Q: Do you have books that explain how to achieve an aged/weathered wood appearance? I watched a show last week where a gentleman used a scratch awl to leave the appearance of worms eating at the wood, and then sanded off sharp edges. Right now I’m preparing a solution of vinegar and steel wool to see if that really does give me a ’stain’ of sorts to make the wood look grey. I was thinking of trying a sandblaster, but wondered if there’s another way.
A: No, I have not done any books specifically on aging wood. There are not enough people who want to buy such a book to warrant publishing one. As for ways to do it, there are indeed many, including the ones you named, because there are many ways that age and wear show their hand on wood.
You can make worm holes with tiny drill bits, which work better than awls because the holes won’t close up or go out of round. A sharpened thin blade knife or scraper paired with a mallet lets you make split ends. I use a custom made distressing tool to mimic the myriad of dings and dents old furniture gets. Paint can be chipped off by putting random dots of wax on the wood prior to painting, and both painted and clear finishes can be eroded with sandpaper, steel wool or nylon abrasive pads either on the edges or flats to show wear.
There are also ways to bubble finish, crackle it, and discolor both wood and paint. You can add color to the raw wood itself with natural stains, like the iron buff you are currently making from vinegar and iron, or with more traditional staining materials. Glazes added on top of the finish can help you add what looks like accumulated dirt to dents and corners, and you can lodge what looks like dust into corners and carvings with rottenstone and wax. Which combination of techniques you choose depends on what look you are going for, and they can be simple or very complex.
Here’s a very simple recipe, by way of example, for making old barn wood. First, scrub softwood with a wire brush to washboard it by eroding the early wood bands. Follow that with a stain made from a mixture of white and black latex paint and water, wiped on and off to ape the look of aged, driftwood colored barn siding.
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