Everything New Can Be Old Again, Simply

Antiquing can almost magically transform a new piece of unpainted furniture or give new life to an old valueless piece that has seen better days. And you don’t need a kit to do it.

When antiquing furniture, it’s not necessary to strive for perfection. The goal is to create an aged look, not a flawless finish. It helps to examine naturally worn pieces.

An antique finish usually consists of a base coat of paint that’s allowed to dry; then it’s covered with transparent tinted glaze, which is wiped off in a way that suggests aging.

You can select any color--and any shade or tint of that color--for the base coat. But consider choosing hues that were commonly used in historical periods and styles.

Before antiquing a new piece, you may want to distress it to feign the ravages of time. Slightly round some of the corners and edges by sanding or filing so that the furniture gives the appearance of years of use. Create a random pattern of dents by banging the surfaces with a small hammer. Mark flat surfaces with a ring of keys, a piece of wood studded with nails, a chain, stones or other blunt or jagged objects. Make worm holes and irregular scratches with an ice pick. But don’t go overboard; a little damage goes a long way. Sand away any splinters or rough spots.

Before applying the base coat to a new piece you’re antiquing, stain the raw wood a dark brown. When you remove paint to simulate wear, the wood underneath will look old and dark. Then give the piece a base coat of satin or semigloss enamel and let it dry for at least a day.

To mimic worn areas on a piece you’re making look old, use a small stick to apply paint stripper to the base coat in little irregular patches. Wipe the stripper off gently when the paint has the look you want. Neutralize the stripper with water or solvent, following directions on the can, and let it dry thoroughly.

You can buy glaze at many paint and wallpaper stores, or from arts and crafts suppliers. Or make your own by mixing 3 parts satin varnish with 1 part turpentine. Color the glaze by adding oil-based tinting colors.

Brush on the glaze and let it set for a few minutes until it begins to dull. Then begin wiping it off with cheesecloth, leaving some residue. Wipe with the grain, working out from the center of each flat surface. Leave more glaze on depressions, less on high spots and areas that would become worn with use. To produce different textures, try wiping with crumpled paper toweling, burlap or a sponge instead of cheesecloth. Experiment on wood scraps first.

Glaze takes about six hours to dry, so don’t rush. After it dries thoroughly, sand it lightly with extra-fine sandpaper, dust with a tack cloth and apply a final coat of clear polyurethane satin-finish varnish.

One way to heighten the effect of glazing is to spatter flyspecks of very dark color on the surface after wiping off the glaze. To do this, make some of the glazing solution deeper in color. Dip a toothbrush into it and flick the solution over the surface by drawing the bristles across the edge of a knife. The effect varies depending on how close you hold the brush to the surface and how quickly you move it.

You also can simulate wood grain with the glazing process used for antiquing. To create this effect, apply a base paint that matches the lightest tones in the wood you’re imitating and a glaze that matches the darkest. Create grain by wiping the glaze slightly, first with steel wool and then with a dry brush, in a wavy pattern. Or use graining tools from a paint store or home center.