I cannot see how furniture beaten to an inch of its life with chains, and scratched to resemble having had a hard life could conceivably still be in one piece. With a life like that it would more realistically be falling apart. Who wants that?

The type of simulated wear I would go for would be subtle - darkened wood (use a darker wax polish), some areas worn away by rubbing with a polishing rag (lightly sanded with very high grits and then waxed), etc. I'm just guessing - I've never done this. What I have that is old has aged naturally. And what I have that is not will eventually do so as well. I don't have painted furniture, so cannot comment on that.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Kees Heiden]

Well, if it could turn out to look somewhat like this, then that would be great.

spice cabinet 17th.jpg
But I said that I'm not aiming for a perfect reproduction. More for a work that is inspired by pieces like this. A lot of this kind of stuff is made from oak, and I am going to make the first one from cherry. So that is the first deviation from the original.

First thing is getting the wood to be aged nicely. With just a bit of googling around I find a few methods. Sun tanning (can be speeded up with UV lights). Lye. Or Potassium Dichromate. Then I would have to take care of all the corners and edges, rounding a bit. Then looking for obvious wearspots, like around a keyhole, or the place where the door rubs on the plinth, stuff like that.

To be honest, the more I read, the more I see how difficult this is.