What ratio to use for antiquing?

[llc1952]

I have a cowboy carved from basswood and painted in acryllic wash. I want to
antique it before sealing it with polyeurathane. What mix ratio do I use of
Blo and burnt umber oil? I don't want a real dark antique look. Is there something better to do than blo & burnt umber? Thanks for any help here.

[Mitchell]

Carve (and paint) a test piece to 'practice' on before using the final mixture on your cowboy.

The ratio is a matter of personal preference. I often see about an inch of paint from a tube to 1 quart of BLO recommended. I prefer mine with less paint (estimate about 1/2 that amount) but it's not an exact recipe. More recently I've used a dark wax to antique my carvings - over the poly.

Another option: You can use a light wash of acrylic paint (b. umber or charcoal) as a antique also. Just brush it on over the entire figure and let it settle into the crevices/deep areas. Again, I'd recommend a practice piece first.

[llc1952]

Thanks. I'll do a practice run on both methods.

[Robert Cahill]

I imagine you will get several answers on this. My favorite is blo and burnt sienna using 1 inch to a quart.

[Tom Ellis]

After paint, I like to brush on a coat of satin Deft, then dip in golden oak stain. Wipe off the excess. After that dries for awhile, a final coat of spray on satin Deft. Done

Tom

[Goody]

We use a bit of a different approach to antiquing. After the basecoats are done and the art work is on we let it dry for a while. We then put a good coat of matte poly varnish on and let it dry over night. This puts a nice hard barrier coat over the paint. Now you can do most anything you want as far as antiquing and not affect your original paint including wiping all the antiquing off if you don't like it. We don't use the ratio method. We put a little flow medium, a little extender or retarder, and a dab of what ever umber we think the the piece calls for. The mediums go in the same puddle the paint goes next to the puddle touching the edge of the puddle. We then drag our brush over the paint into the puddle of medium. This allows you to use the antiquing as dense or as thin as you like. After we have the antiquing applied we start taking some off with a terry cloth towel. We then soften everything down with an old makeup brush. Soften a little then dry the makeup brush stroking it on a paper towel or another piece of terry. The blending brush has to stay dry. Let dry overnight then put anther coat of matte poly on and let it dry. We then polish the piece by hand with Renaissance wax. Puts a nice sheen on put repels finger prints when the piece is handled. We only use water based acrylic products.

[Bob K.]

There are probably as many methods as there are carvers. Experiment with practice pieces.

[kdispoto]

Goody - I never realized you put that much care (& extra work) into your finishing. No wonder your Santas look so wonderful.