Replies

1. 
   ring | Apr 17, 2005 06:29pm | #1

   This is way too big a question - please be specific about what look you want to achieve.   Typically distressing could include:

    multiple layers of finish, partly worn away

   crackling of varnish

   patina (that is, controlled dirt)

   wormholes

   beating with chains, etc.

   and lots more...

   DR

2. 
   Tao | Apr 17, 2005 06:42pm | #2

   The idea of distressing is to make pieces look old, so you basically want to simulate the normal effects of aging.

   Physical distressing imitates the normal knocks, wear, and scratches that a piece acquires with age.  This would include softening wear edges with sandpaper or a file, denting exposed suraces with a variety of objects and possibly simulating worm holes.  I don't like the commonly recommended nuts and bolts for distressing, because the marks don't look much like what you get on a real piece.  Instead, I use selected implements to give dents like what you would get in normal wear; kitchen tools are good, selected rocks do pretty well, as do pieces of chain.

   Glazes soften the look of a piece, and leaving glaze in the low areas of moldings and such mimics the buildup of age.

   Flyspecking (spattering with glaze) and cowtailing (random light strokes with the end of a piece of rope or a really chewed up brush) aren't used that much anymore, but occasioonally have a place.

   There are other techniques with painted pieces, such as rubbing through one color to expose another color beneath, plus crackle effects, etc.  Crackle is simply done with crackle medium you can buy, or you can learn to do it with hide glue.

   From here, it's just up to your imagination and creativity.

   Michael R.

    

1. 
   cicero | Apr 17, 2005 10:56pm | #3

   Thanks chaps for your replies.

   I understand how difficult the question is,especially via this medium.

   I have done a bit over the years and though not bad I have seen better.

   I mostly make panelled furn.so as to be able to put darker colour in recesses.

   I finish with lacquer,then spray the indented (via a bag of bolts etc) and mouldings with a mixture of terps based wiping stain and lacquer.This allows the colour to stick,but not enough  that I can't  rub off the surplus.

   Like I said it's not bad but would appreciate better ideas.

1. 
   Rich14 | Apr 18, 2005 03:11am | #4

   Cicero,I don't have much to add to the above regarding the various mthods with which to add the bumps, nicks, gouges, holes, abrasions, etc. In addition to those already suggested, I've used a very large key chain on which were mounted all sorts of keys which were thrown at, dragged across and otherwise allowed to "damage" the piece.But I will offer this advice. The piece must be brought to, or close to the final wood preparation before adding the distressing. In other words, you must finsh all your planing and sanding as though the piece were to look new after addition of the final fishing coats. Assuming that because the wood's surface is going to be "brutalized" that you don't need to plane or sand it will result in it looking like junk. But when it's taken to its final sanding, then distressed, it can look like a fine old piece that has been through the ages.Rich

   Don't ever learn anything new. Rather than give you satisfaction that you know more than you did, it will only confirm you know less than you thought by opening horizons to things of which you had never dreamt and which you now must explore.

1. 
   cicero | Apr 18, 2005 03:42am | #5

   Thanks Rich.

   I was in England a few years ago,a pal who is a antique dealer had this dinining table and chairs,he asked what I thought it,I thought maybe 200 years old,he then tells me it was made the previous week.

   Who ever made it was good,wish I could do it.

3. 
   KeithNewton | Apr 18, 2005 03:34pm | #6

   Back when I did this sort of thing, I used the ragged edge of a broken piece of concrete for distressing. If you choose a good grapefruit size chunk that has an assortment of size and sharpness of exposed aggregate, you can hammer scrape and roll it and avoid the giveaway repetitive consistence of chain etc.

