Kees, I have reasons,not just keeping secrets,for not divulging some of the things I use in aging materials. You may not be able to obtain some of these things unless you can get them through museums.
In another area,for example, you cannot turn in silver or gold for refining,or making into sheet,etc.. You have to have a jeweler's or silversmith's license. That keeps stolen precious materials from being sent in.
In more innocent times,some of these materials were freely available.
Last edited by george wilson; 10-23-2014 at 8:21 AM.
Kees, I recently made my version of a tavern table I liked from a photo of the real deal antique. Below is mine (in dark blue paint) and under that is the original from the book (in black paint). I was guided by the real thing, but not trying to scrupulously copy it or fool anyone. On the top I used dye - something I rarely do on other pieces - and learned that dye reverses the grain and might give the right color, but not really an old look. When I make the next one, I will use chemical aging instead. So I guess the bottom line is that I have little meaningful to offer you, other than to say I've tried what you seem to be describing, and am happy with the result, but would recommend against dye.
~ Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought.
That's exactly why I'd apply it in a glaze instead, as that's what the aging on the older furniture looks like - more like a glaze and less like a stain. If you look at an old painted plank chair that was painted and then covered with a protectant coat, it looks as if the discoloration is in the top coat, but not the paint.
One thing I have is a refrigerator size cabinet,with a bunch of powerful black light tubes inside it. Wood is hard to age with stain: On REAL old boxwood,for example,the boxwood is brown,but with NO stain in the grains. Stain it and it looks different.
You guys are giving me great tips allready. Lots to experiment with.
Nice table Sean. That is actually a bit like the thing I'm looking for.
At Labshop in Twello you'll get the materials you look for.
Lots of good info here. Items become distressed through us and there are patterns (like in Sean's post) that emerge. Getting a look at similar items (or parts of items; legs, table edges, etc.) in antique shops, museums, or online can really help you add authentic looking age as opposed to "beating it with a chain". As George stated, you will go too far on some pieces before you learn when to quit. Like rocking a row boat, distressing looks great up to a point but, it can very suddenly be too much.
"A hen is only an egg's way of making another egg".
– Samuel Butler
I guess I've never understood distressing. I've seen homes where all the furniture is antique and it looks terrible to me. The chips and broken pieces, worn finishes, upholstery that looks dirty, etc. Why people want that in their homes is just beyond me.
Mike
Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.
Bedankt voor de link Ernest!
This is partly my point about what real wear looks like on the average well cared for piece. I can refer to the painted plank chairs that my parents have because they are very old, but as they were my grandfathers and not for sitting every day, they were well cared for and don't have any of the beatings that some antique furniture is shown with. I would much rather have furniture that looks like that than beat furniture. The comment about the glaze is just that over that period of time, someone has usually clear coated them with something (long ago - not ruined them with polyurethane or something) and it has aged, looking more like a glaze. the furniture is otherwise nearly undamaged other than the aging that occurs on the painting. Very tasteful.
I also don't care for the abused furniture.
I can't really offer advice with the aging, but I do a lot of matching existing baseboard/trim in older homes.
I tend to use a stains/dyes and then a coat of amber shellac overtop, to help give the wood the warm, aged look.
One thing I've noticed about antiques (the average age of the furniture in my house is WAY older than me) is the clear coat is usually cracked/checked. Old homes weren't climate controlled so as the wood moved the finished did not. That would be pretty hard to replicate...unless you wanted to leave it in an unheated garage/shed for a few months over the winter.
Or maybe blast it with compressed air...*shrug*
Sean, great looking table!
Sean,the places on your piece where feet were placed,should be bare,not stained. They should have wood that was worn by dirt on shoe soles,looking like dirt was ground against them,leaving an abraded looking surface.
Kees, for a lot of information and sources of further information on 17th and 18th century furniture and reproduction techniques check out the website of the Society of American Period Furniture Makers www.sapfm.org You can check out the forum and register for free and ask your questions there. There is at least one Smithsonian Institution trained furniture conservator who is great at answering questions and offering advice. How to make newly built antique reproductions look tastefully aged is a regular topic for SAPFM members.
Dave Anderson
Chester, NH
I might be wrong,but my impression of Sean 's table is a stylized nod to the typical wear on the old tables rather than copying it. He does more than march to a different drum beat, he leads a jazz band.