Old lumber

Leave it out in the weather

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

Lock it in a room with my 15 month old niece for an hour. She has this remarkable gift for making shiny new things look ragged and worn almost instantly :D

-- - Jei, Rockford IL - When in doubt, spray it with WD-40 and wrap it with duct tape. The details will attend to themselves.

Roughen the surface a bit. Give it a real light spray with flat black paint, then a light spray of flat gray paint. Hey Jim, Never thought of that!

-- Carpenter assembles with hands, Designer builds with brains, Artist creates with heart!

Thanks for the tips. I had thought of leaving it out in the weather, but the problem with that is how long it will take. When you add weathering time to waiting on me time, we might both be dead first.

-- ShawnH "In matters of style, swim with the current. In matters of principle, stand like a rock." Thomas Jefferson

What about a weak acid, which would hasten oxidation (i.e. muriatic)? I’ve seen wood that was power-washed that immediately looks old because it blasts away the soft part of the rings, leaving the harder stuff. I guess sandblasting would work too. Red hot wire clothes hangers might simulate worm holes. Tea bags would add tannins if that’s part of the recipe.

-- You can't control the wind, but you can trim your sails

see if there is an old barn in the nabourhood that there is going down or maybee a farmer had some
old wood laying around you can get cheap

Dennis

The pattina you are looking for comes from sun and mineral oxidation (from the rain)....to hasten that I think the roughing of the wood…using a sun lamp (something high in UV) and a weak acid and iron solution…something like CaptainSkully recommended…... Common cedar seems to age fairly quickly…...otherwise….look for some old fence or barnwood…to bad you are not around me….I have a ton of old fence cedar that is awaiting some use (I just can’t make myself get rid of it – although I have cut and discarded most of the dry rot and termite chewed)...I used a bunch for a chicken coup (modeled after a ghosttown false fronted building…) but there is lots left to deal with.

-- Woodworking.....My small slice of heaven!

I hate to under-complicate this, but I’ve used some really thinned out black paint on pine and it looked good. A wire brush works good for roughing, as it will follow the grooves in the grain.

-- Brian

A strong solution of Baking Soda works very well. I have used it extensively to give new fencing and outdoor furniture a more aged look. It really helps in the aging process.

-- Oldworld, Fair Oaks, Ca

You can buy boards that look exactly like barn boards.

http://bing.search.sympatico.ca/?q=barn%20boards%20loo%20a%20lie&mkt=en-ca&setLang=en-CA

http://bing.search.sympatico.ca/?q=barn%20board%20loo&mkt=en-ca&setLang=en-CA