4. 
   joinerswork | Apr 18, 2005 08:18pm | #7

   	Distressing bride/groom on the way to the altar. How do you do it? A: Tell her, her slip is showing/ him his fly is unzipped.   Seriously, Metod, I tend to agree with you on distressing new furniture, and have generally told customers who asked for it, that it will happen on its own, with time, just like the antiques got that way.  However, there have been times when I've felt that distressing new work is justified-- for instance in restoration work, when a new drop leaf, or whole  top on an old table would look out of place without some distressing to make it blend in.  Making a chair to match several others in an old set comes to mind as well, if they are to be used together. Regards, Ray

5. 
   cicero | Apr 18, 2005 09:00pm | #8

   Thank you all for responses.

   In the end it's all a matter of taste.I find those pieces that one sees in FW that demonstrate the cleverness of the craftsman not at all to my liking,I am referring to those strange shapes (to me) that these chaps like to make.

   I am a traditionalist and I have seen some beautiful examples on here.

   I like it when people are surprised when I say I made that wine cabinet last week.

   Will have a go with the piece of concrete as suggested.

   Like most on here I am never completely happy with my work and hope to come up with better methods.

6. 
   cicero | Apr 19, 2005 12:14am | #9

   Thanks Metod,I think we agree,all a matter of taste.

   
   

   ---

   Edited 4/18/2005 5:16 pm ET by Cicero

7. 
   WillGeorge | Apr 19, 2005 06:02pm | #10

   Blacksmith hammer?  Sorry.. I just had to..

   Just funnin' ya but I did see sombody just hitting the surface with a hunk of hardwood.. Random hits.. Looked GREAT!

8. 
   KevinLBS | Apr 19, 2005 08:19pm | #11

   Hmmm... So why distress? Maybe we or our customers can't AFFORD the 18th century english oak kitchen table that's so dark brown it's almost black, that shows each 12" wide worn board, and that just FEELS like home. Either that or you can do your standard perfectly smooth flat cherry table with no imperfections, that you're scared to death to even put a plate on... to each his own.

   I've never distressed a piece of my own, but if I could do it RIGHT, that would be a good skill to have, just as good as being able to brush shellac perfectly. I agree with the others that distressing done with nuts and bold, or screwdrivers and awls, never does look like real wear.

   Maybe FWW could give us a good article on solid distressing techniques.

   I remember a story about a chair that's in the Henry Ford museum. A guy made it intentionally to prove he could fool a museum into thinking it was from the 1500's. He used a homemade very slow lathe, with dull tools, and part of his finishing process was to tie a rope to one leg and throw the chair in the ocean next to a cliff for a couple weeks!

9. 
   Tao | Apr 19, 2005 10:27pm | #12

   I must have a very strange taste...maybe not enough education.

   No, just a very narrow point of view.  Nothing really wrong with that, as long as you allow other people their preferences, too.

   Right and wrong in this business is determined by whatever gives you the outcome you or your customer wants, including looks, durability, and cost, along with "intangibles".  You can certainly have your own preferences and advocate them. The line is drawn when you try to impose your taste and preference on others, instead of merely pointing out a preference and reasons for your point of view. (Not accusing you of doing that, by the way.)

   I have learned a lot over the years by doing things for people which I never would have done for myself, and consequently take a much broader point of view.  To each his own. 

   Michael R

   "You have to look for possibilities where there are none" Krenov

1. 
   cicero | Apr 20, 2005 01:07am | #13

   Well said woodwiz.

   Found this site that gives a few examples of distressing.

    

   http://www.fauld.com/

1. 
   Tao | Apr 20, 2005 01:32am | #14

   Thanks. Just an opinion, worth what you paid for it.

   If you can come up with a pic of the effect you are trying to achieve, I, along with several others probably, could give you a schedule that would achieve the look. The website you posted has several, but they're pretty phony lookng.  They don't look old at all, just "designery".  I've seen some pretty primitive old furniture but never any that was finshed with an adze! Wooden planes go back at least the roman empire.Michael R

   "You have to look for possibilities where there are none" Krenov

1. 
   cicero | Apr 20, 2005 06:35am | #16

   Lousy pics,but you will get the gist.

   http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y79/cicero1520/winecabopen.jpg

   This the sort of thing I make,the ageing is minimal?

