When you spend hours upon hours building a beautiful piece of furniture or a stylish tool cabinet, you don’t want to overlook certain details like hardware. Hardware elements are sometimes just as important as wood selection. The problem is when building a timeless piece, brand-new shiny hardware will stick out like a sore thumb. Give your furniture the right look with a simple technique that can transform regular hinges into century old antiques.

If you liked doing science experiments in school, you’re going to love this quick method of turning regular home center hinges into antiqued treasures. The process is simple, start with brass hinges that are coated in another metal like zinc. First, strip the metal coating with muriatic acid in an outdoor and well-ventilated area. Once the coating has been eaten away, remove the hinges then wash and dry immediately to prevent rusting. Now to turn them into that dark antiqued look you’ll need some gun bluing. Simply poor the gun bluing over the hinges and wait until they turn black. To finish them up, give them a rub down with some steel wool and then seal them with a little WD-40.