Ageing folk art

[bckskin2]

I want to "age" some red, white, & blue folk art. I remember years ago an old carver used shoe polish, I don't remember how, One other suggestion was diluted brown acrilic paint. Any suggestions?

[mark yundt]

I'm not sure if your piece is sealed or not,,but the methods you suggest will both work.Also glazes will do the trick as well as oil paints as well as stains,,depending on how your piece is finished.Shoe polish is simply rubbed on the piece and gently buffed off leaving color in the nooks and crannies.This works O.K. but you are limited if you want to seal the piece ,,and the wax isn't exactly permanent and can wear off. It also won't change the colors much to make them appear "old" if it's sealed.Paints on the other hand can be thinned with an actual glaze,water or flow mediums to allow you to wash the surface ,,wipe off excess and allow the "dirt" to build up where you want it to ,to look old. Stains as well,,depending on the finish you have can still stain paints,especially if they are flat type finishes.The control with these is much less than you would have with other types of antiqueing processes.One other thing to consider. If your piece is perfectly painted and new looking ,,you might want to wear off some of the paint in certain areas,,nick,scratch and dent other areas and generally make it look like it's been around for some time before you antique it.Otherwise the piece will look like a brand new old piece and seem odd for some reason.Although on certain pieces the antique look adds to the depth of the carvings and really looks good.It'll depend on your piece and what you want to achieve.

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

The sell a bottle of stuff called "antiquing" at wallyworld.

[Doug Ridley]

Buckskin-- I use a mixture of turpentine and burnt umber (oil paint) to antique the Santa ornaments. I don't know if this is what you like or not but here is what they look like. It takes very little paint to the turp and I believe acrylic will work as well.
Doug

[xsailer]

Doug, With all due respect, I haven't done this but I think you will find acrylic and turpentine mixes about as well as oil and water.

[Doug Ridley]

You are correct. I wasn't thinking. Senior moment, I guess.

[Eddy-Smiles]

I think that Hi-Ho may have been referring to Delta Creamcoat Instant Age Varnish. It works well, perhaps too well! If you did decide to use it I would suggest trying it on a smiliarly painted piece of scrap wood. You may want to thin it down...it's water based. Also, another disadvantage is that it leaves a sheen on the project so you might want to apply something matte over the top to knock down the shine.

[Kenny_S]

My little bride says I am an aging folk and am a piece of art!
Wonder what she means by that!

[Hi_Ho_Sliver]

Originally Posted by Kenny_S

My little bride says I am an aging folk and am a piece of art!
Wonder what she means by that!

Naaaahh...Kenny, you are just a piece of work! LOL but shes right you are aging folk ha ha