1. 
   Tao | Apr 20, 2005 07:29am | #18

   That one was just stained sealed, and scuff sanded, and then a glaze was applied and partly wiped off, leaving material in the flutes and around the edges of the panels and moldings, and also leavig some residue and streaks on the faces of the panels, stiles, rails, etc.  Then topcoated.  It looks like they only used one stage of stain with no equalizing or color correction.

   With a varnish finishing system you could use an alkyd glaze or a gel stain. With lacquer, you would probably wnat to use a linseed oil based glaze.

   The rest is just practice manipulating the materials.

    Michael R

   "You have to look for possibilities where there are none" Krenov

2. 
   cicero | Apr 20, 2005 09:50am | #19

   Will have a lookat your suggestions,thank you.

   I should mention I both made and finshed to piece I posted,sorry I should have said.

   I have only used lacquer for finish and turps based stain.

3. 
   Tao | Apr 20, 2005 06:15pm | #21

   So am I right about the process you used? Could be you "glazed" without sealing. if you used a gel stain.

   I'm not sure now, what you are asking.  If you have a specific look you are trying to achieve, that would be helpful for discussion. Otherwise, there is nothing to focus on, and you'd need a book to cover all the combinations of techniques and effects.Michael R

   "You have to look for possibilities where there are none" Krenov

4. 
   cicero | Apr 20, 2005 10:51pm | #22

   What I wanted was any better ideas than the ones  I use.

   I stain and lacquer the piece,say 3 or 4 coats.Then I take a mixture of a darker turps based wiping stain into which I put some lacquer to make it stick in the moulded parts etc.I then have to rub the surplus off with 0000 steel wool.

   The dark mixture is a bit hit and miss as it is not recommended to mix lacquer with turps based stain.

   What I would like is a better product to fill in moulded areas,that rubs off easily yet sticks to the lacquer.

   The effect I like is simply a dirty look in areas where it might get, naturally over time.

10. 
    Tao | Apr 20, 2005 04:18am | #15

    Thanks for not taking offense.  It can be hard to project tone of voice onto a written page. By the way, I said narrow point of view, not narrow minded.  I hope there's a difference.

    I agree with you about fashion.  It is ephemeral, and often without merit, in my opinion, but there are also good things to be gleaned. If you can achieve the Zen habit of observing without immediately reacting, there are worthwhile things to be found everywhere, even in tragedy.  More and more, I just try to observe, learn and enjoy, rather than spending energy judging.  It's kind of an ntersting paradox, maintaining your principles while getting rid of the "shoulds".

    (RE Zen: I've been working on that for some time myself. Quite a struggle for a linear, literal thinker like me, but definitely worth while.  If anybody knows any good teachers in the KC area I'd sure like know about them.)

    Michael R

    "You have to look for possibilities where there are none" Krenov

11. 
    Telemike | Apr 20, 2005 06:59am | #17

    Put it into a preteen boy's bedroom for six months. Toss in a few footballs, baseball bats, and assorted inks, paints, etc. However, you'll loose about 30% of the pieces due to complete destruction!

12. 
    Kent_F | Apr 20, 2005 04:35pm | #20

    How about a three-year-old?

1. 
   cicero | Apr 20, 2005 10:55pm | #23

   Ha Ha,that might work,but would you complain if I sent back with stain in hair,I presume you do mean stick head in stain and apply:-)

13. 
    kenshep | Apr 22, 2005 04:40am | #24

    Beat it with a chain that has links about the girth of your little finger.  Beat it with a ball peen hammer.  I saw one guy's method to "date it" was to carve initials and other symbols he noticed on other used/abused furniture.  If you are keeping it, a few sweet nothings to the missus or S.O. might be in order...ala initials carverd on a tree or a plus sign between initials...

     

    Regards,

    Ken

    "Do as you would be done by." C.S. Lewis

1. 
   cicero | Apr 22, 2005 07:22am | #25

   Thanks Ken,will have a look at that.